Author: Diana Brandmeyer

I was at Wal Mart and for some reason the clerk and I started talking about changes in retail. She told me lay away was no longer available at their store. Now I haven’t used lay away ever so not having it around doesn’t prevent a problem for me but…it does bother me that yet another thing from my youth has gone away.

The dreaded words in my home growing up were, “We’ll put it on lay away and get it before…what ever event..” I hated waiting for the date when we could get something out of lay away from P.N. Hirsch. I supposed with credit cards we can have what we want and pay for it later instead of paying and waiting. It’s twisted and I’m not sure it’s a good thing. I know I hated waiting but it did force me to really chose what I would wait for and know it’s so easy to just charge and take home my items. Many times I find it’s not something I really needed or wanted.

Maybe immediate gratification is not such a good idea, at least for me.

Okay, that is Solomon’s advice. Follow that ant, see how he sticks to his purpose and gets the job done. Solomon has proved to be wise if not cryptic at times to me in his writings. I had heard this same advice at a women of faith conference last month. So I thought I should check it out after all I’m on a search for my own mission in life.

So…
I located an ant and this is my take away from observing the ant. The one I watched went down the sidewalk, made several adjustments to his course, then about faced and came back the same way and went to the patio. From there he climbed the brick wall in a crazy pattern and eventually I lost him in the grass.
So what I learned from my ant watching is the path is never exactly straight to the goal and it can take a very long time to get there. Somehow that made me feel better. I published 3 books in 2000-2001 and then I veered off my path somewhere. Life took me to cherishing those last few years of having my boys at home, a new job direction, rehabbing a house (for college tuition) and now here I am back at the turn around. I can’t imagine I’ll fly from here to my goal of another published book but it is a good feeling to realize the ant programed by God reaches his goal and if I can stay on my path I will too.

Yep, I’m back in my chair again and if feels good except the words aren’t coming very fast. The wind from my son’s fan is blasting across my desk making be a bit sleepy and my poor dog is coughing a lot. She’s been with us for 13 years and I think it may be time to let her go or at least soon. She has an enlarged heart. I always new she had a lot of love to give. She is my constant companion and even now struggles to stay with me if I move rooms despite my saying no, stay there and rest. So that and with a very ill mother in law (whom I love very much and doesn’t fit that awful sterotype!) is on my mind so no wonder I feel like I’m writing against the wind.

For now I’m working on my mission statement and later on my out of date web page. I’m also working on a mystery. I have more time now that I’m no longer working at the insurance office. I tried but it just wasn’t me, I felt like I sidestepped God’s plan a bit so now I’m going to give His plan a real try. Ever feel like that?

I’m back! I didn’t go anywhere I just lost my internet connection for over a month. I’m amazed at how addicted I am to my email and my wonderful chat buddies at SBB. What I discovered while away from my keyboard is: I like to be outside. Shocking I know to those who know me. I planted ‘maters, green beans and radishes, strawberries and herbs and they are growing! Then I started putting plants in the yard and separating hostas. My yard looks nice but that wasn’t enough I started on my front porch with cleaning and making pillows for chairs and my swing. AND THEN: my connection came back. I’m going to try not to spend as much time on the internet this summer, more time with those around me and even more time working on my writing.

It sounds like a good plan, much like losing weight and staying on a great work out program, I’m not so good at those either. The good thing is a do over is always possible and maybe, just maybe this time I can do it.

As a writer we should be able to write anywhere, right? All you need is something to make a mark, piece of chalk and rock or lipstick and a napkin.
But can you do that?
Do you do that if you are a writer?
I really want to know.

I don’t. I want to but I can’t I’ve trained myself to be at my computer with the right music playing and then after a few games of bedazzled I can start. I carry around a small notebook and pen in my purse all the time but seldom do I use it. I have great ideas all the time but they don’t get recorded. I found driving with at least one hand and looking at the road to be the best way to keep my insurance costs low and others alive. I could use a voice recorder but I don’t like the sound of my voice on playback so I don’t listen to it.

So…can writer’s write anywhere? Can you? Tell me!

Last night we had a speaker at our church. Debbie is walking across the US to raise money to build a library in Kenya. After listening to her describe her journey and watching the dvd of the states she has been through I started thinking. I know that can be dangerous for me!

Debbie walks with a pair of pj’s, one set of clothes, food for the day, fuel, a small burner, a lighter, her bible a tent and the clothes she is wearing. That’s pretty much it. I find that is amazing to know anyone could live with only that. On vacation I take tons of clothes and shoes and books! So how much is too much? Can I live with less than I have? I think so and that is my challenge in the next few months. I’m going to donate the things that are useful but I really can do without. Want to join the challenge?

If you’d like to learn more about Debbie’s walk you can find her web page here http://www.walkingwithfaith.com

I’ve had a weird week. I moved my desk. This is a huge job because it’s L shaped and huge! No, I couldn’t wait any longer for Ed to help before you ask! So I got it moved and had my wires all lined up ready to hook up, then somehow I tripped over something and crashed to the floor along with all my wires. Yep, mass confusion. I couldn’t tell what wire went where any longer. 🙁 It took me all day and still no internet connection. Then Ed came home and let me stew in my mess even longer and five minutes before we went to bed he came in and said, I think you have the phone wire in the wrong phone line. Yep, he saved the day. I was connected just like that. Meanwhile I’m nursing my aching bones and watching the bruises turn odd colors. 🙂 Hmm, I could be writing!

Thinking this through further I realize how often I take the hard route, doing things my way and ending up not meeting my goal because I wouldn’t ask for help or wait for it. AND it always seems that God will send someone along to help me out of that mess. Anyone else have this kind of stubborn personality?

Where is the time? Where does it go?

I realize everyone has the same 24 hours I do but it seems that some have found the secret to using all 60 minutes in each hour. And many of those same people use those precious seconds to do something good for other people.

I am not one of them. It is January and it is cold. I want to be a bear. I want God to let me crawl in my own cave and sleep until spring. When I wake up I want all those busy ants (from the child’s tale) to have completed all my work for me or if not completed at least been working on what needed to be done.

I imagine God is laughing at my request. I just wonder in heaven do I get to sleep all winter if I wish to? Is there a winter in heaven? I wouldn’t want one but so many people seem to like snow, ice and freezing wind. Like my husband, he loves the cold weather and would love to live in Alaska or Michigan just mentioning Florida makes him sweat. So cold I will be–unless I find a way to never leave my house until spring.

This past week has been one of high anxiety for many in the area where I grew up. A child was kidnapped on his way home from school. I was watching tv and an amber alert came on, the boy looked so much like a boy I knew in high school and the name was the same. Sure enough the boy’s father was the one from my old neighborhood.

Every kidnapping is a heartache, for those of us who have children the pain brings fear for your own. When you realize you know the parent you feel as if someone has taken the oxygen out of the room.

This week had an incredible God ending. My old friend’s son was found and as if that wasn’t enough of a miracle, he was found with another child who had been missing since 2002. Thank you God for your awesome miracle.