Tuesday 4 and More

 

A Variety of Questions for You


Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and thank you so much for joining in!

Let's do a variety of questions this week, okay?

1. Did you have a favorite cartoon program or character as a young person, or even today?

Oh my goodness, I used to love to watch the Saturday morning cartoons...but we had to do our morning chores before we could sit down and watch TV.  I honestly can't think of a favorite cartoon character.  I loved them all...Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester and Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Roadrunner and Wiley old Coyote, to name a few. Then there was Popeye and Olive Oil, The Flintstones, The Jetsons.  Gosh, there were so many good ones. I loved them all. Probably Bugs Bunny stands out on top, however.   "What's Up Doc?"

2. Can you whole heartedly give people a second chance or do you find yourself still worried about trusting them?

I do believe in forgiveness and giving people a second chance.  The Bible tells us to 

The Lord's Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13, tells us that as we ask God to forgive our own trespasses or sins, we are to also forgive those who have sinned against us...

And if you keep reading in Matthew 6:14-15, we are told that if we don't forgive others, then God will not forgive us either...

However, I will say that if a person continues to "sin against me" multiple times, as a human it is difficult for me to keep forgiving that person when it appears they really aren't sorry.  However, when Jesus was asked about how often we should forgive someone, this is what He said:

Wow...and that doesn't mean I should keep count up to 490 times and then that's it, you're out!  It means that I must keep forgiving...

However, I will say that forgiving is one thing, but allowing a person to continue to hurt you over and over is another thing. I can forgive, but I don't have to stand there and keep taking a beating emotionally, physically or otherwise. I do not believe that Jesus intended for us to allow people to despitefully use us and cause us harm. That is another issue altogether.   There are times that we must forgive and walk away, and I believe God totally understands that and will help us find that way out when it is necessary to do so.

3. Are there things/activities you'd like to add to your life or do you feel you have enough to do, going on etc. to keep you satisfied?

At this point in life, being retired, I feel like I have enough to do, between home, family, and church activities.  However, there are some things I would still like to do if we had the money...do some traveling for one...see some places we've never seen, and visit some people we'd love to visit. I wish I had the energy (and money) to do some special projects around our home, but on the other hand, I am learning to be content with what I have and am very thankful to have it.  I just found this little video with scripture verses about contentment...This says it better than I could write it:

4. Can you live without your phone, TV, social media?

My first reaction to this is a resounding "YES!!"  And then I stopped to think about it more seriously, and I realized that without social media, in particular, we would not even be having this conversation. You would not be reading my blog and I would not be reading yours. We would not have made all these delightful friendships online without the aid of social media. So, from that standpoint, I must say that I do appreciate this blessing of being able to communicate with you and many others around the world...people I would never have had the opportunity to meet without this means.  On the other hand, there are times that I wish I could shut down the phone, tv and computer and just go away somewhere and be totally free from technology.  We do limit our time on tv these days. We only watch some basic news to make sure the world is still spinning, but we try to stay away from the daily stress of the hyped up media and especially the "fake news".  My cell phone has become rather indispensable, however, giving us directions on how to find places when traveling, and staying in communication with family on a regular basis. I do love to be able to pick up the phone and call someone whenever I need to...although I find myself using the texting method more and more because it is less intrusive and people can respond when convenient.  

 I do love to hear the human voice, however, and really wish that texting and instant messaging weren't quite so prevalent these days. I miss my phone calls to my mother...we used to call each other every Saturday morning without fail. This was back when we lived many miles apart and could only see each other maybe once or twice a year, so that weekly phone call was like a lifeline. I'd share with her what our family was doing, how our little boys were growing and getting into mischief, etc., and what the weather was like where we were...we lived "up north" and she and my daddy lived back home in Florida. She would tell me what they'd been doing and all their activities since they'd retired, etc. It was a wonderful visit. Of course, back then long distance phone calls were expensive, so we had to limit our calls to once a week, but to me it was money well spent. Actually, I think she usually called me to save us the cost of the call because she knew our funds were tight with raising three little boys, hubby in seminary, and/or living on a Pastor's meager salary. I've often wished there were phones in heaven...I'd sure love to hear her voice again...(not to mention other special people who have gone on before).  

Well, I guess that's the end of the questions for today. I was going to add some other stuff, but will just close with a few pictures from the past few days:

The neighborhood black kitty is back and up to her old tricks...the "opportunist" I call her. Now that the Bluebirds are taking up residence again, she is ever hopeful...

I will have to keep a close eye on her.

The Bluebirds aren't the only ones active here in our yard...

The Cardinals enjoy flying in and out for some birdseeds. I haven't seen the bob-tailed cardinal lately, but only these two.  I don't think he could have grown a new tail that quickly, could he?

Oh, and this juvenile Bluebird is still hanging around, taking a bath, watching the activities of his parents as they build their new nest in the birdhouse.  I'm not sure what he's going to do when they starting sitting on the nest and raising the new brood...maybe he'll help bring food...I don't know, but it's interesting to see that he is still here:

He's sitting on top of the birdhouse where the folks are busily building the new nest. He guards it while they are off gathering more twigs I guess...

And he has found a perch with pictures of his other feathered friends...I guess he thinks he's one of them. I love it...

Okay, time to go for now. I hope you have a blessed Tuesday...

Now let's go see what our other friends have to say on this Tuesday 4 day. Thanks for joining in!!

See you later!!