I Write When I Write But Then I Don’t!

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natashaI don’t know why keeping up with this blog is so hard. I have other blogs such as justalittlefluff.com and thankfuljoy.com. I do pretty well with justalittlefluff.com. I usually post my columns and any writing news on that blog. Thankfuljoy.com is my thankfulness blog and even though I am thankful every day for what God has given me, I have a hard time posting.

This blog is this n that. I think my problem is that I have a hard time believing anyone would be interested in what I post. So read this if you want, or don’t because I write and then I don’t. It is the don’t I am working on.

According to the dictionary Don’t is doing what should not be done. Wow, maybe I that means I should not write this blog of nonsense. How many don’ts do we have in our lives?

We are always telling our children “Don’t do that.” Don’t go there.” “Don’t talk back to me.” Don’ts are kind of like “You can’t.”

I dislike “You can’t.” The minute someone tells me I can’t I absolutely try to figure out someway to make that an “I can.”

Words like can’t and don’t seem to spur me on to do and can. Is that the way it is  with you?

The more we ban our children from something, the more they want to do it.

My cats cannot go in my laundry room and my basement. I have a screen door to keep them out. Of course, where do they want to go the most? The basement and laundry room. My office has a door to keep the cats out because they bother things. Where is their favorite place to try and break in to? My office. On the days they can get into my office, because I leave the door open when I am not in there, it is not a big deal. They investigate and leave. They are just like children. Ban a room, they want to be there. Ban a book and my kids always wanted to read it.

In fact, when my kids were growing up, I found the best way to talk my one son out of buying something I didn’t think he should have, was to tell him it was his decision. I knew he wouldn’t buy it. If I had told him he didn’t need it and couldn’t have it, he always wanted it.

So you see, I want to write and then I don’t. So maybe someone should tell me don’t and then I do when it comes to this blog.

Am I not making sense? Is this strange? Of course it is. This is a blog of my meandering thoughts, sometimes making sense and sometimes not. If you like it, keep reading, if you don’t and notice I said don’t, then don’t.

 

 

Too Much To Do, Not Enough Energy

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What to do. What not to do. It is the week before Thanksgiving. Business is booming. The grandkids visited and the house is a mess. I need to finish my columns and my speech for a future speaking engagement. The cat is coughing up hairballs and the sun is shining. I want to play hooky but the innate sense of responsibility that is built in inside of my body is taking over.

What is it about us that makes us have a hard time being over responsible? What is it about us that makes it hard to balance our lives?

I feel I have a responsibility to my customers to get things back to them in a timely manner even if it means no lunches and 14 hour days. Why does it matter that my house will be a little messy when Thanksgiving arises? Five minutes after everyone is here it is a mess again. No one except me, really cares. I have a responsibility to create this perfect Thanksgiving meal. The grandkids expect Turkey and so do I but they would eat whatever. Their main joy is getting together with uncles and aunts and cousins. It is I who put the expectation on them.

It is me, all me. I create my own stress because of this picture perfect holiday that I have in my mind. The picture perfect is fictional just like most of my book writing. It only exists in the movies, on television and from Father Knows Best.

Our lives our messy, just like my house. People get sick, people get mad, people get stressed. Inthe midst of it all we miss the smile of a little child, the purr of a cat and the rousing noise of a shared football game all because we are insistant on keeping that perfect picture in our mind. We fail miserably at letting go of that perfect picture of a joyous holiday and replacing it with the joy of living the real life of the holiday with all its messes.

If I had the solution I would give it to you. I don’t. Perhaps we need to wipe  up the hairballs, laugh at the spilled gravy and be glad we are here to experience it. Perfect is kind of boring anyway.

Why Don’t We Sit in Front? Are the Church Pews Uncomfortable?

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Column: Something About Nothing by Julie Seedorf

Church pews have been on my mind this week. The reason I have been contemplating the use of church pews is because I have been watching various church services on the Internet, including my church.

I decided to find out when church pews originated. Church pews were nonexistent in medieval times. At that time church services were held standing and the most important feature of the churches was their dome at the top.

It appears church pews came into popularity in the 1600s to the mid-1800s. During that time everything became about social structure. Pews became a feature in a church for just that reason. Church-goers were seated in the pews at worship according to social rank. The highest-ranking pews were close to the pulpit with the lowest being the furthest away.

According to articles that I read, this structure changed between 1840 and 1930. The class structure no longer was a factor.

My take on this is that pews add structure to a church service.

I myself don’t like sitting in pews. They are hard, and the back is straight. I am short so with a cushion my feet don’t touch the floor. I am always fidgeting because of the structure of the pew. Maybe that causes me to pay more attention to the service and that is a good thing.

What I noticed in watching the different services is the emptiness at the front of some of the churches. It is the age old question: Why don’t people sit in the front of the church?

I don’t sit in the front of the church. If I sat in the front row I would feel awfully silly if I was standing and everyone else was sitting and I didn’t know it. I would have to always keep looking over my shoulder wondering if I was doing the right thing. Do you suppose other people feel the same way?

Maybe it has something to do with having to walk to the front of the church and everyone is watching you while you find your place in the pew. That can’t be the reason because it doesn’t matter. Many church services are broadcast on cable TV so people see you no matter where you are sitting in the church.

I never liked sitting in the front of the classroom either. I was always afraid the teacher was going to call on me and I wouldn’t know the answer. Or it could have been I didn’t want the teacher to see me passing notes or whispering to my neighbor. Could that be the same reason that people don’t sit in front in church? Perhaps they are afraid the pastor is going to call on them during the sermon and they are not going to know the answer. Maybe we want to whisper to our neighbor during the sermon and we don’t want the pastor to see.

I wonder what would happen if we took the front pews out of church and replaced them with comfortable couches and chairs. Would people flock to the front to get a seat in the comfortable chairs?  That would be an experiment I would love to see the outcome of.

Somewhere in my investigation of pews I found that in the first years of churches and before pews people met in homes and church was more community and family. It was discussion, teaching scripture, praying with one another and sharing a meal. When the church moved into buildings the structure changed so the focus was on facing the same direction and listening to the pulpit.

When pews were first established people also could rent a pew or buy a pew for their spot in church. That doesn’t happen these days unless a pew space is put up on a church auction for a fundraiser and you buy the privileged spot where you want to sit each Sunday. However many people have their spots picked out and most people know where not to sit because you might be stealing someone’s spot.

The important thing about finding a church is not the church pews, it is finding somewhere to worship that you feel comfortable. I don’t mean comfortable chairs I am talking about a comfortable church where you feel at home. A place where you are being spiritually fed and a place where you feel you are at home with family.

As for me: I am just wondering why the front church pews are empty?

Note: You can read more columns at http://thealbertleatribune.com. If you enjoy my column you might want to read my other blogs.  My other blogs include http://www.justalittlefluff.com and http://www.thankfuljoy.com