Misc. – Page 25 – Mark Spruill

What She Left

Nov 292009

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming to a close and I find my heart finally ready to write a few words regarding those things for which I am thankful. As with most people, I am thankful for many things. However this year I would like to resist the urge to rattle off a long list. Rather than pour out a flood of thanks and have the importance of a single drop be lost in the deluge, I’ll keep my thanks to one thing.

It has been almost three years since my mother-in-law died. When she was alive, we did not always see eye-to-eye but I do believe she loved me, as I did her. When my family went back to the house for Thanksgiving this year, it was not the same. Her absence made a big difference. The house is changing with the times and the place that was so much of her is slowly becoming less and less so. Nevertheless, here and there, in a forgotten corner, you can still find a picture or a trinket. Or perhaps a note written in her hand. Little reminders that she was once here and left some things behind.

I am thankful for the stuff she left. Not the stuff left in the house, or the things she gave my wife before she died. But the things she left in us. I can find pieces of her in my wife. There are traces of her in my kids. She even left a bit of herself in me. Carolyn Hardyman is with our Lord. She has made the journey to her eternal home. But not before leaving a part of herself in many of us who must remain here a little longer. We are better for it. And so, this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for what she left behind.

The Fish Died

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Nov 242009

The fish died, but not from loneliness. He had lived alone, in a crowded vase with a bunch of plant roots. He lived that way for years, and he was happy. His predecessors proved it.

We tried putting him in a community aquarium with plenty of room and some other fish to keep him company. He died after a few months. We tried putting him in a community aquarium with a female of his own kind. He pestered her until she died. Then he died. We tried adding plants. He hid among the plants . . . and died.

You have probably seen this little fish. He’s the one they keep in a small jar at the pet store. The one you feel sorry for, because he is kept separate from all the other fish, in a tiny little jar with hardly any water. No filter. No heater. No room. No friends.

If you see him and feel sorry for him, buy him and take him home. But don’t put him in a big nice aquarium. Continue reading »

Heading South

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Nov 182009

Lately I have been thinking about my conscience. You know, that thing inside a person that points the way they should go. It’s like a compass. In fact, some people even use the term “moral compass” to refer to it. Many believe it is the standard by which we can know we are headed in the right direction. After all, a compass always points north, right?

I used to think a compass always pointed north, but I’m here to tell you, they don’t. I know because I had one that pointed south. It spent too much time bouncing around in a backpack and rubbing up against other magnetic gadgets. One day I pulled it out and looked at it. It proudly declared north was now south. No amount of shaking and turning would convince it otherwise.

I think my conscience is the same way. God put it there to point north, but too much time spent rubbing up against the wrong sort of characters can get it confused. Next thing you know, you’re lost and trying to figure out how to get out of the jungle with nothing to guide you. Or worse, you don’t even know how lost you are because you’re still depending on a faulty compass.

Fortunately for me, I finally got my crazy compass straightened out by rubbing it up against a good strong magnet, pointed in the right direction. That worked because I had other reference points to go by and I knew which way the compass ought to point. The moral of the story? Before using your compass, make sure it’s calibrated using a map and a good reference point. I would suggest a bible and the Son.

Tile

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Nov 152009

I spent most of yesterday laying tile on our basement floor. Now my knees hurt, my back aches, and my hands are all dried out. It’s hard work, but once it’s done, the tile will provide a nice durable floor that will last despite the floods. I don’t like what tiling does to me. But I sure like what it does for me. I kinda feel the same way about some of the struggles God allows to come my way.

Heb 12:11-13 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. -NKJV

What Happened in Vegas…

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Nov 072009

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” they say. The say it often because they want you to believe it. But it’s not true. I know. I just got back from Vegas where I’ve been doing something I’m not proud of, and this time, it came back with me.

For years I have been going to Las Vegas. I go for a convention. It’s part of my job. This year, it was no different. I went to the convention as usual and found things in Vegas pretty much as they always are. Although the city has a few good qualities, for the most part, it has earned the nickname of which it is so proud: Sin City.

It is a place where immorality is encouraged. Excesses of every kind are the foundation of its success. From the casinos, to the buffet lines, to the lewd shows and legal, advertised prostitution, the city stands as proof that greed and lust are deeply rooted in the heart of mankind. Greed, and lust, and something else which showed its ugly mark in me this time. And it was the prostitution that did it. Continue reading »

My Wife Dressed Me

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Oct 292009

Ok, I admit. My wife was right. I may never say that again so remember it. She picked out some clothes for me to wear to work today. I wore them and got several complements. And I thought they were out of style. Turns out, she knows style. Or at least she knows what a lady likes to see on a man. My problem is, when I dress myself, I wear what a MAN likes to see on a man. Right? I am a man and I pick what I like to wear. So the moral of the story? If you want to dress for the opposite sex, let the opposite sex pick your clothes.

I suppose there could be some spiritual parallel here about attracting the right people by letting God pick our spiritual wardrobe, or coming out ahead by putting others’ preferences first. But hey, let’s just leave it at that because tomorrow . . . ? I’ll probably dress myself. I can’t always let my wife have it her way, even if it IS what’s best for me.

Why Make the Bed?

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Oct 112009

My wife Tammy has been gone for several days. In her absence, Marshall and I are doing OK. We have cooked and cleaned a little, worked a little, and goofed off a litt . . . er . . . a lot.

Typically, while she is gone, there are certain things that just don’t get done. At least not until the day before her return. The laundry, the floors, the dishes, kitchen counter, and sink. We don’t exactly let them get horrible, but they are not quite up to the standards of a good housekeeper. And the bed? Why make the bed when you are just going to get right back in it when evening rolls around. The bed almost never gets made until the morning of her arrival. Almost, except for today. Continue reading »

The sun is shining

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Sep 242009

Well, no rainbow, but the sun is shining. We have a mess in our basement that needs to be cleaned up. At least we still have a basement . . . and a home . . . and a family. Not everyone in the Atlanta area is so fortunate. The flood came so quickly and unexpectantly. Most of us were not prepared for anything like this. Oh well, if we failed at preparation, maybe we can at least respond well.

Floods

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Sep 222009

It has been raining for days. The basement is flooded. The carpet is ruined, but sooner or later, there has got to be a rainbow.

Hi Y’all

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Sep 192009

Hey yall. I got fed up with the facebook stuff so I decided to host my on site. I don’t know how much I’ll post here, but if you want to know what’s going on with us, or see pictures from our latest outings, etc. Check here!

FYI, Our latest fun trip was to Cloudland Canyon. Check it out!

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