Journey

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.

-Thomas Szasz, 1920-?

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A variety of nothing is superior

to a monotony of something.

-Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 1763-1825

Thanksgiving with family

The happiest moments of my life

have a been the few which I have

passed at home in the bosom of my family.
-Thomas Jefferson

Unfortunately this will be a very short post and not nearly long enough to make up for how long it has been since I last posted. However, in my defense (though not a good one!) I've just been terribly busy trying to wrap things up at work in preparation for the long holiday weekend. I'm sort on sleep (no surprise there, cranky, sitting on my laptop curled up under the covers in the basement of my grandparents house by the lake. Ahh, now that the preparation for the holiday is over the real fun begins - oh how I love leftovers the day after Thanksgiving! My family has a long tradition of meeting at my grandparents house for Thanksgiving - a holiday not to be missed come hell or high water! My grandmother is a wonderful cook and I'll have to detail all that later when I'm not so sleep deprived, but what makes this season truly special is family. Long dinners together and talks at the kitchen counter that outlast many consecutive pots of tea. Tomorrow my grandpa will take us sailing, we will talk for hours and stuff ourselves with leftovers - and then tomorrow night we will munch through two birthday cakes and celebrate anyone who has had a birthday since we last got together (that makes 5 birthdays tomorrow!), open presents and have a jolly time of it. I love my family.

What ever you do in the hustle and bustle of the upcoming Christmas season and in the wake of Thanksgiving with all the sales, shopping, Christmas decorating, etc. just remember what is truly important to you. All the pretty paper and fancy dishes will be gone, but the conversations, the laughs and memories will be cherished forever. So take a breath in the midst of it all to remember what you are Thankful for this year, and what the coming Christmas will mean to you and your family.

(Humm, guess this was not such a short post afterall :-) Goodnight!)

On "Quotes"

Excerpt from a comment: "I saw so many quotes from other people, it was not my cup of tea. I prefer sermons, and strait bible reading and Biblical perspectives."

Quotes are not for everyone, and anyone reading or following this blog will quickly see that I do not fall into that category of people who they are not for - I love quotes, and that is part of what this blog is dedicated to...Sharing tiny pearls of wisdom and encouragement where ever they are found. Some people enjoy discussing a particular subject in depth, such as a sermon, and others draw encouragement from simply stated truths. The entire book of Proverbs is filled with these little pearls. Sometimes it is not the length of a though that counts, but the simple truth of a phrase...the "take-home" message that will ring in your head long after a sermon is forgotten. Let us not forget that there are many wise and Godly people who we can learn from, and though they may not have their own book of the Bible, they may just have something to say to encourage fellow Christians along in their daily walk.

"The lips of the wise spread knowledge..."
-Proverbs 15:7

On Love...

Through the routine of every day life it can be easy get the in habit of a quick good morning, a good-bye kiss, and then off to work your separate days for the next 9-12 hours. After a sleepy dinner, dishes, and throwing in the wash so there will be clean clothes for tomorrow I have a tendency to fall into bed with a final thought of "I hope I set the alarm". But now and then my sweet honey will sneak in while I'm scrubbing the dishes, grab me around the waist and tickle me on the back of the deck with his whiskers while attempting to smooch me - usually resulting in a splash of dishwater on the counter and floor, followed by giggles, which if not laud enough to satisfy "honey" will lead to a tickle-war, a quick romp around the house and more dishwater sloshed onto the floor. These are the brief, spontaneous moments that make life beautiful and marriage that most wonderful relationship God has created. I love my honey so much!

I love thee,

I love but thee

With a love

that shall not die

Till the sun grows cold

And the stars grow old...

-Bayard Taylor

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.

-Mignin McLaughlin

The world has little to bestow where two fond hearts in equal love are joined.

-Anna Laetitia Barbauld

To love a person is to learn the song that is in their heart, and to sing it when they have forgotten.

-Author Unknown

The entire sum of existence is the magic of being needed by just one person.

-Putnam

There's a bliss beyond all that the minstrel has told,

When two, that are link'd in one heavenly tie,

With heart never changing, and brow never cold,

Love on thro' all ill, and love on till they die.

-Thomas Moore

Marriage is a rooted thing, a growing and flowering thing that must be tended faithfully...Daily watering with the little gratious acts we all welcome, with mutual concern for the other's contentment, with self-watchfulness here and self-forgetfulness there, brings forth ever new blossoms.

-Donald Peattie

"I don't think, however, there are many people who can stay happy for long periods of time. Joy is a temporal thing. Its brief capacity, as reference, gives it its pleasure. And so some of the magic I was feeling began to fade...Early on, I made the mistake of wanting spiritual feelings to endure and remain romantic. Like a new couple expecting to always feel in love, I operated my faith thinking God I were going to walk around smelling flowers. When this didn't happen, I became confused."

-Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

The daily grind...

The realization that yet another day has come and gone, and it is time once again to hurry-up-and-sleep before my faithful old alarm clock sounds the bell for the start of another day elicits a deep sigh - ah, work. Even the most enjoyable of jobs can be tainted by the fact that, yes, when done every day it is work. I suppose that is why we distinguish between work and hobbies - one is mandatory and the other is not. However, there is a certain satisfaction that comes when you know you've done your days work - a peace knowing that you have used your day well, been faithful in your duties, whatever they are, and earned the right to a restful night.

Wealth is certainly a most desirable thing, but poverty has its sunny side, and one of the sweet uses of adversity is the genuine satisfaction which comes from hearty work of head or hand; and to the inspiration of necessity, we owe half the wise, beautiful, and useful blessings of the world.
-Louisa May Alcott

On Life...

As this is my first blog post, it should be brimming with insightful, introspective toughts, witty comments and a bold case for taking up valuable reading time - however, that is not to be. Long before Gutenberg ever dreamed of sharing the printed word with thousands across the globe via the internet, scribes meticulously copied beautiful pages by hand, carefully dipping their pen into the ink pot and crafting each letter of a manuscript with the utmost care (unfortunately they had not invented the "backspace" key). However, should one get careless - a single splotch could ruin an entire page. This is The Ink Splotch - a space outside of carefully crafted chapters, the rogue splash of ink that does not seem to fit but was determined to be put down on paper - where lives lessons can be learned in a simple phrase, and the most simple of matters can prove to be the most complicated. These are the little splotches of wisdom and whit that brighten the ordinary of our every day lives.

Life is like a coin - you can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.

- Lillian Dickson, Missionary (1901-1983)