Reality Check with Ann Downing...

I’ve never been much of a procrastinator.  I am uncomfortably aggravated with folks who routinely are causing others a lot of standing around and waiting, waiting, waiting.  It’s rather rude, in my opinion.  With that said, I’ve been one this early part of 2017.  I’ve put off, and repeated putting off, the job of taking down my Christmas decorations and stowing away….partly because of busy-ness, but mostly because, frankly, I’d become attached to those pretty little things!  And a bit of non-motivation creeped in, too.  Now that most of my decorations are in boxes, bags, closets, wherever, I’m not missing those snowmen, favorite ornaments, the wise men or their friends so much.  I do dread finding a place for those “normal” dust-catchers to be displayed for the next 10 months or so.  Why am I always dreading something?  Well, mostly because change is like a death to me, in a way.  This revelation came to me a few minutes ago.  Chang...

My Christmas decorations are still up this February 10, 2017!!  They’ve been up since early December, 2016! Yes, it bothers me sometimes when I dare let myself become aware that red and green are the primary colors in my house in February!  It’s supposed to be red and white for Valentine’s, right?  But since I don’t decorate for Valentine’s…have never had any red hearts, pictures of pink roses or boxes of CHOCOLATE to display, maybe it’s ok that red and green are still dominating the scene? I know some may be wondering why it’s important, but my point/question today is:  How many things do we do just because we feel we’re SUPPOSED to do them?  How many hours of our week do we spend trying to DO the “right things” because we are consumed by “what they’ll think”?  Whoever “they” are. Jesus was most always controversial in the eyes of a lot of people, but He was never controversial to His Heavenly Father.  I need to remember that at least as well as I rem...