... Even the worst heartaches can become heartstrings to God's hope, comfort, encouragement, joy, peace and love...

Welcome! As a fan of the cartoon character Maxine, I enjoy her witty remarks. But when I
read my blogs & other writing to her, she's not very responsive- even when I'm wearing my bunny slippers like hers! She just doesn't get it!
Although she's funnier than I am, I do pray that this site will bring encouragement to your day! I'd love to hear from you! Unlike Maxine, you can leave me a message via the Comments. Shalom, Connie

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Saturday, February 18, 2023

Who Am I? Part #1- Childhood Memories

I'm sitting at my computer wondering who I have become and whether that is what the Lord meant me to be.
As a child I became an advid reader. I loved books! I read every book in my elementary (3) and junior high schools' libraries.(Minus the reference books we could not check out.) Librarians loved me. In 6th grade I sat under the fire escape to read during recess. I knew it was off limits, but it was the only place with shade. One day a couple boys from my class were sneaking around the back of the building when they saw me. "Watcha doin'?" the tall one asked. "Yeah, wny are back here? It's off-limits." the other demanded. "Readin'." With a smerky grin, the tall one reached for my book. but I moved it out of his reach. "You never break the rules...why read a dumb book anyhow." "It's about going undersea. Quite an adventure for an old lady and her cow." They stared in disbelief then looked at each other saying, "Proof it!" I think they planned to tease me, instead they sat down across from me. I turned back to page one and began to read. That was the day I became the reading tutor for a small group of boys. Later I learned my teacher didn't miss me. But when the boys disappeared, she went looking. Imagine her surprise when she saw us. The next day she asked me to stay after school. She explained that the boys needed to run off some of their energy, but she was delighted to see these non-readers intently listening. So we came up with a plan: on Tuesdays and Fridays I would take a book out and head for the fire escape. The other days they would burn up those wiggles that made it so hard to sit still and concentrate. When the Miss Pickeral books were finished, the boys would pick out the next one. (Our teacher or the librarian would help, if needed.) I ended up with 5-6 boys coming and they were hooked. By the end of 6th grade, those boys were checking out their own books to read at home. The librarian helped them get library cards at the neighborhood public library to encourage them to read over the summer. As for me, I already visited the public library year round. I was proud that I helped these guys enter junior high as readers!