My True North

Last week while watching the Oscars, a commercial caught my attention. It was the True North nut commercial. It showed people telling what their "True North" was......in other words, what inspires them and gives them drive. I felt compelled to consider that very question......what is MY True North? The following is some of what I came up with.

The things that inspire me are things of beauty and simple pleasures.........nature; a smile on a child's face; a dog rolling around in the grass; a hummingbird pausing at a flower for a sip of nature's nectar; an elderly couple holding hands while taking a stroll through a park; a father showing his son how to throw a football; a brother and sister selling lemonade at the end of their driveway on a hot summer day; a family riding bikes together after a long day seperated by school and work; the smell of fresh bread baking; the refreshing taste of ice cold water after a good workout; the feeling of releif at the end of a suspensful book when my favorite character has triumphed over advercity; the feel of the wind while driving through the country with the windows rolled down; the great conversations had with family members while sitting around shelling peas or shucking corn; the look of accomplishment on my children's faces when they have done good and I let them know it; the sound of a church choir singing on Sunday mornings; hearing I Love You Mommy from my sons; exchanging words with my husband by just looking into his eyes and not saying anything; the sound of a baseball bat making contact and the cheer of the crowd; the sound of football players colliding on the field and the rush of excitement when my team scores; the smell of coffee brewing and eggs, bacon and biscuits cooking; the look of excitement on my children's faces on Christmas morning; the relaxation of sitting on a dock or in a boat with my line in the water, waiting for a bite; the joy on my childrens faces as they play outside with their friends; watching my cat wait in attack mode for an unsuspecting family member to come within pouncing range; picking vegetables from a garden that I helped plant; singing Christmas songs and church hymns in the shower; putting the last peice of a 1000-1500 piece puzzle in place; looking through the lens of a camera and seeing the world from a different perspective; watching the sunset over the water; listening to the sounds of water running in a stream; watching a busy chipmunk running back and forth collecting food for his winter pantry; catching lizards with my son Kyle; seeing delight in my son Blake's eyes when he has defeated the bad guy on his X-box; the smell of honeysuckle growing and the sweet taste that comes with it.................I could truly go on and on.....................and I may come back and add more to this list as I feel inspired to do so...............but I encourage each of you to sit and think about the things that inspire you........................figure out what YOUR True North is and stay pointed in that direction always............................well, that is all for this posting.........................so, until we meet again................................Love to all.........................Donna

Casualties of War: Print vs. Digital

Wow...an institution that we have all known and even studied in history is becoming history right before our eyes. The newspaper industry throughout our nation is crumbling under the weight of the digital revolution. How ironic that while we are thristier than ever for news that the oldest of deliverers is unable to keep up.

I see in my mind the young boys standing on the corners of the busy city streets holding up the paper and shouting, "Extra! Extra!, read all about it!" wearing their little caps, long socks and knickers. What a priceless image of our American history. My husband has worked in the newspaper industry since 2000 and oddly enough in the Online department. It is his very work that is hurting the newspapers and it was his very job that caused newspaper sales to drop so dramatically that his paper had no choice but to lay him off.

I do still find it puzzling though that these very people, who spend their days researching information for stories and being investigators to keep the rest of us in the know, can't figure out how to keep the newspapers profitable! Times have been tough before and our country has been through many changes since the first newspapers were printed; and until now they have always thrived on these changes. I think the love affair they have developed with the ink and paper is part of the problem. They can't touch and smell the fruits of their labor on the internet. They can't see the reactions of people reading their stories as they walk down the street or as they sit in the coffee shops.

A bigger problem is actually the Ad salesmen and businesses who are afraid to advertise on the internet for fear that noone will see their ads. Wake up people! The internet is where everyone is spending their time. They have more time to read stories and click on ads while sitting at their desks at work than they did looking at the paper.

I find it sad to see people's careers and their livlihood going down in flames because noone has the courage to embrace the new technologies that are driving and influencing all aspects of our lives today. We will still get our news stories.....and we will still seek out businesses online.....the newspapers can either pull their heads out of the sand and provide that information to us or we will find it from those who have courageously followed the trends without knowing where it would lead them. To those pioneers of today's News Media.......I congratulate you! You are the newspapers of yesterday..........................and the newspapers of tomorrow!

In a final thought..........Gannett has had some good ideas with their papers and instead of laying off hardworking and loyal employees to meet budgets..........they are encouraging their customers to follow the news on their websites by cutting back on days they run the presses. This saves a tremendous amount of money and allows people to slowly adjust to the changing times while saving jobs at the newspapers at the same time! To the big shots at Gannett.........whoever came up with that idea.............give them a big fat raise and a pat on the back from those who were unfortunate to be working for companies without the same initiative!...............well, that is all I have to say for now......................so, until we meet again.....................love to all.............Donna

My soul needs weeding!

What do you do when a seed has taken hold in your very soul and seems to be growing in spite of your attempts to remove it. I have been tested lately and have failed. I have allowed a bad seed to take root in my heart and it is growing faster than I can weed it out!

I am reminded of Paul in the Bible and how he prayed for healing often and that he did not get that prayer answered in the way he hoped. I pray frequently for the removal of this seed, which I know is evil, but it still creeps up on me. It weighs me down spiritually and feeds itself with my own despair. I am weak and need more strength to beat this thing....this evil that is making my heart its' home.

For those of you who believe as I do that Christ came here and made the ultimate sacrifice for the lowliest of us, please pray for me; that I would be given the strength to overcome this darkness and be better for having dealt with it!

Thanks for spending a moment with me.............until we meet again...................love to all......................Donna