Mary Pierce

TODAY’S LAUGH: My son called from Colorado yesterday on his birthday to say, “Hi Mom. I’m standing at 14,000 feet, looking over this cliff into a lake…” I said, “Cool! It sounds beautiful.” But my inner worrywart screamed, EEEEEK! You’re WHERE? Doing WHAAAAT?

And when he said, “I’ll send you pictures,” I said,  “Great! Can’t wait to see ‘em!” But what I really meant was, Oh great! As if imagining you risking life and limb for a little birthday adventure isn’t bad enough!

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: It’s a mother’s lot, isn’t it? We work so hard to give them courage. We want them to try and to fly, at the same time wanting to protect them from the risks. “Go for it” we say as our heart says, No, wait! Don’t go!

Who among us hasn’t applauded a “Watch THIS, Mom!” with her heart in her throat? “Climb every mountain,” we say, “but don’t get too close to the edge. And be sure to look both ways. Slow down. Wear your helmet. Don’t forget your sunscreen. Be sure to call when you get there.”

A mother’s job is never really done. My son the mountain goat turned 34 on that mountaintop yesterday. This wasn’t his first mountain and won’t be his last. I should be used to it, but at times it feels like the day I put him on the school bus for kindergarten.  “Go for it!” No wait, don’t go…

God gives us children to keep us on our knees, I’ve heard. And that’s where I’ll be, no matter how old they are, praying for divine intervention and deeply grateful for the delightful and terrifying privilege that is motherhood.

Happy Birthday, Catbox Boy! (Ay-yi-yi! Just what a mama wants to see!)

//// COMING NEXT MONTH: “Is it HOT in August or is it just me?” AUGUST MELTDOWN: I’ll be giving away copious quantities of When Did I Stop Being Barbie & Become Mrs. Potato Head?  and Confessions of a Prayer Wimp AND When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister?! Stay tuned…

Thanks for blessing my life. Now go bless somebody else today!

TODAY’S LAUGH: DaMama (she’s 94) sat in her room on Saturday afternoon watching a rerun of the old Lawrence Welk Show. (Mr. “A One and a Two” is one of her favorites.) I passed her door on my way back from the garage and heard Welk’s orchestra playing “Sentimental Journey.” I went in and stood in front of her. “Want to dance?” I asked.

“Oh no,” she protested, “I can’t dance anymore!” She paused a beat and then added, “Well, I guess I couldn’t dance any less either!”

“Let’s give it a whirl,” I said, taking her hands and pulling her gently to her feet. “Just sway from side to side.” She swayed. A smile touched her lips. DaMama always loved to dance. I remember her at wedding dances, on the floor with the polka, Schottische, butterfly and waltz, smiling. Always smiling as she danced.

I moved my feet and encouraged her to do the same. “Just a little step, one foot at a time.” She swayed and stepped. The smile grew wider.

I reached my left arm around her waist and, arms extended ballroom style, we moved a little more. She protested– “Whee! Not so fast!”—but didn’t stop moving. Soon we were laughing.

We laughed and danced through the song and as we danced, a still small voice whispered to my heart, Remember this.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: The time is short. I sense it. Remember this, I hear and I promise to remember.

Time is short. Make a memory today, while you can. Dance with somebody.

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“Old times” never come back and it’s just as well.  What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that’s better.  ~George E. Woodberry

A heartfelt “THANK YOU!” to those who reviewed When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister? on its blog tour. (Click the “TWISTER SIGHTINGS” link at left to check some of them out.) I am humbled and so very grateful to all!

(BTW, I update the blog every Tuesday morning and “Just Write” and other pages as the spirit moves me. Thanks so much for visiting my site! MP)

TODAY’S LAUGH: I was in a cleaning mood this week so I called a friend I knew would help me. “Quick,” she said, “pray that it will pass.” I prayed. It passed. YES! Dodged another bullet.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: My friend shared her summer motto: Whatever needs doing today can be done tomorrow. Or after Labor Day. “Why waste a beautiful afternoon scrubbing toilets?”

I’m taking her advice this week. Oh, I’ll put in the minimum hours at the desk, but then I’m off. I’ll do the minimum required around the house, but then I’m off. Heavy cleaning - the heavy lifting of life - can wait for another day.

Dust bunnies keep. Summer doesn’t. (The latter also applies to children, by the way.)

Today I’ll breathe and enjoy the blessings of the moment. What will you do on this wonderful day? Whatever it is, may you be blessed with a little time “off.”

P.S. Honk if you remember this flash from the past–I had it framed on the nursery wall–written by Ruth Hurlburt Hamilton:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.

P.P.S. A huge THANK YOU to all the bloggers who participated in last week’s When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister? blog tour for the nice reviews (check out the Book Review page). And a huge thanks to my publicist Shanon Stowe of PS Media for making it happen! You’re the best!

TODAY’S LAUGH: I have the picture around here somewhere. It’s the town band of Kingston Minnesota, posing in the early 1900’s in front of a huge American flag. My grandfather (DaPapa of DaMama) is there holding a cornet. The men are recent immigrants from Finland, gathered there in front of the flag, all dressed up in their clean white shirts, to play a concert on the American holiday they called, in their second-language English, “Forchuly.”

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Family lore says that my grandfather left Finland to avoid conscription into the Russian army. He and some of his friends there in the picture were Communists. And my grandfather was an atheist. And he loved America. He was free here to be who he was.

And here I am, the descendant of this draft-dodging, leftist atheist - leaning in the opposite direction in every way (Can you imagine the discussions we could have had!) - loving America too!

How can it be? Because this is America and we are free to be who we are here. This is America and there’s no other place on earth I’d rather live. I’m proud to be an American, and grateful to have the privilege. I’m grateful my forebears were welcome here.

This is America and this Forchuly, I’ll be singing the prayer that’s in my heart. Sing along if it’s your prayer, too.

God bless America, land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America, my home, sweet home.
God bless America, my home, sweet home.

Amen, amen… and again I say, amen! And a happy “Forchuly” to all!

(”God Bless America” written by Irving Berlin)

FINAL BIRTHDAY MONTH GIVEAWAY: This week’s free book winner is JUDY STRIGEL. CONGRATULATIONS! Check back in coming weeks for more great giveaways. Thanks to all who participated this month!

TODAY’S LAUGH: I read yet another magazine article telling me to “multitask” - that is, do two or more things at the same time. “For example, while waiting for your printer to print a 20 page report, write up your To Do List for tomorrow.” Good practical idea, I thought. Some of the other ideas weren’t so practical.

• Walk your dog with your spouse and talk about your day. (Tried it. DaHusband is not good on a leash.)

• Do mending while talking on the phone. (Wait. Do the math. Phone + needle + thread + scissors + garment + only two hands = recipe for disaster.)

• While waiting for water to boil, throw in a load of clothes. (Into the washer, not the macaroni pot. Hey! it’s another recipe for disaster!)

• When you have a doctor’s appointment, bring some reading material along to read while you wait. (HA! How much can you bring? I once waited so long at the family practice clinic, I started reading an issue of Babytalk when I got there and by the time the nurse called me in, I was into Senior Living.)

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: For me multitasking is the act of doing two or more things at the same time, while doing nothing well. Who says we have to do two or more things at once? Who says we have to be so productive, so driven every waking moment? Not me, baby! Multitasking is revolting and so am I! (Sorry.)

Join me in the anti-multitasking revolution. Give up the craziness. It’s okay to do one thing at a time. Try it:

Stop and smell the roses and RESIST the urge to pull the weeds, add fertilizer and take a soil sample while you’re there.

Hug a kid* and RESIST the urge to clean behind his ears while you’re there.

Take a break, put your feet up and RESIST the urge to give yourself a pedicure while you’re there.

What craziness will you give up today? One thing done well is better than a dozen done in haste.

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The BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY is in its final week. This week’s free book is “WINNER’S CHOICE” of one of my three books. (Enter every day if you wish via the “CONTACT MARY” link with “FREE BOOK” in the subject line. One entry per day per verified email address until Monday, June 30, 8:00 p.m. CDT. US shipping addresses only. Thanks.)

LAST WEEK’S WINNER of The Relief of Imperfection by Joan Webb is PEGGY STACHURSKI! Congratulations!

Be blessed today, my friends.

*That’s clean-eared grandson Jonathon.

P.S. For those who are interested, I talk about the Blog every Wednesday morning on Christian radio. Check out the “Mary on the Air” link.

TODAY’S LAUGH: I just read this quote from Anne Arthur: “I always have two lists: things I’m happy about and things I’m not. It’s my choice which list I focus on.”

I thought, That’s all she’s got? TWO lists? I can top that! Here are some of my lists:

Things I swore I would NEVER wear (because old people wore them, like sensible shoes) that I’m wearing now.

Things I swore I would NEVER say (because my mother said them to me) and now I say them all the time.

Things I told my kids they’d “thank me for someday” (which my mother often said to me. See above.).

Things I swore my kids would NEVER do (a list made before I had any kids) that they then did in public, usually in front of my mother-in-law.

Things that drive me crazy that I can do nothing about. Things that other people need to change.

And this huge list: Things that are wrong with the universe that would be fixed if THEY would just listen to ME! HA!

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: The lists go on: Nice people. Not-so-nice people. Grudges I’m holding. Old hurts I refuse to let go. People I’ll NEVER forgive no matter how sorry they are. Things I’ll never forgive myself for doing, no matter how much God says I’m forgiven.

UGH! Those lists get heavy after awhile. Those lists can wear us out and rob us of the joy of living. How many lists do you have? How about whittling it all down?

Today I choose to focus on ONE list: Things I can say or do - an act of kindness, a word of encouragement, an offered prayer, a simple “thank you” or a warm embrace - to make this world a little better place.

What’s on your list today?

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BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY continues: This week’s free book is The Relief of Imperfection by my friend Joan Webb. And what a relief it is!

Enter via the “CONTACT MARY” link with “RELIEF” in the subject line. (No perfect people need enter, thankyouveddymuch. )

Enter every day if you wish until 8:00 PM CDT on Monday, June 23, 2008. One entry per day per verified email address & U.S. shipping addresses only please. Thank you!

LAST WEEK’S WINNER of Six Prayers God Always Answers is Phyllis Von Ebers!
CONGRATULATIONS!

Now go be blessed and be a blessing to somebody else today!

TODAY’S LAUGH: I confessed to someone recently that sometimes (okay, often) my prayers are short and to the point, like “HELP!” This person (who is evidently a Perfect Person, which I never suspected until that very moment) said, “Humpf! That’s doesn’t seem like proper prayer to me!”

And then I heard Steve Martin in my head saying, “Well, EXCUUUUUSE me!” And then - OOPS! - I heard myself say it to her. (”Lord, deliver me from sarcasm” is also my frequent prayer, right after I hear the thunder.)

But honestly, if God hearing or answering my prayers depends on me being a perfect pray-er, then I’m in a HEAP o’ trouble! How about you?

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: If your child hollers “HELP!” what do you do? If your child says, “I’m hungry,” don’t you provide food? If your child is hurt, don’t you offer comfort?

If your child is lost and afraid, don’t you help the prodigal find the way back home?

Do our children express their needs “properly”? Rarely.

I figure if we measly, imperfect humans understand and meet the needs of our children (however awkwardly those needs are expressed), it’s logical to expect a perfect, almighty Heavenly Parent to do that - and more!

More than once, my prayers have been short. “I need you, Lord!” or even “Yikes!” God seems to know what I need because more than once - every time in fact - God has answered beyond my wildest expectations. (Has that happened to you?)

Prayer isn’t so much about the awkward and imperfect one doing the praying; it’s about the One who is listening.

May you be heard today.

THE BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTINUES: In honor of my birthday (and YOU for continuing to make my life a party) AND because God DOES hear and answer prayer, I’m offering a free copy of Six Prayers God Always Answers (Results May Vary) by Mark Herringshaw and my friend Jennifer Schuchmann. (Check out Jennifer’s website and her blog. )

Enter every day if you’d like via the CONTACT MARY link with “SIX PRAYERS” in the subject line.

Deadline for entering is Monday June 16, 2008 at 8 pm CDT. Winner will be posted on next Tuesday’s Blah Blah Blog. (One entry per day per verified email address, please, and US mailing addresses only. Thanks.)

LAST WEEK’S WINNER of Jane Rubietta’s Come Closer: NANCY MULVEY! CONGRATULATIONS!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY on Sunday to all you faithful fathers out there! (And to DaHusband: Thank you for showing up every day for the last 24 years to be “DaPapa”! We love and appreciate you!)

TODAY’S LAUGH: Ah, summer vacation. Remember the feeling? After interminable days at school, freedom’s bell rang at last and long days of swimming (that’s Megan), cloud-gazing, reading and bike riding beckoned.

And while we played, the grownups slaved away. (I didn’t appreciate that fact until I was a grownup, and the bell rang and the whining began - a dozen calls a day at the office from kids home for the summer. “I’m BOR-R-R-R-R-R-RED! There’s nothing to DOO-O-O-O…” Cloud-gazing? Reading? “Too bor-r-r-ring,” until I suggested garage cleaning.)

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Grown-ups are always slaving away, aren’t we? Just because we grew up doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a little summer time off! Here’s how to take an “UN-VACATION” that requires NO packing and (good news with the price of gas) NO traveling.

Look at your calendar for June, July & August. Find a little block of time each week - an hour or two on the weekend, or an evening - and mark it “VAC.” (What’s that you say? “Oh Miss Mary, I CAN’T do that! You just don’t understand how BUSY I am…” Hush! Repeat after me: “It is OKAY for me to take some time for myself. Really it is!” Now block the time.)

Give yourself this gift - a little time just for you. Make it your time. Spend it library cruising, hammock snoozing, beach walking or bird stalking. Recharge, rejuvenate and you’ll feel wonderful when you “come back.”

I’ve staked my claim on a couple hours of “VAC” a week, every week, all summer, to do what I want to do or to do nothing - I’ll decide which when I get there. Let me know what you decide to do.

Call me inspired or call me crazy - just don’t call me during VAC time. I won’t be picking up.

BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY continues: In honor of my birthday and YOU (for making my life a party), this week’s FREE BOOK is a perfect companion for that “un-vacation” time if you are looking to enrich your spiritual life. Come Closer: A Call to Life, Love, and Breakfast on the Beach is by my good friend Jane Rubietta.

Enter via the “CONTACT MARY” link with “COME CLOSER” in the subject line. Enter every day if you wish until 8 pm CDT, on Monday June 9, 2008. (One entry per verified email per day please & US shipping addresses only. Thanks.)

LAST WEEK’S FREE BOOK WINNER: JUDY STRIGEL. CONGRATULATIONS!

P.S.: LIBRARY NEWS: When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister? is the featured selection for the library Online Good News Book Club for the week of June 16th. (I’m honored!) Check with your local library to see if they are participating.

TODAY’S LAUGH: A friend complained about her brother the other day. “He’s miserable every moment, complaining about what ‘coulda, shoulda been’ and dreading what might come next–all at the same time! He’s just like that old TV show - ‘I Led Three Lives’!”

Now you have to be pretty old to remember that TV classic of Cold War paranoia. I do. Herb Philbrick lived the life of an advertising exec, a spy and a counter-spy all at the same time. Hence, the “three lives.”

The TV show is long gone, but some of us live as three people every day — our past self, our present self and our future self. And like my friend’s brother, all of them are miserable.

Living three lives is exhausting!

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: How many lives are you living right now? We have only this moment - this ONE moment. (And I’m glad because that’s about all I have energy for.) The past is past and we have no guarantee of tomorrow.

This one present moment is where we really live. This one moment where we can choose our attitude and our focus.

In this present moment, is there anything good, delightful, or worthy of praise? What’s joyful, uplifting, hopeful or inspiring? What’s right with your life, right now, right here?

Let the past be gone. Let the future unfold as it will. Focus on this present moment and make it the best it can be.

Breathe. Be thankful. Be blessed one day–one moment–at a time.

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BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY: To celebrate my birthday, and to thank you for making my life a party, I’m giving away a book a week the next six weeks (my own books and some other favorites).

Enter via the “CONTACT MARY” link with “FREE BOOK” in the subject line. Enter every day if you wish (one entry per day per person please). The week’s winner will be drawn on Monday night and announced in the Tuesday blog. (Deadline for entering for each week will be Monday, 8:00 pm CDT.)

TODAY’S LAUGH: On one side of my home office, I work on the serious business of writing and speaking, contracts and correspondence, bills and budgets. It’s efficient and (relatively) neat. The other side of my office is another story.

On the other side of the same office, I do art. That side of the room is a mixed media mess of paint and paper, clutter and chaos. DaHusband said as he maneuvered past the piles, “Your office is like a mullet - ‘business on one side and a party on the other’!”

He’s right. And I love it that way. The “real me” lives in this confluence of work and art and play and plans. Creativity is the over-arching theme.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Where in this world are you free to be the “real you”? We all need a space to call our own - and NOT the leftover space behind the furnace that nobody else wants. (Why is it that everyone else in the family has their own space but you, Mom?)

Claim your space. Fill it with the things you love, the things that lift your spirit.

My mullet of an office is my little corner of the world, where I connect with the One who put me here, so I can do what I’m here to do.

And this “Mickey Mouse Triple Self-Portrait” is my daily reminder. As he tries to paint his own portrait (click the pic for a closer look), he ends up drawing a picture of Walt. I want my creative efforts to reflect my Creator, too.

We all need space to connect with what’s real. Where’s yours? What’s in it? What do you find there? (I’d love to hear about it. Send me a picture and I’ll start an “Our Spaces” page. )

Claim your space in this world today, and encourage someone else to do the same. Be blessed!