The Live Encounter

Who doesn’t love Christmas lights? Part of the holiday tradition involves admiring the lights while driving through town. There are a couple of amazing displays in our area. One of them, located in a nearby town, is huge. It probably takes weeks to set up, and includes traffic directors, communication gadgets, and even a port-a-potty. You can imagine the amount of work involved in decorating that property. It’s an incredible sight, but a different Christmas light display grabbed my attention this year.

The display engulfs a modest house that sits several yards from the edge of a busy road. When I first saw the house in the evening, it looked like every part of the property glowed with bright blue lights. As I drove past the house, all of the colors switched from white, then to another color. Imagine a whole property full of colored light flashing as you pass by. The intensity of the light against the darkness made me nervous. I felt like there were silent bombs exploding alongside the road. I wonder what their neighbors think about living next door to silent light bombs. Once the holiday season starts, there’s no telling what your neighbors will do. Don’t we all need a special kind of humor to get through the month? Have a look:   

                                              http://youtu.be/5Az3BmTkhAA

Anyone who lives next door to a light show needs that decoration. I appreciate the big light displays, but I bet many of us would vote for simplicity. What if we picked from an upbeat collection of Christmas words to decorate our homes? What word would you choose?       

Living a Life Without…

“I can’t live without books!” I heard someone say that last week. Raise your hand if you agree, or maybe you’d call that an overreaction if you compare books to items like food, clothing, and shelter. Actually lots of people love books. I know someone who used to fall asleep at night surrounded by them, and I know another person who buys twenty second-hand books at a time, reads them, and then heads back to the store for more. Maybe books are life-sustaining.

Here’s a lady who found more than a few things she could live without:

                                          http://youtu.be/lDbrUk2xYBo

Your heart rate must be slower after all of that tranquility. See how peaceful it feels living in an uncluttered environment? And did you see the collection of books? I’m sure they’re book lovers, too.

Mrs. Lorence only kept the items she considered basic necessities, but I don’t see us giving up most of the things she dumped. She eliminated electricity, so there’s no refrigerator, which also means no ice cream. That’s where I draw the line. Count me out!

What about you? What can’t you live without?         

Deal of the Month

I might buy a house with coupons—okay, not really, but this is the season for coupon overflow. During the last month, I probably received fifty to one hundred coupons via email, not to mention the onslaught that weighed down the daily newspaper. A few weeks ago I’m convinced there were more coupons than news. Oh, I’m not complaining. I love coupons! Here’s one of my great deals: I found a nice, winter jacket for twelve dollars that retailed for ten times that price. Can a good car coupon be far behind? Retailers, keep the deals coming so we can enjoy the after Christmas sales. Check out other shoppers who appreciate a good buy:

                                              http://youtu.be/vfhVnyz0dPo

I doubt we’ll see a web shutdown for anything other than electronics in this country, but stranger things have happened. I bet you’ve found a few spectacular offers over the past several weeks, so what is this season’s best deal?

  

The Dirty Truth

What do I dislike about housework? I’d say it’s the repetition. If the kitchen looks clean and the floor sparkles, turn your back to clean something else and within moments you’ll have a water-plashed sink and crumb-covered floors.  We should put a moratorium on our house. I’ll clean it from top to bottom and we’ll live elsewhere for several days. If you see the trees draped with yellow caution tape and a sign stuck to the front door that says: Just Cleaned! – Do Not Enter,  you’ll know what happened.

Not long ago my dear child watched as I emptied the dishwasher for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. My heart-warming moment came when I heard the precious words every mother longs to hear. I translated it as, “Mom, you’re so wonderful and I’m so grateful for all the hard work you do in our home.” In fact, the actual words were, “I feel bad for you.” I’ll accept that. Face it, we love to put our own spin on situations. Look at what happened in Texas:

                                       http://youtu.be/emPPKjyU_NI

The sign hackers thought their prank was funny, but local officials saw it as a public hazard.  It’s amazing how people can experience identical circumstances and arrive at totally different conclusions. For instance, consider the anchorwoman who responded on air to an email that criticized her appearance. When viewers commented, one person applauded
(yes!) the anchorwoman’s response, while another person called it “whiny.” What surprising comments have you heard in response to seemingly harmless statements or situations?