Bfth's Boring Blog

(I was a guest speaker at my church today;  here's what I had to say:) Full disclosure here, when I said I would speak today, I *thought* I had a great idea for a sermon.  The more I tried to write, the more it lead nowhere and fell apart.  And then one day while I was on Facebook, I came across this great link shared by a friend of my family's who just happens to be an Episcopalian Priest.  This link was for an article/blog  written by another Episcopalian Priest and was entitled 6 Things That People Need to Hear From Churches But Are Rarely Said .  I really liked what t he Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr had to say and wanted to share his thoughts with you, but add my own spin.  Because I don't necessarily think that they are things that people need to hear; it is what they need to KNOW and to Feel when they come to First Presbyterian Church. 1.         Welcome!”  Rev. Schmidt says:  " A wel...

It's my husband's birthday. Ten years ago I threw him a great party to celebrate.   It wasn't elaborate and thank goodness the weather cooperated because we held it outside in our backyard.  I just invited a whole bunch of his friends over for an afternoon of food, drink, music and conversation.  It was a great day because we had friends and relatives from all over drop by.    Even though it was a Saturday in summer, my mother drove up from the shore (who does that) and his parents and grandfather drove in from Pennsylvania.  Good friends drove up for the weekend from Maryland and friends from the city bused into our suburb.  It was a wonderful blend of people It was a time to mark a new decade in his life.  And what a decade it was to be! Our previous ten years together (9 if you want to count officially the years we were married at the time), had a different focus.  As of July 2005 we were closing the door on the two of us and ...

Today Disneyland celebrates its 60th anniversary.  I'm a Disney geek, but I've only been to Disneyland (DL) once. That's not by choice, it's by location and finances.  Being on the East Coast, Disney World (WDW) makes a lot more sense.  While I have wanted to take my family to the west coast (and I even had a plan to do so in 2014), it just hasn't happened. It's been a long, Long, LONG time since I was in DL.  I believe I was only five at the time (more years ago than I care to admit) and my family headed to California for a couple of weeks.  So the trip was not solely to visit DL and my mother and I (along with another relative) only went for a day.  (In all probability, not a very long day since I was a cranky kid.  I won't focus on the SeaWorld incident; which my mother still remembers to this day as I embarrassed her with my crying and hiding my head.) Sadly, I don't recall all that much about DL.  And as this trip took place LONG bef...

T his morning a friend of mine posted a link to a political story and commented:  "How could any woman actually be a _________? The only explanation I can come up with is mental illness". (Yes, I purposely left out the party name.)  I didn't read the article and I have no doubt that whatever was said by whatever candidate(s) was stupid, cruel, insensitive...well you get the picture.   I was upset (notice I didn't say offended; too many people are "offended" these days!  Get over it already!).  I am a member of __________ party.  That doesn't make me part of their herd.  It means I am a registered member and when it is primary time I vote for the person within that party who I think is the best candidate.  It DOES NOT mean that I vote for a person solely because they are a member of that party.  It DOES NOT mean I believe in EVERYTHING that the party (or candidate) believes in or says.  I am NOT a cow; I'm NOT part of a herd.  I ...

I'm still slogging my way through my Pulitzer Project:  reading as many of the Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction as I can find electronically.  (Just makes more sense to read them this way as I can carry one device with lots of books on it.)  I have been struggling with William Faulkner's A Fable .  I don't know whether to give up and move on or keep trying. I've read only one other Faulkner, As I Lay Dying , about a year ago.  That was also an e-book and was poorly composed/translated.  I got through it but thought my dislike/frustration of the book had to do with the "translation" as it were.  The formatting was done poorly so I thought that was what caused by difficulty with reading it.  Now I have to wonder.  Am I just missing the Faulkner gene? Is stream of consciousness writing just not something that I can understand? (I don't think that's the case as I've read other authors such as James Joyce,  Fyodor Dostoyevsky,  an...

If you've read my previous posts, you know that I've got a busy summer.  And that I have a son who is attending multiple camps/programs during summer break.  Some he's done before ( http://www.marinesciencecamp.com/  and http://www.campjburg.org/) and some are new.  Each one is a little different and each has their own "quirks."  I understand that.  But I'm a little irked/annoyed/cheesed off with the people who are running the camp he has been attending this week.  Before I sound off, a few points: This day camp/program has been around for years.  (So long that I COULD have gone to it when I was a kid, but I didn't.)  It is part of larger community organization and as I understand it, is run/organized by volunteers.   The staff/counselors, however, are paid.  They obviously have some training or educational background as my son seems to really like the counselors, especially whoever runs t...

Summer...the time when we slow down and enjoy so many things.  The weather is warm so we can go outside and relax in a lawn chair, perhaps with an adult beverage.  We can go for a relaxing swim at the pool or the beach.  The air smells like suntan lotion and is full of the sounds of children. That's the theory at least.  For this SOMWad this summer is just as crazy as the school year.  My calendar is crammed and I have to keep checking it because I *think* I have time to do "x" or "y" only to remember that I've already got "z" scheduled.  (If you don't know what a SOMWaD is, you need to read   http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2015/07/somwad.html) I free admit that I overbooked this summer.  I wanted to keep my son busy.  I know that the last two weeks of "summer vacation" there is nothing to do.  All the camps and summer programs have concluded as the counselors have headed back to college.  I knew that time would be the...

It seems like there is an acronym for everyone and everything.  SaHM or SaHD (stay at home mom or dad), SbC (Single by Choice), WDW (Walt Disney World), LBI (Long Beach Island), etc.  I'm sure you get the point. I was thinking about this on one of my morning walks through town.  All these letters; what do they mean to me?  What am I?  And after some thought, I realized that I am a SOMWaD.  While I'd like think that I'm unique (which would make me a USOMWaD), I know that there are probably many SOMWaDs out there. Are you a SOMWAD; Stressed Out Mom, Wife and Daughter (or daughter-in-law)?  If you can answer "Yes" to more than half of the below, you most likely are: Working or stay at home; one child or more it doesn't matter.  You live by the lists and calendars.  You don't text while driving, but you do hands free phone calls to stay on top of everything. You try not to judge others, but judge yourself (often ...

Another 4th of July has come and gone.  It was a beautiful summer weekend to be at the Jersey Shore.  Sunny days on the beach (ok, there was some cloud cover and the occasional passing shower) and fireworks at night.  It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold.  It was the kind of weekend at you see in advertisements for the Jersey Shore. The shore was hopping this weekend.  There were plenty of people; tourists and locals.  The local shops were busy and hopefully making some serious money.  (Since most of the businesses are season and this is THE season.  Of course, as I learned, the local Wawa is NOT just a place to shop but a place to socialize with all your friends.  Who need the beach when you and all your friends can stand around in the middle of the store?)  The roads were crowded.  (The media will proclaim how all lanes on Rt. 35 are open and paved.  Of course what they won't say is the rest of the streets are still ...

The summer holiday weekend is almost upon us.  The country celebrates the 4th as Independence Day, but as many of you know (if you've been reading this blog for a while) that July 2nd is actually the day that Congress adopted the resolution to break from Great Britain.  (John Adams thought that July 2nd would be one for the history books.) The history of America is not an easy one.  History is made in this country every day.  I'm sure most of you know that just last week the Supreme Court made history by ruling that the Constitution guarantees the right of same sex marriage.  Agree or disagree it IS historic; doesn't matter which side of the debate you are on.  (I am of the opinion that debate is a good thing and that both sides should be listened to. We need more RESPECTFUL debate.To listen and learn from each side of the road is a path that we all could grow from.) As a country we are constantly growing and evolving.  Change is part of the DNA o...