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Let Me Tell You ’bout the Birds and the Bees

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When I planted this flower in my garden, I had no idea that its name was “Bee Balm” nor did I know that aside from the obvious visual beauty of this gorgeous flower it attracts birds and bees.

Immediately, upon hearing that, I remembered the song “let me tell you ’bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and a thing called love”, and then I chuckled out loud. And, then I sat and reflected about how much life has changed in the arena of the birds and the bees and the story of intimacy and sex since I was a kid.

For one thing, when I was growing up, the word “sex” was never used! Never, ever, ever did I hear that word in my home, and I only heard it in school when used in reference to “being dirty.” I can almost see today’s kids rolling their eyes at this one. I know my kids sure do give the eye roll when I talk about my days of growing up!

I honestly and truly didn’t find out about “the birds and the bees” until I was in 8th or 9th grade and the details were pretty sketchy because I had to sneak a peek in Webster’s Dictionary and the only photos I could find weren’t very graphic at all. I promise you that nobody talked about sex back then! Yes, I know that people did the birds and bees thing, but they didn’t talk about it!

I was about 16 when my mother had “the talk” with me, and it consisted of “Watch what you’re doing when you go on dates because you could end up pregnant.” YIKES! Some education, huh? I didn’t have a clue. And, there really wasn’t anybody to ask because everybody’s lips were sealed on this topic. It was something you talked about when girls got engaged, I guess. Okay, I’m sure there was some talk about it before getting engaged, but it sure wasn’t like today! We blushed, we did a silly giggle, we got embarrassed, and we definitely thought we were getting away with murder if we whispered the word “sex” when we were in a group talking as highschoolers.

My kids grew up in an entirely different era, and as a parent, I’ve watched things move from the story of “the birds and the bees” to today’s times of ads on TV for condoms, sex toys, and advertisements for websites that can introduce you to a sexual playmate. Quite a distance from the days of the “Bee Balm” plant!

Good or bad, this is the time in which we live, and I believe today’s times carry an even greater responsibility on parents to have “the talk” with their kids than ever before! And, hopefully your talk will be a little more detailed and bit more God-centered than the one my poor mom gave to me. The story of love and making love (God’s way) is beautiful and sincere and pure and perfect! And, it’s a story that every child needs to hear!

As I was checking out the old “Bee Balm” plants, I thought, “Why not? What would be so wrong with going back to the basics of explaining how God designed things to be for husbands and wives? What would be so wrong with using the example of how bees carry and deposit pollen and then the plants blossom and grow? Why not use God’s beautiful creations to explain His most wonderful design for love? Would today’s kids grasp it? Or would they make fun?”

Today’s kids would not only grasp it, but they would delight in it, I’m sure. And, they need to hear the story of love and sex as told from a godly perspective! We all love hearing the truth. We each have a place in our heart for purity and beauty. And, there’s nothing that
draws kids closer to their parents than to hear them speak about God’s plan for their lives.
Go for it! Buy a few Bee Balm plants, wait for the birds and the bees to arrive, and talk on! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Love,

Clara
PS How did I explain love, sex, and God’s design for marriage to my kids? I’m sure you’re dying to know. Okay. Okay, I confess. I didn’t do so well. I bought a book that had little naked cartoonish stick figures and gave it to them to read. I still have the book, and it will be a conversation piece for time evermore!

The Duck Tail — You Gotta Love the 50’s!

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My kids think it’s so funny when I tell them stories about “my times” of growing up. It’s definitely a hoot for me to think back to how different things were back in the day.

So, let’s talk for a minute about the duck tail hair cuts. I can remember standing on the playground of Hammonton High School in New Jersey swooning over Frankie Avalon as he would walk on by the chain-link fence and talk to us. Okay, maybe he didn’t always talk, but he did wave at us as we girls gripped the fence in hopes that Frankie would walk over and touch one of our hands. No, trust me, he never touched mine. If he had, I would never have washed my hand again!

Frankie had a duck tail which was the absolute most studly fashion statement for guys’ hair in the 5o’s. This awesome style was the dream-child of barber Joe Cirella (Italian, I’m sure) and this fashion became the craze when television and movie stars began waltzing the streets with their ducktails, also known as the Duck’s Butt, or the D.A., but we’ll keep it polite here and stick with ducktail. You can actually look at the tail of a duck and see how Barber Cirella came up with this idea!

I remember my father ranting and raving about how awful that was! He had plenty to say about the ducktails! Truth-be-known, if he hadn’t been in his 30’s at the time or had a head of kinky waves that wouldn’t comb straight, he would have strutted a duck tail, too.

What’s all this have to do with us today? I guess I just think fashion raves are just that…..they come and go like the waves of the sea, and sometimes we get so hung up on what people wear, how they style their hair, or better yet, what color they put in their hair, that often we miss out on the heart of the person.

Ducktails in the 50’s. The disco punk in the 60’s and 70’s. Long hair for guys. Short spikes for girls. Vice versa. Who cares? What really matters is what the person is made up of on the inside. The outside is nothing more than a signature fashion statement of the era in which we live. It’s been that way for time evermore, and fashion statements will continue to change like the tide until the end of time.

I’m sure you’re wondering if I had a ducktail? No way! That was for the guys. Me? Beehive all the way!

Love,

Clara

PS I sure do wish the ducktail would come back, guys! Why don’t you work on that?

Inside Every Peanut There’s a Man!

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As a kid, I can remember many hours spent finding the “Peanut Man” inside of every peanut that I opened. If you haven’t tried doing that, you should! You can see the shape of the man’s face, his top hat, his moustache, and his long beard. You can even see Mr. Peanut Man’s eyes looking right at you! And, the fun part is that no two peanut men are exactly the same!

Most of us have probably never looked for the man in the peanut, though. We dig through the bag, shell the peanuts, gobble them down, and then we’re done, often hardly even taking the time to savor the lingering taste of the peanut. (Can you tell I’m a fan of peanuts?)

Isn’t that how it is in life most of the time? In the course of a week, we come in contact with so many different people, we say a quick “hi”, and exchange of few words, then go on our way never even savoring the flavor of the individual much less taking the time to look for the man inside each person!

Life is too wonderful to allow it to pass us by unnoticed! We do it with people in general, with our friends, and many times we even do this with our close family members including our children. We just gulp down the “mundane stuff of the day” without taking time to look at the individual man inside of each flavorful peanut. We busy ourselves with the menial tasks of everyday living, and carelessly toss aside the meatier parts of life, including spending enough time with one another to really get to know the heart and what makes each of us tick.

Who are the peanuts in your life? Your co-workers? Your aunts, uncles, and cousins? Your friends at school? Your mate? Your children? Your grandchildren? Do you take the time to really see them for who they are? Do you make the time to enjoy their individuality? Do you look for the things that make them uniquely and wonderfully different? It’s FUN getting to know people, especially those close to us, on a more personal level. Everybody has something special, something unique, to add to the beauty of the day, but we must take the time to look for it!

Inside of every peanut there’s a man just waiting to be discovered! There’s a wonderful personality, a terrific brain, a flavorful side, and a uniqueness that was meant to be discovered.

Why not try something different today? Why not spend enough time with those you come in contact with to find the peanut inside the man? I have a feeling you’re going to be happily surprised at all of the neat faces you’ll find!

Love,

Clara

PS For those of you who are allergic to peanuts, keep in mind there are all kinds of other nuts in this world just waiting to be discovered!

The Bible Totin’ Kid from Nashville

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Every now and then something strikes a chord in your heart that plays a song that you’ll remember forever. That’s just how it was on my most recent trip to Nashville to visit family.

We were gathered in the livingroom saying our final goodbyes when my two-year-old grandson entered the room with all smiles. He was dressed up in his Sunday best and ready to go to church! He was happy from the inside out and you could tell. His eyes sparkled, there was dancing in his steps, and he clutched ever-so-proudly to his very own Bible! Yes, you heard me……he has his very own Bible at the age of two! Name inscribed on the Bible, too!

I captured a picture, not just because I think he is cute as all dickens, but because that was a sight precious to my heart. My son and his wife are teaching their children from little up the absolute JOY of knowing God! Going to church isn’t a drudgery. It wasn’t a sacrifice to get up early, get all dressed up in church clothes (when sunshine and a swimming pool were calling to them outside of the dining room window). It wasn’t a hardship to carry that Bible around, nor was it an embarrassment. He was proud to be going to church! He was so happy to show me his name written on the front cover of his very own Bible! He was full of joy, and for all of the right reasons! God is love! God is our Father. God is our Redeember. God is our Everything!

In this hurried world of ours, we sometimes allow “things” to get in the way of way of the meatier parts of life — those things of lasting significance. And, we often drift far, far away from what is of eternal value. We get sucked into the temporary fun stuff of life, and forget that we can have absolute fun while we’re being totally in love with our heavenly Father. Joy and God are synonymous….they are not enemies of one another.

This photo of Zach is etched in my mind and burned on my heart forever. May we always strive for that child-like love of God! May we never be ashamed of calling God our Father! May we display our Bible in our hands, hearts, and homes with the same joy of this little one who so innocently said, “Gram, look! MY Bible!”

By giving our children the words of God, we are giving them the map to an eternity spent in heaven, as well as the guide for all of life while on earth. There will be hard troubles that smash into our lives. There will undoubtedly be difficult challenges that test us to the very core of our being. But, if we cling tightly and proudly to the words found in that Bible, there will be nothing that will ever pull us away from our God, our Father, and our Saviour!

Who knows what lies in store for this little two-year-old Bible totin’ kid from Nashville! Maybe he will be the next voice that God uses to tell the world of His love. And, to think it all began with a little tan Bible in the hands of a very young boy from the hills of Tennessee!

Love,

Clara Hinton

There’s More to Ice Cream Than Meets the Eye!

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I don’t know about you, but I love ice cream! I mean I really love ice cream, and apparently so do a lot of people! Give me the plain flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and I’ll get wowed! Give me the totally scrumptious flavors like almond peanut butter or black cherry and vanilla bean and I’ll jump up and down with craziness!

For a lot of us, ice cream is a much more than just frozen milk, cream, and some flavoring. Ice cream is reason for getting together. Ice cream always is present at a party. Ice cream is something that cools us down on a hot, summery day. Ice cream is that stuff that gets all gooey on the faces of little ones and makes us look at the children with delight and say, “Oh, my word! Look how cute!” Ice cream is a great way to make memories!

Last weekend, I had the most wonderful Mother’s Day ever! I got to visit with family in the grand city of Nashville, Tennessee! Granted, I love the city, and it’s an awesome place to visit, BUT the city would not be what it is to me if I didn’t have loved ones living there! I got to spend precious moments with some of my children and my grandchildren! And, guess what helped give us some of our most cherished moments of our time together? Ice cream!!!!!

We laughed, we talked, and ate all kinds of flavors of ice cream. The kids had ice cream all over their faces, on their shirts, on the tables and chairs, and nobody seemed to care. The “ice cream social” was too good for words!

We all need those “ice cream moments” when we can get together and just let our hair down and enjoy life. Those times when we forget we have any cares in this world, and we fall into the “I love life more than anything” mode. Those times when all we care to do is laugh and play and enjoy the moment.

If you’ve noticed the date of this blog, you’ll know that my visit to Nashville was directly following the flood that did billions of dollars of damage in that fair city, as well as claimed lives of some very precious people. You might ask how we could take a break away from the heavy pain of this time of sorrow to eat ice cream and laugh. We did it because that is often how we deal with the deep sorrows of life — we take some necessary small breaks away from the pain in order to recharge our batteries. We take mini grief breaks to give ourselves time to replenish and refuel.

The Nashville people were doing just that, too! Many were out last weekend talking, laughing, and enjoying some ice cream. They weren’t disrespectful. They weren’t forgetting the massive clean-up about to begin in the city. They weren’t making light of the pain. They were simply getting energized for the work that lies ahead.

What’s your pain today? More importantly, what’s your plan for survival? Do you have an “ice cream social” planned? Maybe a “chocoate chip cookie fest” ? Or how about a movie-marathon? What is it that recharges you? What fills up your tank when it is running on low? Whatever it is, then do it today! It’s a matter of survival!

Love,

Clara Hinton