When in the course of God-ordained events, it becomes necessary for one blogger to...

stop blogging...

A "decent respect to the opinions of [my readers] requires that [I] should declare the causes which impel [me]..." They are three in number. (And I'll try not to sound sententious.)

Life — God has given everyone a role, a part in the play of life. Fulfilling that role is what life must be about. For me that means being the best daughter and sister I can possibly be, as well as preparing to be the best wife and mother I can possibly be (just in case I ever get the chance, you know). Blogging, though able to aid these objectives in a small way, is not the best way to accomplish them. Instead of spending more quality time with my family, I spend my time creating stories about the times we do work and play together. Instead of adding to my knowledge, I exhaust the little I have by raiding my brain for photo captions each week.

Liberty — So I'm going to stop. I'm going to free myself from this self-inflicted schedule. And I'm going to trust that God will give me the strength to serve Him better by serving those around me better.

The Pursuit of Happiness — I'm going to call it joy, and I will only find it, I'm convinced, in doing what God has called me to do.

There you have it: my declaration of independence. It is, after all, the right of the blogger to alter or to abolish his blog, and to institute a new blog... Whoa! Stop right there. Did I mean to go that far? A new blog?

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I'd still like to have a place online where I can put stuff. When I do have something to show or something to say, I can post it there without having to manufacture both on a bi-weekly basis. I'm guessing I'll put photos up now and then, but I'm also guessing that the thousand words every photo speaks will have to be an adequate explanation for them. In other words, my captioning days might be over.

Nothing is posted on the new blog yet, but you are welcome to visit it:
http://carmenbeth.blogspot.com/

To my dear family and faithful subjects, thank you.

Thank you for your years of posing.

Conrad has stood on his head for me.

In fact, they all have.

A Parable

It's spring. And spring is a time of new beginnings.

For new things to begin, old things must sometimes give.

Don't worry about change; don't bite your nails (or worse, egg beaters); don't try to fight it.

The weapons we use to fight it are generally ineffective anyway.

Some things in life are like a stop by the chicken pen: a transitory treat, a fleeting moment of fun, a brief break in life.

Then it's time to move on with life. Take a backward glance or two, but move on.

To every thing there is a season...

...and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born...

...and a time to die

A time to weep...

...and a time to laugh


A time to blog, and a time to stop blogging.

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All that remains is to thank you, sincerely, for the wonderful readers that you have been. I know, because my stats tell me, that you have been a faithful bunch. You have also been an encouraging bunch. Your comments communicate that. I will miss you and the posts I could have created for you.

God Bless, not only your next two weeks but the rest of your lives.

Carmen

Hello Everybody,

Getting worried? Thinking maybe this is the end?

No, not quite. I was at the wedding of my friends Dale and Anna Stoltzfus today, which is why I'm posting late. Also, this past week I was working on another project, which is why this post is short.

Both the wedding and the "other project" were a blessing to be part of. So, no regrets.

(The link there is for those of you who contributed. Thank you.)

A Quote Illustrated

"Hard work spotlights the character of people:

...some turn up their sleeves

...some turn up their noses

...and some don't turn up at all." -Sam Ewig

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Thanks go to Faith for agreeing to be the scapegoat of this week's post. I love you, Sister.

God Bless.

Carmen

Dear Readers,

You're here, once again! It's hard for me to believe. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Because of your faithfulness, I want to notify you of what I've been contemplating: an end to blogging or, at the least, a break.

But the end isn't here yet. (I'll make it clear when it is.) So go ahead and check out the post.

I hear that arm wrestling with Conrad has been the thing lately.

Around here, the trampoline is on the fad list. Can't you just see it sucking in the jumpers?


Mercy's parody of the Statue of Liberty

IFRC Work Day

The fire company might be at the new hall, but we aren't.

In fact, we're at the old one because... well, because it's old.

Ladders...

...and workers

...and more ladders

...and more workers.

The Leaning Tower of Pizza

I approve, applaud, approbate... Put simply, I appreciate people who wash their hands, am appalled by those who do not, and appeal to all of you to make it a habit.

(Sorry. Call me overly apprehensive, but I am passionate about anything appertaining to cleanliness.)

Hope I didn't spoil your appetite.

(Check out how many words there are starting with app.)

Someone told me the lamp was trying to make a fashion statement.

And what are we doing here? Making an old-fashioned statement perhaps?

Just so you know, photography isn't dying at IFRC.

It's just going retro.

Much to the skepticism of some.

The Hard Core Volunteers

(By the way, there's some Greek up there for you to translate. Anybody?)

Look over here! Maybe this isn't volunteer work after all. Mr. Phero? Is that your wallet?

Mr. Phero? Hey, where'd he disappear to?

Time to call it a day.

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Thank you for stopping by.

Carmen