Nature Break - Honor Heights Park

Every April, Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, Oklahoma comes alive with color. The park consists of 40 acres with 30,000 blooming trees and shrubs and includes 635 varieties of azaleas. Last weekend, the blooming trees were at their peak and the azaleas were just starting to bloom. It was a nice, less crowded, but still pretty time to visit. This weekend the azaleas will likely be in full bloom, and there will be crowds and crowds of people enjoying the mass plantings of varying colors. We all seem to rush through life, and it's good to stop and enjoy nature. Here are my better pictures.

The Skeleton of Your Home

According to Alice Fulton and Pauline Hatch, the authors of the book It's Here Somewhere, cupboards, closets, and drawers are a home's skeleton. This skeleton reveals the true condition of a home. I have thought of this theory while mashing down the contents of drawers before shutting them! This idea does inspire me to clear some things out. Sock organizers have been particularly helpful to me. Once all the socks are neatly organized (preferably by color), as shown above, it takes no time to stuff the clean pairs in order. This is also a time saver, as I remember years ago hastily sorting through a jumbled mass every morning. Sock organizers are sold by several stores, or old shoe boxes may be used. Desk drawer organizers are a must to keep home office supplies in order.

Easter: Hope for the World

Easter to Christians is a day to remember the death of Jesus on the cross and to celebrate His resurrection. It reminds us of our salvation and our future in heaven. John 3:16 (NIV) reads: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." On the first Easter, after Jesus completed this unimaginable feat of taking on the sin of the world and dying for every person, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him (Matthew 28:18). Jesus states in John 10:28 (NIV): "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand." On our part, it is simply a gift, but it must be accepted. Receiving this precious gift makes life on earth worth living.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:21 (NIV)

Kids and Various Sporting Activities

I had a conversation once with a woman who has three kids all involved in simultaneous multiple sporting activities. While secretly being thankful I was not in her shoes, I made a mental note of her tip for keeping all these activities straight. She charted two weeks' worth of her family's schedule on a dry erase board. Each child, sporting activity, time, place, and which parent would take the child were included. She claimed it was the only way possible to not miss a sporting event.

Emerging from the Winter Season

Note: This post was inspired by my divorce and emotional healing years ago. I hope it illustrates the choice we have whether to be bitter or better. Although the choice is ours, the Lord completes the process and provides the healing. It is truly astonishing what the Lord can accomplish in us when we allow it.

It has been a long, hard winter here in Oklahoma and in many other locations. The early blooming flowers are such a welcome sight. Usually when I first notice my early bloomers, the flower beds still have the old, dead vegetation and a carpet of old leaves. Then, I have the incentive to clear them out as I do not want the new growth hindered. Also, I can view two flower beds from my kitchen windows and it is difficult to see the new flowers appearing through the old vegetation, which is also unsightly.

We all have winter periods in our lives that sometimes last months or years, but spring always comes. Particularly when emerging from hurtful situations with other people, such as a divorce, it is best to take what we can learn out of the situation and go forward without dwelling on what has transpired. It reminds me of the flower beds - embrace the new season and get rid of the dead, useless, and unsightly stuff (our negative emotions, unforgiveness, bitterness) that may hinder us. Voltaire stated "Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."

With the Lord's assistance during and emerging from a winter season is the cleanest way one can come through. By prayer and reading the Bible (I especially like the Psalms during difficult times), He will heal your hurts and wounds and clear out the unsightly stuff. While you may feel like a dead, dry, brittle flower, He will help you have the ability to bloom again.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on. . . Philippians 3:14 NIV

This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays at http://www.bloggerspirit.blogspot.com

Simplify

In the book It's Here Somewhere by Alice Fulton and Pauline Hatch, the authors discuss simplifying the home. This strategy is discarding duplicate and worn out items. For example, they believe in having one set of measuring cups, one spatula, etc. I appreciate this idea, with the exception of preferring an extra set of measuring cups and spoons while cooking and baking. When preparing more than one dish, I'm too lazy to stop, wash, and reuse.

Fulton and Hatch state that simplifying the home will reduce clutter and confusion and creates order. And, of course, the basic rule of organizing is grouping like items together. A few years ago, while cleaning out garage cabinets I found five putty knives all in different places. This is one way that being unorganized costs money and time - you either don't realize you have a certain item or can't find an item you have, so you buy another one.

Should a Woman Buy Like a Man?

An interesting article entitled "Why It Costs More to be a Woman" by M.P. Dunleavey is featured on msn.com (link is http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/dunleavey-why-it-costs-more-to-be-a-woman.aspx). This piece reported the January issue of Consumer Reports compared six different health and beauty aids that are available in his and her versions, as well as neutral and feminine concoctions. The result of this comparison is that products specifically marketed for women can cost more than 50% extra. The article further stated many insurance companies charge women higher premiums (especially women of childbearing age) and mentioned the disparity in earnings between men and women. This article sparked a host of comments relating to male/female debates, which did not interest me. Of interest were the useful postings interspersed between the heated debate comments.

I gleaned some notable tips from the comments, and the Consumer Reports blog "Marketing the Same Products to Men and Women" mentioned in the article. For instance, someone reported that a Clinique sales clerk confessed that M Lotion for Men is the same product as Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. The Dramatically Different product has been widely touted over the years as one of Clinique's best sellers. M Lotion for Men costs a little more than half than the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion!

Another posting stated a mother used men's Rogaine because the women's version cost more, but was the same chemically. Another woman bought a pair of Born shoes in the boys' department to wear with jeans. One female commenter stated men's cold weather clothes are more durable for outside chores and less expensive than women's. One post reported that Correctol laxative, which is marketed for women, has the same active ingredient as Dulcolax, although the price differential, if any, was not known. Commonly mentioned were men's razors, razor blades, and shaving gel being less expensive. Some women have the knack to shave with nothing but soap and finish unscathed. I am not one of those - my legs would appear to have been involved in a cat fight! I prefer the cheapest hair conditioner to shave with as it is the less expensive option and does not dry my skin like shaving gel.

This article provided some food for thought and I would consider some male products, as long as a manly scent is not included!