You see a birthday card ... I see ...

1. I see a loving son who cares so much for his wife that he sent me a text message to remind me that Nov. 30 was his wife's birthday.

2. I see a reminder that I left my cell phone at home and couldn't call Sam on her birthday. Well that and I was fairly sure that by the time I got home, she was sufficiently entertained by her husband.

3. I see a new addiction. This is my first experience creating cards using stamps and art papers.

4. I see a lady who has a heart for the women in our church and went to the trouble of creating an opportunity for a new ministry for fellowship and outreach.

5. I see more ladies from our church who added adorning suggestions to her idea. We are now looking forward to a full year of stamping and scrapbooking.

6. I see my disappointment that the catalog that went around at our get-together didn't have stamps in it that would create a Christmas card with a strong Christian message.

7. I see my disappointment driving me to search the web for Christmas stamps that landed me here: The Stampn'Place. They have numerous Christmas stamps that are not bashful about saying "Jesus is the reason for the season."

8. I see how the search reminded me of Dr. Dobson's recent interview with Ashley Tarter in which she explains the beginning of her campaign "It's Ok Wish me Merry Christmas." She was experiencing an overwhelming sadness that her son might grow up to live in a day when the country no longer knows of the Christmas season -- that it would be completely wiped from our culture. So she, just one person, has started something that is growing more and more.

9. I see how the search reminded me of this guy that my husband loves to follow. I encourage you to join my hubby and myself in expressing Stuart Shepard's sentiments: "Merry Tossmas!" Ya'll!

10. I see how the search led me to discover "Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation." And I wonder -- How is it that the most persecuted religion in the world understands what we Christians want to deny, passively allow, and even blithely encourage in some ways: Christians are being persecuted more and more with every passing day RIGHT here IN the USA.

11. I see a reminder that my son has married a lady who will take great joy in knowing that there's all of this behind her birthday card. I know she believes, like Ashley Tarter, one person can make a difference and she doesn't mind stepping forward and she encourages others to do so also.

12. I see a challenge ... I don't have an envelope for the card. Hmmmm ... Wait ... I might !! I have these Christmas cards that I bought last year for this year ... I think this would be the season for pulling them out of storage!

Okay, I'll see ya'll later! I'm going to grab the cards and walk down to the cafe next to the post office .... etc ... Ya'll go explore the links I left you. You will be encouraged, stunned, and amazed.

Oh wait! Also! I see a black wool coat that a friend of mine really encouraged me to pick up at a thrift store for the mere cost of $6! And then she and I were out a few weeks later and we walked right into a hot pink cap that matches the color on this coat ... it cost ... are you ready? ONE Dollar!

My daughter-in-law will be so proud. She loves thrift stores and great deals.

Have fun,
Enjoy,
Pam

Pam is a Texan living on the Southern fringe of Upstate New York. She experienced something new yesterday. The ground was kissed with a dusting of snow and she just smiled and went on with business as usual. She did not frantically break to take photos. It was just a teaser of things yet to come. It was not her one and only chance for the entire winter season. Besides ... she was already running late to church.

If you thought we were losing our freedoms, how much scripture would you memorize?

Well frankly, I find The Twelve Rules of Christmas provided by the Rutherford Institute for the defense of Christmas down right inspirational.

I've been doing a little research on a few things and excuse me while I go to Biblegateway.com and track down the exact verse that's been trying to seep from the back files in my brain towards conscious awareness.

2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

2 Timothy 4:2-5

Well ... while you can,
Have fun,
Enjoy,
pam

Pam is a Texan living on the Southern Fringe of Upstate New York. She has always said, "It is entirely possible that those sitting out on the fringe have a better view of what is going on in the middle." She believes this especially applies to clusters of people.

Various people have found various ways to ask me a question that goes something like this: What about all the immorality in Second Life?

There is a running sentiment that the prevalence of a sexually charged atmosphere inside Second Life is the cause of so many problems. This is not a Second Life exclusive. People need to wake up and realize this is our real life ... this ... chaos surrounding our sexuality.

First, let me ask you: What about all the immorality in Real Life? What about all the immorality on the Internet? What about all the immorality on TV? What about all the immorality in your neighborhood? What about all the immorality in your Family and Friends? What about all the immorality in your own daily life?

People cannot handle the impact of Second Life on their morals and their behavior because they do not know how to handle the impact of Real Life on their morals and their behavior.

At the most simplistic level, the same answer I have regarding Second Life is the same as Real Life ... it is what was taught generations ago and is now lost in these days:

Be careful to

• Guard your steps - know where you are going


• Guard your eyes

Above all:

• Stay aware of your thoughts so that you can


• Guard Your Heart and Your Relationships.

Oh but if we just got rid of all the porn and all the etc etc etc.

Look it! I'm the first to admit ... I would never miss the impact of that stuff. People who know me well know that it had a hugely negative impact on a great deal of my life.

That's why I can tell you this. Moral conduct and loyalty in relationship comes from a guarded heart and mind. People love to whine out their response: But I have these feelings and I can't help myself and feelings aren't wrong.

To which I firmly, lovingly reply:

Feelings are CLUES. WARNING BELLS. It's the HELLO IS ANYBODY HOME call. Feelings tell us it's time to examine what we are thinking, doing, experiencing.

Try it. "I'm feeling angry right now because _______." If there is a shred, an inkling, a fraction of a particle of anger in you, you automatically filled in that blank. The "because" is a reason. Reasons are thoughts. And it is time to use those reasons and thoughts to figure out a way to resolve the anger. One of the most often reached conclusions: it's time to remove yourself from that situation. Why? Because we all know that keeping company with people and situations that cause anger is not healthy - mentally, spiritually, nor physically.

Ok. Now. This next scenario has been going on since the dawn of time. It is the beginning of all relationships of all kinds. Productive partnerships or friendships or romance.

Relationships begin with conversation. Great conversation will give you new ideas, laughter, an opportunity to express yourself... A great conversation is both comfort and refreshment - in short there is nothing more seductive. It will pull you away from work, away from loneliness, away from boredom.

All great conversations include the art of understanding each other. Two people begin to have conversation. They are new to each other. They want to have a decent encounter with another human being. They are not necessarily thinking of replacing another relationship with this new relationship. They just want to have a decent conversation and a decent interaction. To do this, they strive to understand each other. And being in the position of being understood is absolutely one of the most intoxicating events in a person's life.

Give a person understanding and they will produce art. Write endless tomes. Work tirelessly for your cause. On and On and On. Being understood is like a drug that pulls from a human being higher productivity or unending love and devotion. If you do not believe this, just hand out some understanding and see what happens. Or, listen and see how often you hear "but I'm not understood" coming from someone's lips--especially your own.

Okay. So. Now, let's review how many places provide men and women the opportunity to have conversation - away from home - in Real Life. The work place, schools, churches, coffee shops, counselor offices, the bus stop, the train station, the dry cleaners, the post office, the... Have you ever known two people to start conversation in one of these places? Maybe one of the couples fell in love? Maybe a few started a business? Maybe some great inspiration came to one or two of them?

Let's talk about all the different ways people have been meeting each other FIRST by encountering each other's written words. now this is where I will lose some of you. But for you and those like you, I first offer up these: Pen pals, books, pamphlets, essays, letters to the editor, etc. Then I take up with emails, Instant Messaging (or Text Messaging), forums, chat rooms, blogs, etc. Have you ever known people to fall in love while having these conversations? Decide to go into business together? Become inspired?

Okay, all the different ways people have been meeting each other FIRST by encountering each other's voices. Telephone, VoIP (skype), and I'm sure that's the really short list. Ditto the questions above.

Sooooo now. Along comes Second Life. Guess what the Main activity is. C O N V E R S A T I O N. Really. It is. I cannot describe it better than "this glorified chat room." It is quite a glorified chat room. Exceedingly glorified and fascinating.

There is no new perversion in SL. There is no new form of language - we still use written words and symbols (& sometimes our voices) to communicate. The only thing new is that now we are playing with 3D puppets that move us from place to place and forum to forum. Now we can watch the body language of two avatars as the DNA behind them ... the people behind them ... become closer and closer.

People scoff in and about Second Life and say: How can there be love between pixels ~ these cartoon characters?

People are not falling in love with pixels or cartoons. They are falling in love with the conversation and they are intoxicated on the feeling of being understood.

It is the same in Second Life as in Real Life. In this day and age, as in all the days and ages that have gone before us, we still have to decide what we will do when we feel so understood by the new person in the new relationship ... but ... the old person in the old relationship "just doesn't understand anymore."

Personally, I'd say we're looking at a wake-up call. It's time to remember that relationships go through stages. If we aren't intoxicated by the understanding we receive from the old relationship, BEFORE we abandon old friends, old business partners, and old spouses, I suggest reviewing a few thoughts:

• Are we creating opportunities for conversation?


• Are we trying to be interesting in the old relationship?


• Are we being understandable? (Please don't think "well they should just... know ... after all this time ... why should I have to explain..." Please, please tell me you are wiser than that in your thoughts.)


• Are we just simply forgetting to appreciate the easy understanding that comes from an old relationship?


• Or perhaps we are understood too well in our old relationship ... there is always a side of us that resents being "seen" too well.

There is nothing new under the sun. Still.

Ok I don't think I've posted one solitary strongly political view here. And this is more the result of some thinking I've been doing about my own way of life. The questions I keep asking myself are, "Can I be as bold as I need to be? Can one voice matter?" and other similar questions.

I only have a very few min ... so I'm going to save the yadda yadda for another post ... but there are some people who are not hiding ... there are people who are not wavering ... I want to be counted with them.

So ...

Dr. James Dobson ~ You've heard the who-ha ... now listen carefully to the man, himself.

Janet Folger ~ Has a plan I can follow ... a very simple plan that works.

Mike Huckabee ~ Ain't afraid to tell it like it is.

And I'm adding my friend Laurie because she's the one who posted re Janet and made me see exactly how easy the plan is ... and made me remember ...

Have fun,
Enjoy,
Pam

Pam is a Texan living on the Southern Fringe of Upstate New York ... surrounded by people who actually do get what she's saying in this post. The whole state ain't NYC, ya'll!

I don't usually talk about politics. It tends to make me ill. There's something much larger I would like to talk about. I want it to be a well-thought out essay.

But today I will just make a simple statement. We are no longer in the dark ages of dependence upon a few media moguls for our education. We no longer even have the luxury of thinking that we as individuals are not part of the education process as educators. We are either educating by our presence and our words or we are educating by our absence and or/our refusal to speak. The Internet has made it our game and it is time to step up to the plate and swing.

I want everyone who stops by my blog to read at least Chapter Two THree of the book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson. If you can't purchase it, find a way to stop by a book store and read the ten pages that make up Chapter Two Three. If you can't handle ten pages, then stop by and read the last two pages of Chapter Two. If the book store doesn't have it, go to the library and require them to use their extensive inter/intra library resources to acquire a copy of the book ... or buy it used. Or just order it and conserve energy.

You absolutely must do this in order to understand the real new world order and how we as human beings cannot ignore it.

Either we step up to our responsibilities and start teaching our portion of the tail ... or we get wagged by the tail. And like never ever before ... we have the power to wag the tail.
Don't believe it?

Step One: Go laugh with our troops re Kerry's statement here: A Photo of our Guys Taking full Advantage.

Step Two: Feeling a little confused about why we're in the Middle East? Can't quite find the words? I found someone saying it well for me. Rudolph Giuliani on FOX News.

Step Three: Can you think of a few friends who would feel encouraged to see the same? Or maybe one of these two things says it well for you and you'd want a friend to understand you better?

Step Four: Send the links to your friends in an email. Or send them a link to here to my blog entry.

Step Five: Do you have a blog? Blog them. Blog me. Write a comment on your own blog ... to your own circle of influence and then link over to me. Why? One: It increases the topics interest to search engines. Two: The principle of third party validation. (It's the reason speakers quote famous dead guys or other leaders.) Three: Adds momentum to the message ... it's buzzy.

After you enjoy spreading the message and the power around to your circle, GO read Chapter Two Three of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson.

I'll do the essay ... probably bit by bit ... right here. But you won't be able to talk to me about it unless you read those two pages because without those two pages it's possible you just won't get it.

|

One day Someone decided Someone wanted fresh milk. Someone bought the cow. Someone bought hay for the cow.

Someone fed the cow. Someone watched the cow chew and chew and chew ... the grass ... the cud ... the grass ... the cud ... Someone got impatient. Someone left the cow standing in the field. Someone Else got the milk.

I feel like the cow and the Someone Else.

Just when I could start to feel a project begin to come together and make sense ... Someone got impatient ... left me standing in the field. But I am also the Someone Else because the project pieces are turning into milk for me.