Teresa's Ponderings

We hear preachers preach on it all the time. The countless sermon illustrations demonstrating the legacy someone has left behind are almost too numerous to count, but there is a reason these stories are told so often; we all need an example to follow. Recently, Curt and I have been going through our "stuff." Everyone has stuff, some of us more than others, but our stuff has gotten to the point that it has taken over our lives. The last two moves have made it impossible to have stuff and utilize the limited living space we have. In other words, goodbye stuff. We have no basement for storage, so everything has been piled into our garage. Boxes, tubs and shelving units, all full of items we thought we needed. It seemed to be an insurmountable task, but I was ready to take it on. In hindsight, I wasn't quite prepared emotionally for what was before me. When my dad died, we were faced with cleaning out his apartment in a short amount of time. It was a time of healing f

The day: Memorial Day, 1995 The time: Mid Morning The weather: Sunny The place: The family farm It was a gorgeous morning. I had been dating this guy for about a year and a half and he wanted to go fishing and ride four wheelers on his day off. Who was I to decline an invitation of fun? He set up a tent in my uncle's yard, I slept at my folk's house and we made plans for an early morning rendezvous with the ponds.  It had been a very wet spring, (upon reflection, what spring isn't?) and there were some major issues with our normal trails. We'd been told which areas of the farm to avoid and off we went. Flying down the dirt lane, across the creek and into an alfalfa field.  I tend to be a touch competitive and so I gunned my four wheeler to get across the field ahead of my guy and had just gotten to the lane when I realized my four wheeler was caught in between some very large ruts left by the tractors. I couldn't steer my way out so I pressed o

Recently we had the opportunity to attend church somewhere other than our own. This doesn't happen very often, but when it does Curt is as giddy as a school girl. He loves getting to visit places and see what all they are doing. He loves to hear different preachers, he loves to see the facilities, he loves meeting new people, and he loves just seeing how different types of services flow. Me? Shockingly, not so much, but I love Curt. Therefore whenever we find ourselves with a "free" Sunday, I begrudgingly take his extended hand and walk into the depths of the unknown. It has taken me years of preparation to be able to attend a church I do not know without fear, anxiety & self consciousness. Years. No exaggeration. So, this particular Sunday we drove towards the church of Curt's choice to attend their morning worship service. Curt had done his research and knew the size of the congregation, the style of music, and the time of their services. He was excited to v