LOOKS AREN'T EVERYTHING, GAME NIGHT

One morning last spring I took this picture of a 15 year old pear tree in our front yard. It was beginning to blossom on schedule - which got me to thinking.  


The tree looks great in the spring, but it has yet to bear even one pear - and if we were counting on the tree to produce fruit, we would be in trouble. It doesn't provide much value, except for some temporary blossoms.

The tree reminded me of a book I read recently called "The Life God Blesses" by Gordon MacDonald.  In it he uses an effective illustration of a ship builder, who is more concerned about the ships' appearance than what is below the waterline.  Turns out the builder cut corners "below the waterline" on parts of the ship that no one could see. And on the ships' maiden voyage, a storm arose and the ship was destroyed.    

Guess you could say some in the Hollywood crowd are like the shipbuilder.  They spend a lot of time and money looking good on the outside, but sometimes under the surface their lifestyle is a mess and sometime their lives produce, well; not so much good fruit.

Click HERE to view this TED Talk

Yesterday I watched a TED TALK where a model mulls over what it means to be beautiful. To her, being beautiful is a matter of chance; she happened to be one of the people in the world born with a set of physical traits — height, femininity, shiny hair — that our cultural views as attractive. And while her beauty has been a cornerstone of her career, she has very mixed feelings about the doors it’s opened for her.  She said, “I’ve gotten these free things because of how I look, not who I am.  “And there are people paying a steep price for how they look, not who they are.”

I guess when we reach the end of our life, (a moment or two from now); it won't matter how great we looked on the outside. What's on the inside will be all that matters. 

   ANOTHER GAME NIGHT    

Monopoly is a board game that originated in the United States in 1903, as a way to demonstrate the evils of land ownership. The goal of the game is to drive all of the players into bankruptcy, leaving the winner in control of the entire economy. (I never knew that about Monopoly) 

Summertime and Avery Lady

Anyway, Monopoly was chosen for game night last evening by two of our (pretty on the inside and out) grand kids, along with specific snack requests including Skittles, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Rainbow Sherbet and Raspberry Lemonade. And some Kiwi and Cantaloupe.

We will remember this night as FREAKY FRIDAY. Just like in the movie, it seemed that the two girls changed bodies. Normally, one is pretty mellow, and the other is well, kinda crazy. For some reason, their personalities switched last night. But when the (sometimes intense) dealing was over, Avery Lady was the winner and the night completed our 2015 game nights for 10 of our 11 grand kids. 

We have enjoyed these special "one on one" times with incredible grandkids.