40 never looked so young!!!

1970s

• The city of Saigon is surrendered and remaining Americans are evacuated, ending the Vietnam War(April 30). 
• President Ford escapes second assassination attempt in 17 days (Sept. 22).
• ABC, CBS and NBC agree to create a "family hour," an early evening time slot that is free of violence and sex.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Jaws, Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, Barry Lyndon
• Home videotape systems (VCRs) are developed in Japan by Sony (Betamax) and Matsushita (VHS).
• The Altair home computer kit allows consumers to build and program their own personal computers. 
• July 8; Lauri Barkman is born, joining  big brother David...
  
  
  

  

  Like the nurses uniforms!

1980s

• Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24).
• Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th President (Jan. 20).
• Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He's the first major star to fall victim to the disease.
• Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin Tour.
• In 1983 I received a baby sister...Elise 
• I remember in 1986 when as a class we watched the first teacher board the Space Shuttle and watched live the tragedy of the explosion.
• I lived in Texas @ the time and I remember being in class and listening and watching the news  in 87 when Baby Jessica fell down a well, as people prayed and listened to her as she sang Winnie the Pooh.          July 8 1985...I turned 10 
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• In 1988 I received a baby brother, Aaron!

     1990s

• Russian space station Mir greets first Americans (March 14). US shuttle docks with station (June 27).
• Israelis and Palestinians agree on transferring West Bank to Arabs (Sept. 24). Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabinslain by Jewish extremist at peace rally (Nov. 4).
• Criminal trial of O. J. Simpson opens in California (Jan. 24).
• Scores killed as terrorist's car bomb blows up block-long Oklahoma City federal building (April 19); Timothy McVeigh, 27, arrested as suspect (April 21); authorities seek second suspect, link right-wing paramilitary groups to bombing (April 22).
• 1990 I was Diagnosed with Epilepsy, my family moved from a small town in Texas to a City in Arizona, my parents divorced.  
• 1993 I graduate High School
•    July 8, 1995...I turned 20
  

The 2000s

• Worldwide aid pours in to help the eleven Asian countries devastated by the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami (Jan.). See Tsunami Factfile. 
• Pope John Paul II Dies (April 2). Benedict XVI becomes the next pope (April 24).
• George W. Bush is officially sworn in for his second term as president (Jan. 20). 
• The Sept. 11 Public Discourse Project reports that the country is still "alarmingly vulnerable to terrorist strikes." (Dec. 5). 
• My Epilepsy has been under control, suffering for the most part from side effects. I have worked in child care for 10 years, and am a big part of my younger siblings life, I lost my grandpa to cancer.
• July 8, 2005 I turned 30
  
• In the last 10 years Ive lost 2 more grandparents. I have moved to California to be a Nanny, only moved back when the family moved away from Cali.  I have published a children's book.  I was forced to quit my job in social work, because my seizures broke through and began happening more often forcing me to stop driving and stop working.  The World and America and my life have changed quite a bit in the last 10 years.  A Horrible thing happened June 19, 2015 in Charleston  South Carolina where 9 people lost their lives to an act of racism where the confederate flag played a huge role. This horrible act has many people bringing down confederate flags everywhere, and even having my all time favorite show Dukes of Hazzard from being seen in reruns because of the iconic General Lee.  I have strong belief that if this event had not taken place; these flags would still be flying as well as the General Lee, which flew quite a bit in DoH. Now as Confederate flags come down rainbow flags go up and the LGBT celebrates the fact that they are now able to marry each other....My how the world has changed in 40 years.  I remember when my parents turned 40, they were so old.  I am grateful that I am poor, that way I will not go have some kind of weird mid life crisis that I will regret for years.  I am also grateful no matter how hard life has been, it has not gone my way, my way would have been harder indeed.  If it were up to me, I would have been married, had 4 kids and been a teacher.  Life is not that easy.  Life goes by so fast!  When you get to the age you have been dreading, you then realize just how young you are.  I'm so excited to see where God leads me these next 40+.  July 8, 2015 I turn...39+1
  

All info came from http://www.infoplease.com/yearbyyear.html 

Letting Go!

     My niece (5) and nephew (12) love Indiana Jones, oddly enough.  My niece always refers to it as “the man in the hat movie” and indeed loves watching it in the Indy hat I purchased @ Disney land several years ago.  The 4th movie is the one they watch the most, Aunt Lauri’s edited edition of course.

     Come with me now to a scene in the movie. Indy and Miriam fall into a dry patch of sand and they start to sink. Shia Labeouf’s character, whose name is Mud, runs and finds a huge snake to give the sinking couple in order to save them.  Miriam is pulled to safety, and not knowing Indy is greatly afraid of snakes, Mud throws him the reptile in order to save him. However, before Indy will grab the snake, he asks Mud to call it a rope, questioning his reasoning Mud finally says, “Grab the rope!”   Indy must hold onto the snake to be safe. Holding on makes sense, if Indy had let go he would have sunk and died. In some situations holding on can help, save, and rescue. 

     Sometimes, however, as much as it hurts letting go is the healthier choice. If you are like me, you have taken whatever the situation or person or thing to Jesus and said, “here take it please…I can’t fight this battle anymore.”  Then for some reason walk back to the cross and tell Jesus, “I do not like what you’re doing with this, so I’m going to take it back.” I then later go to Jesus give my situations to Him, then take it back again..It becomes a vicious cycle. 

Anakin: I can't do it, Mom. I just can't do it.

Shmi Skywalker: Ani...

Anakin: Will I ever see you again?

Shmi Skywalker: What does your heart tell you?

Anakin: I hope so. Yes... I guess.

Shmi Skywalker: Then we will see each other again.

Anakin: I will come back and free you, Mom. I promise.

Shmi Skywalker: Now, be brave, and don't look back. Don't look back. 

     This is the scene from Star Wars 1 when Anakin leaves his mother to become a Jedi.  In order to grow and become strong he must let go, not knowing if he will see his mother again. What happens when you let go of a rope? You fall, you have no control of where you will land, your heart is filled with fear, the closest thing to compare to it is when you go down on a roller coaster ride, and your heart is all the sudden in your belly and you’re asking yourself, what the heck did I get on this ride for? No control. You can’t control your life if you let go of it, However Hebrews 10:23 states, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised IS faithful! Sometimes in order to fulfill God’s will, you have to let go of the past and sometimes even the present.

     As she held her grandpa’s hand, she remembered the boat rides her and her brother shared with him.   She remembered riding on the golf cart around the acreage on his lot, she remembered the donuts…the smell of his shop when the family visited, Frank’s Donut House, “the place with taste”. Those buttermilk donuts were the best with butter dripping off…Now she was in his hospital room watching her grandpa fall in and out of consciousness, with that stupid brace around his neck…He was in so much pain, why didn’t he just go home to Jesus.   Then  while still holding his hand, she stroked his hair and said, “Why won’t you go home, you are worried about grandma aren’t you?”  “Grandpa you need to trust your family, we will take care of her, and we will still love her…I promise, grandpa you have to let go”…within 24 hours he had gone home…

     What I am sharing is a glimpse of what happened when I went to say goodbye to my Grandpa Barkman. 

     Matthew Perry had a show on TV titled Go On, the premise is Matthew’s character is a man who just lost his wife in a car accident and now must figure out how to go through life without her.  He joins a support group where he finds others as messed up as he is.  In one episode he and another group member realize they need to physically release a symbol of what they are clinging to in order to further heal.  Together they tie their wedding rings to balloons and they release them, lying down on the ground they watch their past lives fly away and begin to move on.

     This past July I had a Letting Go Birthday Party.  Some friends and I went to a park wrote down what we needed to let go of, tied it to a balloon, then let go…It was very healing.  We as humans go through trials, sometimes in the midst of these events we need to heal and even let go. We also  have to remind ourselves to not go to the cross and take these issues back from Him, but remember, He is God and He knows what He is doing…I have to let go of my rope…In this case I  let go of a balloon.  

     Sometimes, however, I can also see God holding the top of a rope, as if I were hanging on the end of a cliff.  I can hear Him say, and He is  screaming ; Lauri, Let Go…You Have To Trust Me.  So Here I am…Letting Go!  As we Let Go of 2013 and begin 2014 I invite you, on your own or with some friends to let go of last year, mistakes, regrets, emotions, whatever you are clinging on to…Let go and embrace this new year! 

 His mercies are new every morning and every New Year!!  It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23.