“Come On Toast”

It started with my mother Donna, my father Roy and Aunt Lil (my Uncle Joe had passed) sitting around the kitchen table talking.  They were telling me the story of when they took Aunt Lil camping for the first time.  Listening to the three of them telling the same story was hysterical.  Aunt Lil would start a sentence my mother would finish it.  My father would start Aunt Lil would finish.  My mother said they had borrowed a slide-in camper for the back of dad’s pickup truck from their friend Charlie.  They decided to drive to North Carolina to visit Aunt Lil and Uncle Joe’s daughter.  One of their stops on the way down happened to be at the North Carolina Visitor’s Center.  They were not staying long and had no hook-ups.  It was still early in the morning so they decided to make coffee and toast for breakfast.  Uncle Joe and dad were checking things on the outside while mother and Aunt Lil were doing things inside the camper.  Dad and Uncle Joe came in and asked Aunt Lil what she was making.  Aunt Lil said, “Toast!”  Dad was rubbing his hands together vigorously in anticipation and said, “Come on Toast!”  After several minutes had passed and no toast popped up they all looked at each other and starting laughing uncontrollably. Realizing no electricity, no TOAST!  

With the blessings and challenges of family, business, and life I try to hold on to these special moments, keepsakes and gifts;

 for when I am waiting for something and nothing happens I can still smile and say

“Come on TOAST!”  

Beautiful Thing

My grandson Zac loves all things related to big trucks.  Trucks like big dump trucks, dirt diggers, loaders, cranes, and tractors.  He would see them on our travels and point them out before we could.  He loved watching them work on roads, freeways, ditches and construction sites.  The bigger the truck or digger, the bigger the smile.

One day on our way home from the airport after picking up our son, Zac was very excited.  He could not wait to tell his uncle about what he saw on the way to the airport.  As we passed the sited that contained what seemed like hundreds of big yellow trucks, diggers, loaders, etc., Zac and his uncle (a heavy equipment operator) just looked wide eyed and amazed.  Finally after we passed Zac took in a long deep breath and slowly said,

“Isn’t that a Beautiful Thing?”

How true it is to find beauty in the most unusual places.  We are blessed with beauty everywhere.  May we look past the unpleasant that may be in front of us and see the ‘Beautiful Thing’ beyond?

Two Bottoms

My niece told me this wonderful story of her daughter.

One day growing three year old Breanna was having lunch.  Her mommy made her a peanut butter sandwich.  Hungrily eating the sandwich she asked for another.  Asking for a third sandwich, mommy thought that Breanna had enough bread knowing she had some earlier that morning.  So mommy made Breanna the next sandwich with just one piece of bread on the bottom and told her that there were only bottoms of bread left and no more tops.  Her tummy still not satisfied, Breanna asked,

“Can I have Two Bottoms?”

Isn’t it wonderful to see a situation another way?  Little Breanna was not detoured by the lack of no top bread, she was told of a problem and she stated a solution.

May we look for the positive options in our times of lacking and short coming?

Half Finnish

My grandfather was from Finland and two distinct things I remember were his love for dark strong coffee and fresh baked bread. In my youth I would watch my mother drink only one cup of coffee in the morning. It was funny watching her add more milk than coffee and wondered about the difference between her and her father.  Mother did love fresh baked bread but did not have the same enthusiasm to coffee.  I asked her why she drank coffee if she really did not like it. She claimed that the Fin love their coffee, then she simply replied “But I am only Half Finnish!” pause, “but the Lord is still working on me.”

Myself, I have never acquired the taste for coffee; it must be because I am only a Quarter Finnish! This makes me smile and reminds me when I have many tasks and things left undone I remember my mother’s words, “The Lord is still working on me.” This helps me to continue working on what is before me.