Never Too Old To Learn New Tricks...

"Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you would wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."
-- Thomas à Kempis

This quote made it to my inbox this weekend and I quickly moved it to my "keeper" file. This is something I need to be reminded of often.

It also reminded me of a television show our family has been watching recently, "It's Me or the Dog." I've really been fascinated watching this. I'm not a very savvy pet-owner and it amazes me to see how problem dogs can turn around with a little training and patience. Ok, maybe a LOT of training and patience. But you get the point. The episode we saw today was the most extreme case I've seen yet. This dog was completely out of control in every situation. He also happened to be 7 years old. Even at that age and stage of this dog's life, the boundaries put in place and the training completely turned this dog around.

So...before you say "You can't teach an old dog new tricks..." I'll bet you can!

******************************************************************************

My favorite time of year is quickly approaching. I absolutely love autumn! My seasonal preferences are, in order,

AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING
oh yeah, almost forgot - summer.

In all fairness, summer is good because it usually means a vacation and extra time off for Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's nice to have daylight into the evening and there's a certain feeling of freedom that floats in the hot, humid air. I also enjoy Ken's BBQ skills that enable me to keep the kitchen relatively cool.

But, back to autumn... back to school and new adventures, the first hint of cool air, changing/falling leaves, Friday night high school football, hot chocolate made from scratch, and anticipation... Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!

Speaking of anticipation... Elisa and Rob are expecting their little boy very close to the first day of autumn which falls on September 22nd this year. Baby Zachary's due date is September 19th. Recent reports indicate he may be a little early, though. He wants to show all of us what a big boy he is already!

******************************************************************************
As a final thought to end this weekend...

I've probably mentioned before how much I love our church, Freedom Fellowship. We've been there about a year and a half or so now. I still get blown away by the amount of planning, effort, hard work and general participation by the members that goes into everything the church does. With that in mind, it was with great pleasure that Ken and I worked with our church today at its 2nd annual "Back to School Bash." On hand for the festivities were...

• 550+ free backpacks filled with "back-to-school" supplies for the kids
• Inflatables; obstacle course, jump house, and slide
• Hot Dog/Potato Chip supper (while it lasted - over 400 hot dogs were prepared)
• Sodas, bottled water, snow cones
• Face painting station
• Music

The turnout was great and it was so nice to see all the folks who showed up. I was working in the drink tent and we had a long line the whole time I was there. The event was held between 6:00-8:00 pm Last year there was a LOT of leftover food and backpacks. Today the food was gone right before 7:00 pm. No leftovers to worry about this time!

Blessings for the week ahead...