Tip of the Day 7/06/12

99 Days of Summer:  My husband grew up camping, I did not. His father was a Naturalist with The Park Service and he lived in National Parks his entire childhood, Yosemite, Glacier, Badlands, and vacations were spent camping. This meant sleeping under the stars most of the time. It has always sounded like an idyllic childhood. My family always stayed in hotels when we traveled. My Mom's idea of a vacation was not cooking and cleaning. Throughout our married life I have convinced Richard to camp a few times, but it has been the exception, not the rule. He likes to say, "my idea of roughing it is slow room service." We own a tent and all the equipment and I keep dreaming that one summer we will use it. Camping in the backyard can be a great option for "vacationing" when you can't get away. The kids love it and it is a great money saver. By camping in the yard you can vacation every weekend if you want to. Of course there are probably plenty of campgrounds close to home and you will feel like you have gotten away with little expense.

 Word for Today, Word: When I was in 5th or 6th grade I used a word at school that I had no idea what it meant. It was not a nice word and since I grew up in an environment where that type of language was never used, I have no idea how I knew it. Since I am old and that was during the age of black and white TV, four letter words were not a part of what we heard while watching The Andy Griffith Show or Gilligan's Island. There were shows that started to push the envelope of language and behavior in the mid-sixties like The Smothers Brothers and Laugh-In, but compared to what we here today... Sadly this language has become so common place that most of society has become desensitized to it. It is rare to watch or read anything without it. There are several things about this trend downhill that are disturbing. Not only is the language offensive, it shows a lack of intelligence. Kids today use four letter words throughout a conversation just as in the past kids used the word "like" repeatedly. They are completely unaware they are even saying it. Their words have no substance. One of the reasons authors from the past have endured is the beautiful pictures they painted with the language they used, from the Psalms of David to Jane Austen or Emmerson, the language was beautiful. The Bible tells us that out of the heart, the mouth speaks. As I listen to the speech of today, it is sad to realize that the hearts of so many are so devoid of beauty and substance. "Let your speech always be seasoned with grace."