http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman recent pleonast.com entries by user mladyman en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=615748 It's off to work I go (insert music here) ...... work starts again Monday. The holidays were short and very eventful, full of family and fun and even a wedding. My nephew and his son (from Alaska) are the last of our two weeks of company; they leave on the 12th. My kids are sad ("Can't they all just LIVE with us?"). School starts Tuesday for the kids, so they have one last day of sleeping late. 2009-01-04 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=614434 Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.
~Martin Luther 
We meet today
To thank Thee for the era done,
And Thee for the opening one.
~John Greenleaf Whittier Happy New Year, everyone! God's richest blessings on you all. And thank you for being a blessing to me in so many ways. 2008-12-31 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=613169 Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth. Amen! 2008-12-26 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=612941 My beloved SIL has complained that my pleo blog is "boring", so I will favor you with a look at the Ladyman household. The living room looks like an army of elves just invaded. Wrapping paper scraps are scattered everywhere; ribbons decorate chairs, couches, and stairsteps; innumerable candy wrappers crunch underfoot. My kids are sprawled about playing games and reading books. The grown-ups are reading the paper and drinking cups of coffee. Burl Ives is singing on the CD player ("Have a Holly Jolly Christmas"), while the smell of fresh cranberry muffins fills the air. Yep, the Ladymans have just finished celebrating Christmas. Actually, three Christmasses. Will once wrote in a school report that, "My family is the only one I know that has three Christmasses. Ladyman, Awwad, and Real." Last Friday my side of the family showed up for three days of festivities. 24 people; standing room only. It was huge fun -- we did a white elephant gift exchange, played i... 2008-12-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=610965 Two glorious weeks home from school. Life is good. 2008-12-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=609344 If you have never heard the mountains singing or seen the fields of the trees clapping their hands, do not think because of this that they don't. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it, and your eyes so you may see it, because, though few men may ever know it, they do! (McCandish Phillips) His glory covered the heaven, and His praise filled the earth. (Habakkuk 3:3) Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights above. Praise Him, all His angels, Praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word. Mountains and all hills; fruit trees an... 2008-12-14 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=606907 One thing you read again and again in the Bible, especially in the life of Jesus, is how you should never give up on people. Jesus cared about and wept for the people that everyone else had given up on and considered worthless. I call that the "People are better than you think they are." theme of the Bible. (I like to find themes in the Bible. My kids roll their eyes to the heavens. "Mom's found another theme.") I had a great example of that in one of my classes at the middle school where I work. I was helping C.H., a small, skinny boy battling autism. He lives in a world all his own, visiting ours upon occasion. He is gentle, and fairly bright, and what you would call fragile. I've worked with him for four years; I can count the number of times he's looked directly at me on the fingers of one hand. But, he's comfortable with me, and we keep up with 7th grade Texas History. Through one of those flukes of scheduling that make you want to thump your head against the... 2008-12-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=603642 Thank You, Lord, for the sacrifice of your Son, and for the joy of looking forward to His coming again. We know some do not have this joy, and we pray for time to reach them. Thank You, Lord, for the Bible, and that we are allowed to study it and read it at our pleasure. We know many do not have this blessing, and we weep for them. Thank You, Lord, for our families and friends and loved ones, especially those in the church. It is good to know that no matter what happens, we have family, in all senses of the word, and that no matter where we go we walk with the King of the Universe. We know there are those who are lonely and have no such comfort. Give us opportunities to teach them. Thank You, Lord, for our jobs, and help us to teach our children that all honest work is honorable, and that the janitor is worthy of the same respect and honor as the surgeon. In these hard economic times let us not be too proud to work in whatever way we must to support our families. Thank You, Lord, t... 2008-11-27 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=600113 So, our preacher is talking about life experiences and how they affect you and how your life influences others. And he says, "And sometimes you just want to forget the bad memories, and you just can't forget them." And nine-year-old Jesse shakes his head sadly and with this little voice mutters, "I know EXACTLY what he means." It was all I could do to keep a straight face...... 2008-11-17 http://www.pleonast.com/user/mladyman?l=5&entryID=594312 According to the Austin American Statesman, almost half of Travis County's 609,224 registered voters voted early. Which indicates a few voting records may be smashed Tuesday. Or, enough people voted early that the lines on Election Day may not be as long as I thought they would be! At the moment, I am flabbergasted. 2008-11-02