Ever Wonder?

Do you ever wonder about people you see out in public? I'm one of those people that loves to know everything and learn everything. And if I don't know...I'll find out. Some call it nosey, I call it my job. LOL.

When I go to Wal Mart and I'm standing in the never ending lines, if my kids aren't with me. I either play on my cell phone (check the news, email,etc.) or I just watch people. Sometimes people blend in with everyone else and than there are the people that really stand out. Either because of an outfit, a hair do, the way they carry themselves or how they interact with other people. I like to observe people and try to figure out what their story is.

A few days before Christmas I was there with my daughter. And she was being good, but like me was getting tired and hungry. We saw this beautiful well dressed lady and she just stood in line like us, patiently waiting our turns. But this woman had 3 screaming tired little boys with her. I'd say between the ages of 2 thru 7 years old. My thoughts were; are her kids always like this, so she's learned to tune them out, what kind of home life do they have, is she a happy person or just sliding by in life?

Another time, I saw this elderly lady. I'd say maybe in her late 80's shopping with no one. And I wondered if she had any family, if she spent most of her time alone and she was happy. I know just because you're at Wal Mart or elsewhere alone, doesn't mean you're a lonely person. But it's just one of many things I wonder. I also wondered if she was born and raised here. And what types of historical events had she witnessed or been a part of.

There's also this lady that I see walking down Route 42, south bound close to the Route 33 Intersection. She's not dressed well and I think she might be homeless. I feel bad for her, because her face and the way she carries herself...she just seems so lonely. I don't know if she's homeless, I don't know if she's the happiest person in the world, but she seems lonely. I wonder if she has a family, a home, a job, anything to eat. But now a days you cant just walk up to some one and start asking questions. Sadly, you also cant just walk up and offer to help out.

Every person I see, I wonder about them. I'm sure they do the same with me, especially when I'm grouchy rushing through a store(s) like a maniac. That's usually when I try not to speak to anyone, because it's better to zip my mouth than to be grouchy with others who have no clue why I'm having a bad day.

One thing I usually do is say a silent prayer for the people I'm curious about. Because I don't know their story. They might have the best life and still be unhappy and they might have a horrible life and stay close to God knowing things will get better. I would love to know everyones stories. But reality tells me that's impossible. I guess in my own mind and in my prayers for them, I can write my own story.

Merry Christmas!

In the Bible, in Luke 2. I hope you'll sit down and enjoy the story of our Savior Jesus Christ's birth. What a wonderful and miraculous event. If only for a little, let's forget about the lights, commercialism and everything else. And remember what the true meaning of Christmas is. I'm so excited about seeing my kids and nieces and nephews open their gifts, but we always make sure they know the real reason for this awesome occasion.

Praying you have a wonderful and safe Christmas!!!

It's All In The Name

So here in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia everyone's related to everyone. When dealing with out of town friends, I often hear the comment "Gosh you're related to everyone." And quite frankly, I am...we are. It doesn't matter how close of a cousin you are, we're all family. Plus everyone in my family believed in big families. So it kind of expanded from there.

Here is some but not limited to some of my family names. And these are ones based in Virginia. I have a lot of family all over the U.S. If you have any of these names, let me know.

Rhodes...Showalter...Burkholder...Smith...Joseph...Huffman...
Shipe...Arey....Reese...Liskey...Piner...Gaines...
Gladwell...Rexrode...McDorman...Dove...Turner...

If you want to know my out of state family, let me know. I'll be glad to share.

What's In A Name?

All of us have several names. I'm not just talking about our first, middle and last names...I'm talking about our other names. Like Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, etc. but you get the idea. And in today's world, we even have online names. One of mine is farmerswifederbymom. How does each name define us? I'm Mom the overprotective Lion, I'm also called the "mean" Mom sometimes, LOL. I'm the "cool" Aunt, and wife. I'm Sunday School teacher, Youth Director and my names go on. So do we bend to be the person that name defines? Or does all those titles fit under one person? I think sometimes we do bend to be one person or the other. Sometimes we cant be all those people. Sure maybe I am all those people all of the time. But when I'm with my kids...I just want to be "Mom".

It's kind of like when people say when they go home, they want to seperate their work from their home and personal life. When I'm with my husband, spending quiet time with him...I just want to be his wife.When a person is defined by their title or name, much of the time that title is well deserved. My Pastor said we can call him by his first name, last name or Pastor. He said whatever we're comfortable with. But I call him Pastor, because I feel that title is well earned and deserved. I call my Mom...."Mom" because she has definately earned that title, LOL.

So again I ask....do we bend to be the person that name defines? Or does all those titles fit under one person? I personally think it's different for each person.