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| Believe it or not, all of these were taken on the grounds of our courthouse right in downtown! |
Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. Colossians 3:22-25 (The Message)
The problem with diving back into life after a vacation is that there is little time to write and when there is, the subject matter no longer seems interesting compared to the glories of vacation. Who wants to write about sewing, cleaning house, cooking meals and the daily grind of work when scenes of the Atlantic Ocean, wild ponies and Colonial Williamsburg still fill your mind? But, life goes on and vacation is over until next year when husband manages to scrap out another week from his miserly vacation hours. Unless I convince him to retire first. I have been doing a lot of sewing, finishing Christmas presents, making wedding presents, fall table runners and skirts for my daughter-in-law. I finally figured out that sewing, even planning the next project is calming for me. I buy fabric like some people buy alcohol. A fresh stash of material in pretty colors gives me something to dream about and drugs me better than a bottle of cheap wine. Maybe not so cheap though. Fabric is expensive! Caroline’s Story has been on hold as my computer is dying and locks up about halfway through a page. I spend as much time saving my work as I do writing it so quit in frustration. The computer isn’t that old, but the technology is so I am looking for a new model. Work has been exciting. If you think the life of a historian is quaint and quiet, you are wrong. I was asked to evaluate a neighborhood in our community to see if it would be eligible to be declared a historic district and use history and heritage to revitalize the area. The neighborhood was not a safe place for me to drive through alone so I spent more than half a day riding with a Code Enforcement Officer looking at buildings that were more run down than antique and meeting residents and hearing their stories. I saw places that I did not know existed in Manatee County. Living conditions worse than what I usually see in Guatemala. Prostitutes walking the street in daylight. Drug dealers hanging out in restaurants. Old men, unemployed, sitting under the trees playing checkers. Young people trying desperately to start legitimate businesses and fighting red tape and bureaucracy to do it. The highlight of the tour was chasing cows off the railroad tracks. That was the only time I found something to laugh about. The next day, I was lying on my stomach taking artistic shots of the new courthouse landscaping for our county’s annual financial report. Never a dull moment in the life of a historian. What do sewing, writing, studying and photographing all have in common? If I have learned one thing this year, it is that every moment counts. Whatever I do is not wasted and I am spurred to do it well, if I do it as though I am doing it for God. How about you? What’s on your to do list for today?
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