10 DISCONNECTED THOUGHTS

1. I saw Robert this week. He is doing well. Walking pretty good actually. I watched him cross Michigan Avenue and check the coin slot at the pay phone in the 7-11 parking lot. That made me smile for some reason. I now carry a box of large garbage bags in my car in case Robert has too many bottles for the smaller bags.

2. Speaking of my 7-11, my Hindu friends have just celebrated their New Year. I wished the owner Happy New Year earlier in the week, and now he always smiles and says hello to me. He always did say hello, but he didn't smile.

3. My daughter is learning a new piece of music. Aria in D Minor by JS Bach. The subtitle is: Enlightening Thoughts of a Tobacco Smoker. Isn't that a strange subtitle? I will have to have her play it so I can see what kind of picture this music paints for me. Maybe of some very old men with long white whiskers, sitting around an outdoor cafe, smoking cigars and pipes-pontificating? I will let you know! (One funny side note she pointed out...the last 3 notes were D-A-D. Her dad is quite a tobacco smoker so that is kind of humorous.)

4. My daughter is pretty grown up. But I still kiss her cheek and pray for her in the morning before I leave for work. Most of the time she sleeps right through it. Sometimes she says through her dreams, "Love you, Mom." I hope I live to be 100 and still can kiss my girl's cheek and pray for her in the mornings. I wonder if her husband will say, "Can't you keep your crazy mother out of our bedroom?" Hmmm, I hope I live to be 100 and am still mindful to pray for my daughter (and her husband) each morning from my own house...lol.

5. My friend, Mandy, told me about her friend Tom who has great faith. You will want to read his post from October 23rd.

6. I am doing a Bible study with a group of friends. In preparation, we were to study First Corinthians 13:4-8. We were supposed to study each characteristic to determine how it could be applied in our lives. I recalled a tradition in the Roman Catholic church that I must have learned when I was little...of taking your right fist and lightly beating it against your chest 3 times as you repeated a prayer of contrition...I can't remember it exactly, and I might have this all wrong...but it went something like, "I have sinned in my heart, in my mind, and in my deeds." But that is what I felt like after reading the passage. Because I am not that. The Word led me to repentance.

7. I love autumn. It is my favorite time of year. I was an October bride. This year, I didn't even think of my wedding anniversary, until almost two weeks went by. Perhaps I am moving past surviving divorce to recovery. That is what my blog title was about. The Other Side of....Divorce. There are alot of "other sides" in life. I wonder what "other side" I will be focused on next?

8. I have made my list of books that you all recommended and am going to start reading from that list. I will let you know how I like them. Right now I have borrowed Confessions of a Reformission Rev by Mark Driscoll. I borrowed it from my pastor. This book is so good. I can't put it down. I like his honesty, insight, and vulnerability. I think it is a difficult thing to shepherd people. I have several pastors as close friends. This makes me want to pray for them all the more.

9. I have a headache. Sometimes I AM a headache. ;-)

10. Thanks for letting me ramble!