Why I like Garrison Keillor

I like Garrison Keillor. Yes, I do, and I always vote Republican. It's a contradiction, I know, but I did have a very liberal artist friend who always told me that I really was a Libertarian. It made him feel better to say that because he liked me.

And I like Garrison Keillor.

He is coming to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on June 4th, 2016 with his Prairie Home Companion show.  I saw that show in Brevard, NC last year and I would spend twice the amount this year for the tickets at Fox. Why? Because Garrison Keillor is funny. And I need funny right about now, and I guess I needed it back last year in Brevard. The show was top notch in music, humor and entertainment.

I think he is also on the other side of 'so vain no one can stand you'. He took himself seriously with a grain of salt coming up as a writer, and I like that. As intelligent and serious as we want to be, there is always a time when your zipper is down, and I think he knows that.

Also, the liberal author, humorist, entertainer seems to have a soft spot for God - or at least hymns that point to God. How surprised and delighted I was to hear, a cappello - a voice in intermission rise up from the side of the seated area singing old hymns, and as it increased in strength, it was a thrill to see the liberal bard himself coming in from the sidelines singing and leading the audience in traditional old time hymns. I don't think he is much of a hypocrite, not any more than the rest of us, and so I think he may actually believe in at least some of what he sang.

Looking at my bedside table at The Keillor Reader, I remember fondly what I have read so far in this book, and in earlier ones - Lake Wobegon books where I laughed my way all the way through. And so, I like Garrison Keillor, even though he likes environmentalists and Democrats.  I think he is funny.

Prairie Home Companion

What Easter Means to Me

Pepere and Memere Chabot,  Pepere and Memere Bosse, and my Mom, Annette Chabot Bosse

Easter - He is risen!

...and I think about what His sacrifice means in my life, that the people I have loved and are gone are not gone forever. I remember when I gave my heart to God at age 16, I knew that I knew that I knew He was real. And although the years have found me in and out of close fellowship with Him and in and out of close fellowship with others, I know that I know that I know that life has purpose and it leads to an everlasting one, because of this very day.

Pearl and Terriell Price, my in laws


…2"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. JOHN 14:2-3

MAN ON THE CROSS - song

Trump not - Importance

It is March 4th, 2016, a day after a Republican Presidential nominee debate and a day after Mitt Romney came out against Donald Trump, and I am irritated, enough to write this. It's not so much about Mitt Romney, who lost the election he ran in with a milquetoast stance, nor is it about Donald Trump, who I do not like, but this blog post is about how these candidates and the news agencies that report their antics rob you of your life. They do!

First - I know no one reads my blog except a few friends I love and appreciate so much. But I have to say this! I voted for Ben Carson in the Georgia primaries. I believe in voting your conscience in the primaries, and I did. Now it's on to the finish line. I will decide who to vote for at the election and I will vote the best of the pick in my opinion. But there is a lot of time between now, March 4, 2016 and election day, November 6, 2016.

And so brothers and sisters who have families and love them and have jobs and work them and who go to church and serve there - what will you be doing between now and election day?? I say, forget it!
 Live your life. Love your family. Go to church, play your sports, take care of your elderly parents. Keep your eyes on your life and living it as you should - then when election time comes, vote.

Don't give the news stations your time, distracting you from your life. I'm listening to Fox News in the background as I write this as another family member listens and I know that the words coming from that broadcast are distracting the listener from their life and the only winner is the station that has the viewer captive.

So - whether you are a Democrat or a Republican - please consider this: Please read 2 Kings 23:1-25

I read this scripture this morning in my devotions. I was shocked - very shocked to find that after King Josiah did so much to do what was right when he came to rule, even so he died fairly quick, and at the hand of his enemy. It did not seem fair! I did not like reading that - and then I read the footnotes and this is where I want to ask readers to think about their lives in contrast to or in consideration of their current life and culture.

"Though Josiah was himself righteous (v.25), it was not enough to turn away God's wrath from the nation that had done such evil...."

I'm saying this - don't waste your life on the time between March and the election in November 2016, listening to media. Live your life as if an election was not in the future. Love your kids, your wife, your friends, your parents.  Work your job, play your sports. Worship in church and at home. Live your life and vote in November.

A Certain View of Savannah, Georgia

This past weekend, February 20, 21 - my husband and I went to Savannah to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Of course I took some of that time to shoot some photos - I hope you enjoy!

Bonadventure Cemetery - (link at bottom of page)

Do you see the face?

Confederate Grave

We drove out to Tybee Island -

And of course watched ships go by on the Savannah River

Until it was time to call it a night.

Link to Bonadventure Cemetery - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonaventure_Cemetery

Georgia - What I Like Best

I moved to Georgia from Florida in 2014. Traveled from the Florida Panhandle through Milton, Florida,  then up Interstate 65 to Montgomery Alabama to Interstate 85 into Metro Atlanta -  to I75 to I575 - to Woodstock, Georgia - and,  I never looked back.  I  love Georgia.

What do I like about Georgia? I love the seasons. Driving the same county road through the year and seeing the leaves coming out in spring and then the full green explosion on those same trees in summer is like a gallery opening every time!

In the fall the leaves begin their slow exit, and suddenly, after a day of full blown wind, you have barren limbs showing the same roads you have been driving all this time yet suddenly you see barns and pastures you never saw before. It's like living your same life with a daily surprise.

I like Georgia because they like their sports, and they celebrate that.

I like Georgia because their State Park system is excellent. Whether you camp, kayak, hike, like to camp in cabins or tents, fish - the State of Georgia has a wonderful state park organization. I even walked a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. In my area, the biking trails are absolutely fabulous - well maintained and safe.

I like Georgia because they fly fish and I want to learn.

I like Georgia because they like their churches, and are not ashamed to attend every Sunday.

But most of all, I like Georgia because my children live here.

So anyway, this is my blog post today - appreciating Georgia and that I live here!

Georgia State Parks - LINK

Georgia Biking Trails - LINK

Georgia Scenic Driving - LINKS

Facebook. Conditionally.

I have gone back and forth and up and down and all around about Facebook in the last 6 months. Deactivated it numerous times. Deactivated others. Said too much. Said nothing. I'm still trying to work out the kinks of using Facebook in a positive way and working the kinks out of not seeing posts that aggravate me. It is a blessing to me so many times to see posts by people I love about their journey in life, but it is not a blessing to read thinly veiled criticisms or ones posted to cause others sadness or grief. Since this is a blog post resulting from reading a post I perceived as such on Facebook, BEWARE! You may not like what you read. I like having a blog because I can write to my hearts content and you can CHOOSE whether you read it or not.

Facebook. Fast communication. Instant, efficient, a platform for quotes, insights, backhanded scoldings and...mostly unaccountable. Rarely researched. Usually accepted as true, yet many times it can be proven upon deeper reflection, flawed.

A recent post I read on Facebook gave me pause - a comment that love provided to the person "without conditions and expectations" was "the spirit of what Christianity was all about". That statement has prompted these following statements as my way of wading through them in an effort to gain clarity if they are essentially true.

Christianity was about Christ, the son of God. Christ came as a child  - divinity humbling himself to be confined in flesh. Immortality to be made mortal. The condition of the process of redemption. As Christians we acknowledge Easter as a time of celebration for the end result (resurrection) from the submission of Jesus to conditions put upon him regarding his time on earth.

Marriage. We expect fidelity. A condition of marriage vows is to love and honor and keep oneself only for the other. Do people fail in this? Yes. Are they forgiven sometimes? Yes. But that does not mean that to truly love the other person you don't put expectations on their behavior nor does it mean there are not consequences when those expectations/conditions are not met, even violated.

The "unconditional love of God". People sling that phrase around so easily sometimes that I wonder if they are confusing God's love with their own will. God loves therefore I can do whatever I want. If that is the case, then there are no standards and conditions in life and I believe there are. And when they are violated, are there consequences? If the violation is acknowledged, then the forgiveness is always there, in the love of God. So maybe it is more true to say that God loves always and forgives you unconditionally when you ask to be.

Words are tricky. You may mean one thing and choose an inappropriate one in which to convey that thought which results in people misunderstanding what you are trying to say in these formats. That happens all the time in Facebook, Twitter, Text and Email. I understand that. I acknowledge I could have done that in the post that prompted this writing. So be careful when we are sure we have something to say to others we are appreciating and to the ones we are attempting to correct through the long arm of social media.

Haiti Angst and Go Forward, Please!

I see posts on social media from Haitians saying they do not stand in solidarity with France from the recent terrorist attacks because of the real and documented atrocities from France against Haitians in their past history.  I can't say I don't sympathize with the Haitian resentment, who wouldn't feel resentment against an oppressor - BUT -  France did not kill Jean Dominique - Haitians did. Nor did France employ mind control over every administration of Haitian government since independence. I suggest for Haitian's who want to help their country in a real way,  that dedication to education for the masses, a blind eye to degrees of color, and building a strong infrastructure be main priorities - and - without a victim mentality doing so. You can't change the past but you can work to a better future.