Last evening Raun posted this song on his FB page as his new theme song. I googled the lyrics. I’ve now watched the video multiple times while reading the words – for anyone who knows the journey of those who are fighting to free themselves from such a relationship, this is more than a theme song. This is a declaration of freedom, of health and of determination.  We’ve all LANDED!

“Landed”

We’d hit the bottom,
I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I’m just now finding out
What it was all about

Moved to the west coast away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still, I was still in love

Till I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it’s bye-bye, goodbye, I tried
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
I’ve been flying high all night
So come pick me up…I’ve landed

The daily dramas she made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me and talk me back down
Until I believed I was the crazy one,
and in a way
I guess I was…

But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it’s bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading a sea of a troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried

If you wrote me off I’d understand it
Because I’ve been on some other planet
So come pick me up…
I’ve landed

And you will be so
happy to know
I’ve come alone,
it’s over

But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it’s by my goodbye I tried
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It’s OK to call
Now I’ll answer for myself

Come pick me up,
…I’ve landed

This past September I felt it was time for some new challenges, new direction, new focus. After much thought, two concepts came to life. The first was to create a blog for kids. A daily collection of Proverbs, written on a level that nine and ten year-olds could read and six and seven year-olds could understand. Last weekend the first post was made to Proverbs for Kids. We were right, kids can read it, younger kids can understand it. Even better – adults are loving it!  www.proverbs4kids.wordpress.com

The second concept, which carries as much excitement for me as Proverbs4Kids does, is Sunday School Theology 101. I have  begun to realize how important – and priceless – the hours were that I spent as a kid in Sunday School. The Old Testament Bible stories that I heard, the lessons learned, and the heroes created, have been stories that have stuck with me through the years. As I  share these stories with new friends, I have also come to realize that those who missed such training in their childhood, have missed a huge part of understanding who God is.  Thus the challenge; to start at Genesis and tell the Old Testament stories that have made such an impact on my life. Bible Stories for Adults, based on Sunday School Theology (no big words!). SST101 will launch next week with the first story found in the book of Genesis – In the beginning…GOD.  www.sst101.wordpress.com

At first, thought this blog was coming to an end…BUT I know that when one begins a new challenge, new discoveries are always right around the corner…I expect I will want to report what I find around those corners!

Buttery Soft Pretzels  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=24272&origin=detail&&Servings=12 Be prepared, one batch will never make it. The first batch has a habit of disappearing before the second batch makes it out of the oven.

Pretzels don’t have to be made in the traditional pretzel shapes. Kids love to create their own shapes. We’ve eaten squares, butterflies, triangles and snakes. If you want the traditional knot, it’s trickier than you may think. There again, it’s helpful to have kids helping cause they seem to figure it out faster than the baker!

Regular store-bought pretzels dipped in a variety of mustard is a great accompaniment to your beer tasting table. Yes, beer tasting table. A verity of German beers and small tasting cups creates a great way for future friends to meet.

2011 Menu

• Brats covered with onions and peppers
• Warm German Potato Salad
• Apple Caraway Sauerkraut with Sausage

These are our traditional dishes. Dessert always incorporates chocolate. I always looking for new recipes to try. Allrecipes.com has a great collection this year:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/holidays-and-events/events-and-gatherings/oktoberfest/main.aspx

aufstöin (v.): to donate a beer.

Batzerl (n.):  small amount of something.

biddscheen (n.):  please, can also mean “here you are” when someone is giving or serving something.

Brezn (n.):  Bavarian pretzel. Aesthetically twined string of dough, baked to a pastry. At the Oktoberfest, the giant “Riesnbrezn” are especially beloved.

daessn (v.):  to eat up

Deandl, Dirndl (n.):  girl. The second term can also be used for a traditional Bavarian livery.

Fingahackln (n.):  Bavarian sport. Two men hook their middle fingers and try to pull the opponent over the table. Popular activity at the Oktoberfest.

Goaßmaß (n.):  Mixture of Coke, beer and cherry liqueur; has in fact nothing to do with Oktoberfest, something the Bavarians also vociferously verbalise: “Wos is’n des füra Schmarrn? Des arme Bier!” (What is that for an idiocy? Poor beer!)

Hoggableiba (n.):  repeater, guest who doesn’t want to go home. Proverb: “Do hogga di do, di do oiwa do hogga.” (There they sit, who always sit there).

Noagerlzuzla (n.):  person who drinks the last remainders from abandoned glasses, also used as a cuss.

ogschdocha (adj.):  tipsy.

Schuaplattler (n.):  Bavarian group dance for men, where you clap your hands on the thighs and the shanks.

zwieda (adj.):  bad tempered, ill-humoured.

Feel free to use all your new terms in sentence!

For a complete listing of terms:  http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/lexikon/

Oktoberfest terminoligy

Saturday the 8th, also marks the last day of Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday that celebrates the atonement for sins. It actually marks the day God forgave the Israelites for worshiping a golden cafe while Moses was up on the mountain getting the 10 commandments. Isn’t that an image? God/Moses vs. People and a cow. There are times I find it difficult to see humans as the intelligent species.  Yom Kippur is to be a day of fasting. Fasting vs. brats, pretzels and beer? There can be challenges when one tries to merge traditions from a German, Jewish and Scottish heritage. This year Oktoberfest will be celebrated and Yom Kippur will be remembered.

The invitations have been sent, menu planned, recipes collected. Each year we try to incorporate a new aspect, this year the addition is Lederhosen…oi, we’ll see how that goes. So the count down begins, 19 days to prepare.

Check out the History of Oktoberfest:    http://www.ofest.com/history.html

My son had a choice nine months ago to take the easy road. He could have taken one child and ran, but instead he stayed to fight for four. Just this week I found myself saying, “God, please make his road easy.” Then I heard that voice…”Jeannie, why would you want his road to be easy? He didn’t choose the easy one!” He didn’t choose what was easy and as a result, there is going to be struggles. He took the tough road.

If you have started your own business; you’ve taken the tough road.
If you are attempting to break out of a difficult relations – tough road.
If you are determined to free yourself from an addiction – tough road.
If you’re trying to climb out from under piling debt – tough road.

The tough road has many exits, unlike the easy road; who wants to exit that one? For those who have chosen the tough road, I pray that your load is manageable and that you have the strength, endurance, and determination to make it to the end. May you only turn off to rest and never to exit. Tonight I salute those who have decided to take the tough road.

Our world is full of experts who don’t know nothin’. This doesn’t prevent them from shouting their non-expertise from the rooftops. There are a handful of individuals who truly are experts, we don’t hear about them much – they have no need to shout.

I wonder if there is a course offered to the true experts on dealing with the experts who don’t know nothin’. I envision the textbook being very large to compensate for the lack of pages. There’s not much to say on the subject besides simple concepts such as:

1. Don’t bother
2. It’s a waste of your time.
3. They won’t listen anyway.
4. You have more important things to do.
5. Just keep learning, they’ll figure it out someday.

I want to be a true expert. I want to know what I believe about life. And when I don’t, I want the guts to be able to say, “Don’t know about that yet, so I can’t comment.” I want to be so confident in what I know that I stop getting angry when I hear the experts who don’t know nothin’ shouting. I guess I need to take the course on dealing with the experts who don’t know nothin’. After all, most of what they say is non-sense; and as a wise old man once told me, “You can’t make sense of non-sense!”

I am wondering, would you use you?

If it’s right, it’s right!

www.jjunctions.wordpress.com

Living in fear of what is ahead, or what others may think or what might happen, affects the way we make decisions, even the smallest ones. Watching someone move from being fearful to being fearless is like watching some amazing event in nature unfold before you.

It not only impacts decision-making, it changes conversations, attitudes, level of happiness, and energy levels. Living free of fear draws other in, its like a magnet (unlike the maggots that fear creates).

I don’t think there’s a formula for becoming free for fear. If I had it, I would be writing a book not a blog. I do know it’s worth searching for it. It’s worth making the decision to become free. It’s worth taking step toward the goal. I highly recommending hanging out with others that are free…cause it’s a sight to behold.

From the beginning Raun has been my laughter. He has also been so far ahead of me that it’s almost impossible to keep up. He learned to walk on his tip toes, never a good sign. He couldn’t hold still for a moment – something always had to be moving. He was the teacher’s helper in pre-school because he could put all the puzzles together by the age of 2 , while carrying on a conversation. He scored a 150 on the IQ test given to him in kindergarten. He was reading John Gresham when he was in 5^th grade.

The aliens came and took him away as they do with most teens, but he was safely returned when he was 20.  It took awhile for him to decide to go to college,  when he did, he effortlessly made the Deans List all 4 years.

He stepped into a situation that most would have run from and in doing so, he learned about himself and how to get free. He defines what being a dad is. He is “My son in whom I am well pleased!” …and he still keeps me laughing.

Raun’s story: http://hereshoping471.wordpress.com