2009-06-21 Driving on Empty

Today is Father’s Day and there was a carry-in dinner at the church. I got a good recipe for Cream Cheese/Cool Whip Pie with fresh Strawberries. Yum! Yum!

After I returned home I decided to drive some back roads with the pick-up and photograph any old barns I might encounter. I changed into a blouse & slacks and drove East out of town. My plan was to drive parallel to 54 Hwy to Nevada, Mo and buy gas once I got there. Soon, however, I came to a T in the road and since I didn’t want to drive on the paved highway, I chose to take the road away from the highway. It was a while before I was able to turn in the right direction. After a bit, I had to make another turn. I was in unfamiliar territory, but I felt I was traveling in the right direction. How I wished for a map. At least I was on a paved road which indicated it was “K” highway, but I wondered if indeed I was going in the right direction. Why, I could be traveling South toward Pittsburg, but there was no indicator where I was, except for the sign that proclaimed “K”.

The engine sounded a warning ping, letting me know it was low on gas. “Oh dear!” If I ran out of gas, I guess I could call 911 on my cell if need be. I had just gotten a new phone and did not have the numbers I needed stored in it. I sure felt foolish at the position I had let myself get into. I resolved to not tell anyone of this situation. I could stop at a farm house and ask for help, but most places looked as though the residents were gone. I couldn’t help but think of the weird circumstances I would encounter if I chose the wrong place. Then, I determined that if someone was mowing their yard, weeding the garden or whatever…I would stop and ask them without getting out of my vehicle, but I saw no one!

I turned off this main road thinking I had gone far enough and I wasn’t headed East after all. I only knew I needed to get to a town soon. I carefully watched the gas gauge as it crept ever closer to the empty mark. After a couple of miles, I found myself at a highway. It turned out to be the highway I needed. I breathed a prayer of relief and am so glad the God watched over me.

Clay Balls

Clay Balls
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could....
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock . Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.
Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.
We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person..
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you.. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.
APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE
THING YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!
LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW!
Pass this on to another Clay Ball!!!

Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to MOVE your Feet!


Author unknown

It Was a Mulberry Tree

It Was a Mulberry Tree

I’ve spent most of this morning down loading and printing directions for a Basset dog in Pastels, that is the current dog we’re working on. I don’t like the looks of their big saggy eyes. There’s more to come on it as it’s the current work.

I also downloaded (complete) the directions to do a Chihuahua, I don’t care for their looks either, but will try to do a pastel of it and see how it turns out.

I went out to the garage to see what I could use for a Mahl Stick,
http://lindateachesart.typepad.com/linda_teaches_art/2005/12/mahl_stick_make.html
which is a stick I would use to rest my hand on while painting, in the midst of some work or other, so as to not smear what is already there.

Well, I got side tracked as usual! LOL I saw the pruners and found some gloves, no spiders lurked inside, and proceeded to cut down what I had thought was a Rose of Sharon, but discovered it is a Mulberry tree. I hacked it down. The trunk is about 3 inches in diameter, so I left most of it for someone else. I piled the branches up and figure I’ll direct my yard man to put them into the back of the pick-up. Whew! The temp is 82° and I seriously needed to catch my breath.

Oh yeah! My mission…I almost forgot. The mahl stick. I found a yard stick in a square shape, but soon discovered a long handled windshield scrubber. Just about the right length to use for a mahl stick and I think I won’t even have to discard the scrubber part.

Now, back inside to rest and cool off. I poured a glass of ice tea, but it has a little wrong taste to it. I’m not liking the flavor. It’s the second time I’ve had to pour out a whole pitcher of tea. Yesterday, I rinsed the jug out with bleach water, confident the next batch of tea would taste better, but it doesn’t. I wonder if I should just throw the tea bags away or use a new pitcher? Darn it!!! I want some GOOD tea!