15 minutes to live Day 1 #Trust30

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Am I in the middle of a Dr Who episode? I keep thinking any moment the Taurus will drop in and the Doctor will swoop me out of here. Alas, no rescue in sight. 

There is only the beeping of this machine and pounding of my heart. 

They don’t think I know what is happening. The truth is I do, and even if I could speak, I might not stop them. 

But, then who wants to hear the truth? 

Doctor: “I’m sorry. There is nothing else we can do for you.”

Patient: “As a result of the last tests. What do we do next?”

Doctor: says nothing.

Patient: “I’ll try the research hospital next.” 

If I had been confident of the road I was on, maybe I would have reached the top. If I had gathered every little blessing along the way, I would have been rich.  If I had lived every moment, I wouldn’t be afraid of what is around the bend in the road. If I had loved, someone would be here to fight for me.

Doctor: I’m sorry, there is nothing else we can do. 
The last drip slipped into the IV.
 Except for the echo of my heart, the room was silent. 

My Gray Pony

This weekend we laid to rest a long time family friend. She was a dear, sweet lady. I was asked to take part in the Eastern Star funeral service as the President. 

I was the first to speak from a written program to tell the story of my gray pony. When I was a very young child, the Pursley’s ran and 5 and dime store in Duncanville. They had a display case full of ceramic trinkets. Any time I went to the store, I stood in front of the display cabinet dreaming of being old enough to buy something from the cabinet. 

In 1955, the Pursleys decided to change the dime store into a fashion store. I didn’t see the value in moving from the exciting world of the dime store to a clothing store. (I didn’t know they were going to have fabric.) More than that, I was so upset I hadn’t been able to buy anything out of the display case. 

Of course, they had a big sale to move the old merchandise. My Mom and or Grandmother, maybe both, took pity on me and scrapped together a couple of dollars so I could get something from the case.   

I have a clear memory of standing in front of the display cabinet. Mrs. Pursly patiently stood there while I agonizing over all the choices. 

I walked out with my gray pony, which I still have, thinking I had been her most important customer that day.

Nadyne Pursley

1921 - 2011 

A tribute to Habakkuk, Paul and Martin Luther

After studying Habakkuk and the demands the Jewish Christians were placing on the Gentile christians, the Apostle Paul said, “Hey, guys, we got this wrong.

Habakkuk said, ‘But the righteous will live by his faith.’ If it was true for Habakkuk, it is even more true for us.” Paul stood up and changed the world.

Martin Luther, after studying Habakkuk and Paul’s word in Romans 1:17, ‘For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  and Galatians 3:11, “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” He said to himself, “we’ve got it wrong.”  He wrote out his complaints and nailed to the church’s door at midnight. On May 26, 1521 he was declared an outlaw and his writings were banned by the Edict of Worms. Martin Luther stood up and changed the world. 

I am grateful Habakkuk, Paul and Martin Luther stood up against the status quo and changed my world. 

Are you ready to nail your preset requirements to the cross. Ready to live a life of faith? Ready to take a stand and change the world? 

I am. Will you join me? 

space program 50th anniversary John Glenn

May 25, 1961


Fifty years ago today, John F. Kennedy asked the nation to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. With those words, he invested not only in the future America but of the world. I have no idea of what was really in President Kennedy’s heart fifty years ago, but my nine year-old heart was full of optimism amidst the confusing world of cold war politics on the evening news. Even after watching my brother destroy one sugar cube fort after another, I could not understand mass destruction, but a race, well that was something else.

In one sentence he created a vision of hope out of nuclear clouds of disaster. Both sides of the ‘iron curtain’ focused attention and funds to adventure and advancement and away from destruction and dread. I spent the next ten years in exciting anticipation. I followed the astronauts, cheering at their successes and crying when they died.

I clearly remember the day John Glenn circled the earth. My third grade teacher brought a television to school for us to watch this historic event. At time for recess she said we could stay and watch; I was the only one who did. John Glenn orbited the earth during recess. I thought it rude, to play and not stay to watch and honor his accomplishment. I held my breath between each earth station check-in.

When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in July, 1969, it seemed to me to be the perfect to start to my senior year in High School.

Looking back at that time, it reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11.

“’For I know the plans I have for you’ – this is the Lord’s declaration – ‘plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”

And it makes me wonder, what are we investing in today to give our children hope for their future?

What are you doing to invest in youn

What are your thoughts on the death penalty?

Following the jury selection for the Casey Anthony case, I was continually amazed at how many potential jurors claimed they either had no opinion or had not ever thought about how they felt about the death penalty. I understand I am, by nature, a political person and issues mean are important to me. But, really, can any American adult not have given serious thought to the death penalty? The importance is even greater in a death penalty state. Choosing the ultimate penalty for crime is the gravest issue we face as a civilized society; do we have the right to decide to take a person’s life? Are there circumstances that give us that right?


When the death penalty is available to judges and juries, we all bear the responsibility of their decisions as citizens or it would be too great a burden for them to carry. I wish we didn’t need such a severe penalty. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. There are human beings capable of so much evil there is no other option than death.

I hope I never receive a summons for a death penalty trial.

The death penalty is a part of our society. You don’t have to come to an ultimate determination of your beliefs. Will you give it the consideration it deserves?

Video Commemorating 100 years of IBM, a matter of Personal Privilege

After spending 35 years in Information Technology, I am pleased to call for a moment of Personal Privilege and endorse this video commemorating 100 years of IBM. Although I never worked for them, I was a loyal customer for all 35 years. As a loyal customer, I attended IBM education, conferences and worked with Level 2 researching problems. IBM always took those efforts of it customers to encourage the best hardware and software possible. There were times when my organizations would go with the vendor with the lowest price and we would move from the ‘Big Blue’ platform for that product. The truth is you get what you pay for.

This video is a tribute to what people can do when they work together. This also shows that while the technology that has been delivered is incredible, the organization’s greatest accomplishments come in recognizing the value of its people. 

I can remember back in high school when Hawaii 5-0, the original show, would show computer cards running through the machines and tapes spinning. Any reference to the company responsible for the computers was WBM, which we all knew was really IBM. 

To have a played a small part in the development of technology has been thrilling and an honor.  

The video is long, 13 minutes, but worth every moment. It is a brief history of technology in our time. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=39jtNUGgmd4

Emily DIckinson 1830-1886

Today is the anniversary of the death of my favorite poet, Emily Dickinson. Her expression of her faith pulled me in.  

What Simon and Garfunkle wrote of her in The Dangling Conversation, it seem so right. 

“And you read your Emily Dickinson, And I my Robert Frost, And we note our place with bookmarkers. That measure what we've lost”

She expressed so much in so few words. 

Here is one of my favorites:

We learn in the Retreating

How vast an one

Was recently among us -

A Perished Sun

Endeared in the departure

How doubly more

Thank all the Golden presence

It was - before -

Selection of the Casey Anthony's jury

The last couple of days, I’ve been watching the jury selection for the Casey Anthony case. Up front let me say I’m grateful I don’t qualify for jury selection in Florida. I haven’t been too impress with the process. 

How the world and I have changed since the last time I was called to jury duty, which was only a little over a year ago. I did have my Kindle with me and I had a facebook and twitter account. I also have a blog, Write reviews on Amazon, eBay and other on-line sites, as well as comment on other blogs and editorials. During the ensuing year, my online activity has skyrocketed. 

Evidently all these things could have an impact on any future jury duty. Not to mention my Nancy Grace and Court TV addictions. Who knew?

The jurors for this case are going to be sequestered at least two months a county away from home. They are to have no connection with not only the standard newspapers, magazines and TV: they are cut off from there internet connections! Two months of no facebook, twitter, email, while it sounds relaxing, I can’t imagine being out of touch with everything. Now that you can get newspapers and magazines on your eReaders, will they be completely off limits? Would I not be able to bring my lap top? Could I work on my writing if it didn’t have anything to do with the case? 

How do you ever get caught up with your real life after being in a court induced coma for two months?

The potential jurors are being asked, “do you want to be on this jury?”

Separating civic duty from the equation, this seems to be a catch-22 question for everyone. You’d have to be crazy to say yes. If you say no, will you be a disinterested spectator?  

What about you? Would you want to be on this jury?

May 10, 1933 Book Burnings in Germany

On May 10 in 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany. There is nothing more disturbing for those of us who love books, than stories of book burnings. Actually it is almost impossible to believe if we didn’t have it recorded in photos and videos.

Words can take us to worlds far away. They can introduce us to people we could never meet. They can open our horizons to our world in ways we would never see on our own.  

Words can enrich or they can threaten us. They can reinforce or challenge our beliefs.  

Although it would seem they are just words, but they are integrally associated with the author. Strike out my words, you take a strike against me. 

I am grateful I am able to feel free to speak and write as I believe. I am willing to allow ideas different from my own to be expressed. 

What about you? Does book burning bother you? Are you willing for others to share ideas contrary to your own? 

Mother's Day 2011

Mother’s Day

If I am honest with myself, I don’t look forward to many holidays/celebrations. No matter how you try to spin events and life, these days are meant to be spent with people who are important too you. Single, these days turn into a time to be away from work and reminded of how alone you really are. 

People involve you in their plans. Sometimes you go and act like you are a part of the group. You hold your head high, but in the odd number of chairs, there is always a sense of being there out of charity, not love. 

Mother’s Day is one of the worst for me. It is because of the great love and respect I have for my Mother and Grandmothers and how little I have returned to the world. 

When all the Mothers are asked to stand, the emptiness is overwhelming. It feels like you don’t belong in the universe, let alone the room. 

It has been a day I could hide from; my Mom’s birthday often falls on it. Through the sermons and tributes, there is always the question why wasn’t I given this gift? 

I wish I was able to gather all my other single friends together for lunch for the day. I haven’t. Maybe next year. 

41 years ago - Kent State

The photo of Kent State students from 41 years ago is seared in my imagination. I was days away from graduating from High School, from launching out into life from which I had been sheltered for so long. 

Then guns were fired and students fell. Kent State closed for the year. I was going to UT, not Kent State, but would it close too? I felt my world closing in around me, my chance to escape the limitations of my small town and explore the world gone. The iron gates were slowly moving and I could not move fast enough to get through them before they closed. 

Then everyone took a breath. Hearts calm, rational minds prevailed and life return to the way it was. Maybe quite not like it was. 

That day at Kent State is a memory now, the photo which shows so much passion, youth and authority.  A time when you were torn between patriotism and radicalism. A time when all you really wanted was a chance to live your life. 

National Teacher Appreciation Week May 2011

With the problems facing our education systems, it is more important than every to express our appreciation for our teachers. My appreciation is not only for the work you do, but because I wasn’t willing to do it myself. 

I guess the education process changes for every generation. However, the changes in the system during my adult life have been incredible. 

Nothing can be more exciting and rewarding than helping someone, child or adult, to understand and do new things. Introducing new ways of thinking and behaving can be challenging. Teaching in this arena is no doubt one of the highest accomplishment of mankind. 

But, the challenges in today’s schools make it hard for any real teaching to occur. Cultural changes, diversity, language, life styles, violence, low self-esteem all contribute to distracting teaches from their real goals. 

In addition, you throw in administration, low budgets, higher teacher to student ratios and issues of salaries as second incomes ( I believe this is an unspoken issue), teachers don’t seem to have a break. 

So, there are no words to truly express our appreciation for what you in the classroom and the lives you are shaping. I can only send a heart felt thanks. 

Are there no secrets any more? (+a blast from my past)

Are there no secrets any more? (A blast from my past)

What does it say about our world, if in a remote place like Abbottabad, Pakistan, you can’t conduct a secret mission? You’ve heard the stories of the tweets coming from bin Laden’s neighbors who inadvertently tweeted the on-going details of the US Raid. It touched my heart that the tweeter was an IT consultant.

Seeing the compound on the news today and hearing it compared to the other homes and buildings in the area, I guess we are all wondering what would it be like to find out your neighbor was the most hunted man on the planet. 

The thought takes me back to the ’70’s and Rocky Horror Picture Show when Brad and Janet sang Over at the Frankenstein place. How much weight would Tim Curry have to lose to play OBL? 

Janet Weiss	In the velvet darkness Of the blackest night Burning bright There's a guiding star No matter what or who you are
Brad and Janet	There's a light
Chorus	Over at the Frankenstein place
Brad and Janet	There's a light
Chorus	Burning in the fireplace
Brad and Janet	There's a light, light In the darkness of everybody's life

Where is his body?

“Osama bin Laden is dead and the United States has his body, a source tells the Associated Press.” This sentence was in one of many Breaking News emails I got in the last 24 hours from The Dallas Morning News.

They buried him at sea, after taking a DNA sample. The tested sample shows this is the real deal. We do need proof, don't we?  

It makes me think of another burial we celebrated a couple of weeks ago. Jesus was crucified on Friday and placed in a tomb. 

The authorities wanted to keep track of His body. They posted a guard at His tomb. 

On Sunday, the women came to finish the preparations of Jesus’ body. The tomb was empty and the body of Jesus was gone.  

There were 2 men at the  tomb. They told the women, Jesus had risen.  

No one has ever found Jesus’ body, because he isn’t dead any more. 

What about you? Do you think His body was put into the sea? 

Or is He your risen Lord?