Skip to main content

Well Preserved at Fifty


I laughed when I heard all the hoopla about Barbie turning 50. My daughters had a huge collection of the dolls when they were very young and memories flooded my mind of our living room filled with Barbie going to the beach, Barbie in evening gowns, and Barbie in casual shorts to name just a few. My husband teased about their collection telling me that our living room reminded him of a huge game of Twister with slender legs sticking up in all directions. It was their world and their dolls performed activities that their little imaginations created.


I was amused one day when I listened to the dialogue exchanged between my two girls and a friend’s daughter who was spending the night. The Barbie setting was Christian focused and the back drop was Sunday School Class. Lynda, our pretty pastor’s wife was in the cast as well as Elaine and Judy, both of them Sunday school teachers as well as moms and also good friends of mine in Women’s Ministry at our church. lt was so cute to hear these three “producers” direct their actresses with their make believe story.


I shared at Women’s Bible Study the impact Sunday School teachers had on my girls and how it affected their play time. I thought Lynda, Elaine & Judy would fall off their chairs they were laughing so hard. I wondered if they would ever live down the jokes we made of their new found fame as Barbie Dolls. Here’s the clincher: Lynda, Elaine & Judy were tall, slender, tan and had long, straight hair. They came from California and were true Valley girls converted to Jesus and served him with all their hearts.


It wasn’t long before our Women’s Ministry took a new turn, especially in our Bible studies. The gorgeous pastor’s wife, an excellent teacher and leader, targeted studies with themes that dealt with heart motives and less exterior image. We became women focused on purity rather than outer adornment. Our Lord became our producer and we were living out a new script!


I’ve since moved from that little town on the border of California and Arizona. What I wouldn’t give to see those real live Barbie dolls, umm….well past the age of 50!

Comments

  1. Kathleen March 10, 2009 at 5:27 AM

    Just think, Ken may not have aged quite so well!

    It took me such a long time to get the "inside" beauty thing. Externals were important for far too long. So it saddens me to watch our sex-saturated culture fuel it with far more tinder than Barbie.

    I hope they'll come out with a grey-haired Barbie, or an arthritis Barbie. I'd howl, and probably have to buy one.

    Kathleen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laurie AnnMarch 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM

    What a great post! I love how the Lord directed their play time. Just precious.

    Thank you so very much for the encouragement you gave in your comment this morning. I love that verse from Jeremiah and wanted to say thanks for agreeing with me in prayer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PistolmomMarch 10, 2009 at 10:07 PM

    www.freedoms-fight.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Venomous Intruder

It’s the middle of rattlesnake season here on the ranch.  The local news anchor confirmed it.   I’ve seen two already.    While driving along our dirt road yesterday, I mistook a virulent enemy for a branch. I backed up the car, looked again and noticed the branch shifted revealing a rattle at its end. At one of our road association meetings in the barn, Shelby stood up and shouted, “ BOB !” to my next door neighbor.  He’s our vice president and the one all eyes were on as he gave a presentation in the middle of the room.  I sensed fear in the way she yelled his name.  I learned after the meeting that Shelby called out to him like that because she saw a rattler slither in the barn door where she and I sat.  Bob yielded to the interruption and quietly dispatched the enemy.  Ten minutes later, this tough guy was back to center stage falling right back in step with the business at hand.   Bob is my new best friend. ...
42 comments
Read more

Let's Live Together

I took a Ziploc bag of frozen pork chops out of the freezer and set them in the refrigerator to thaw.  I decided to make one of my favorite crock pot recipes with them.  I threatened the husband with a black eye if he ate the last of the sour cream because I needed it for that simple recipe. The next day, I carried my crock pot to my island in the kitchen and mixed the sour cream with an envelope of onion soup mix and decided to rinse the defrosted meat at the sink before adding to my recipe.  Then I noticed something. They weren’t pork chops.  To my surprise, I witnessed defrosted chicken thighs.  Very big chicken thighs; it must have been a hippy chicken.  The freezer bag’s label read Dec. ’15 in the husband’s writing.  I assumed it contained pork chops.  I was wrong. Write it like a man. Thinking like a man would think, he probably guessed that any fool could see these are chicken thighs when he placed them in a clear gal...
29 comments
Read more

Marriage Tip #44: Do What He Wants

I thought about our upcoming anniversary.   I prayed one morning for the marriages in my family, and a sentence about my own dropped in my spirit:  “ Do What He Wants .”  I paused, “Really?”  He’s his own man.  What if I end up in the wilderness camping by night and target shooting by day?  What if a coyote decides to have me as a late night snack? We celebrated our anniversary early this year, Before the kids come next week.   And we did it his way . This is how it happened. I never asked him about a plan or even mentioned our day.  I remember how it all unfolded at the roundabout just as we drove into Sedona.  He asked me if I would like to go to a baseball game.  I responded excitedly, “Yeah!”  Before the day was over, he purchased tickets for a Diamondbacks home game. He printed them out.  He booked a hotel room so we wouldn’t have to drive home from the city after the late evening game. ...
44 comments
Read more