Everything I ever needed to know about life, I learned from my dog.

Last night, I was reminded of a valuable lesson - trust.

I gave my dog, Sheba, a bath. She hates getting a bath. Even though she always needs them by the time I give her one, she simply hates getting one. When the bath is over, I have to wrap her in a towel and hold her tightly to dry her off. Otherwise, she makes a mess. She'll run all over the place, spraying water and hair over everything and then will make a running dive into the nearest carpet to begin the "Doggie Shuffle". Anyone with a dog is sure to know what that is!

Anyway, we made it through the bath and because she was so good, I decided to give her a treat. So as I got the treat and was sitting on the bed, about to give it to her, I was reminded of how I respond to my Master when He has to "give me a bath" or when He wants to pour out His blessings in my life.

As I sat there, breaking up the cookie into small pieces, I watched my dog and how she responded to me. She sat there, totally focused on my hands and what was in them. As I gave her each piece, her eyes never left my hands. A couple of times I closed my hand with a piece of the cookie inside it, and just sat there, waiting to see what she would do. There were a couple of times she looked away - a car was passing by or a noise caught her attention - but she would always quickly turn back to stare intently at my hand, waiting to see what I was going to do.

It seemed like God was gently prodding me about my response to Him. How do I respond to Him when he wants to "wash me clean"? Do I just endure it, counting down the time until I can get out and run free? Or do I relish those times of cleansing and allow Him to do a thorough job? Am I as fervent in my devotion to "watching His hand"? Do I allow the distractions of this world to cause me to turn away from Him and perhaps miss a blessing or a ministry opportunity He has for me? Do I trust Him enough to simply wait for Him to move in my life? I was convicted, to say the least.

This is something I've been dealing with for a while. This, trusting God thing. I'm trying to figure out why it is so hard for me. It's sort of unfair, because He made me to be independent, but I'm supposed to lay that all down (dying daily to that sinful nature in me) and submit to Him. I'm not complaining, just trying to figure out how to do that. I'm sure a lot of my struggle is due to the sin of pride in my life. I've just recently recognized that I do have too much pride. It's hard when God gives you a good "scrubbing" by shining the light of His truth in your life.

The fact remains that I do want to trust God. To be broken and submissive to Him. Good grief, if I can't trust the Creator of the Universe, then whom can I trust? The hard part is getting to that broken and submissive place. To be the clay in the Potter's hands. To realize, truly realize, that without God, there is no point in going on.

I'm getting better - of this I'm sure! I'm almost beginning to look forward to the next bath!

Yes, Grasshoppa! A Ninja Story

Found this hilarious story over at Dave's site.

I almost wet myself laughing at it!

What kind of world do we live in?

I'm sure all of you have heard the name Terri Schindler-Schiavo in the news lately. Just today, after hearing her father on the Sean Hannity radio program, I went and looked up the website her family has about Terri's situation.

This is just unbelievable! The videos on this website of Terri and her reactions to several different stimuli is amazing. Her husband (who I believe is just evil) has refused any type of rehabilitative therapy for Terri ever since she received an award for a malpractice suit. Terri's father asserts that her husband had something to do with her "collapse" and that is why he doesn't want her to live. He must be afraid of what she would say if she were to start talking.

I only wish I had known more about this before now. Folks, pray for Terri and her family, and that God would intervene in this situation. Unless something happens (i.e., Governor Jeb Bush intervenes or God miraculously intervenes) Terri will slowly die of starvation.

There are several links on Terri's webpage for ways you can help. Who knows, a few more phone calls might make a difference.

Made some changes

Just so you know, I had to change my commenting feature, which means I've lost all the awesome comments left prior to today.

I'm sorry about that! I just got tired of my comments not being there from time to time. I've seen Haloscan being used by several other blogs and thought I'd give them a try.

Please feel free to go back and comment on any prior posting! It might be fun to see what people have to say about past posts!

In any case, I always enjoy reading your posts! I hope you'll continue to leave a bunch!

If only...

Have you ever been somewhere, and a person of the opposite sex walks into the room and so captivates your attention that you lose yourself for a moment (or two, or three....)? That happened to me today.

I was at my friend's office (I was just dropping something off to her) and this guy walks in for a meeting with someone else in her office. Well, when he walked in, I was just knocked over - so to speak. He is an attractive man and the first thing I thought was, "Lord, please let him be single!" Of course, the first thing I look for is a ring on that fourth finger of his left hand and lo and behold, it is naked! I'm thinking, this is good. Well, introductions were made and he asks me if I attended a particular college. I knew he looked vaguely familiar, so when he said he had also attended that school, that explained it. So he goes into the other office and then a few seconds later comes back out. When I introduced myself to him, I mentioned that I work for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He had come back out to ask me how he could get involved with FCA, so I told him I could get him some more information about it. He said ok and went back into the other office for his meeting.

Meanwhile, I'm standing there, praying to God that he is single. I mean, I've never been this rattled by meeting someone. It is very strange. Anyway, my friend gives me a piece of paper so I can write my name and office number down to give to this guy, so he can call me to get more info about FCA. When I finished, I jokingly said, "I'm leaving now, so when you give this to him, ask him if he's married. If he's not, tell him to call me!!!" We laughed at that (although I was dead serious) and then she proceeded to show me something on her computer.

All the while I'm standing at her desk, I'm thinking I need to get out of there before I do or say something stupid. Before too much longer, his meeting is over, so he comes back out and stands there and talks to the both of us for a minute. He then asks me where I went to high school. It turns out, not only did we go to the same college, but we had both attended the same high school. He graduated the year before I did. This explained further why he was familiar to me.

We were having a great conversation (I can tell he is a genuinely nice guy and committed to Christ). I couldn't remember much about him from high school (although, the more I think about it, I'm beginning to remember some things. i.e., he was a really nice guy in high school, too!) The good news is - he's a Christian! He shared a little bit about what God had done in his life and that was cool. The bad news is - he is separated from his wife (has been for a year) and has a four year old daughter. I was so disappointed!!!! I won't lie about it. He wants to reconcile with his wife, which is great! That is God's will, I know. At the same time, he said he is just trusting the Lord for his life and if it was God's will for someone else to come into his life, he was ok with that.

I'll say it again - I was disappointed. Here lately, I've really been thinking about dating and relationships and have begun to pray regularly for my future husband (whoever he might be), so the whole idea of meeting someone has been on my mind. I was rather startled at the intense reaction I had to this guy - it wasn't just a physical response like "oh my goodness, he's hot!" There was also a strong desire to want to know more about him. I don't think I've ever experienced that before. It got worse the more we talked, because he really has a great personality and I could tell he would be the type of guy I would definitely date.

So I left my friend's office (after he left) and start talking to God. Of course the most obvious argument I present to Him is "Why couldn't he have met me before his wife?" I immediately know the answer to that - God gently reminds me: "Do you remember who you were 7 years ago and what you've learned since then?"

"I know!" Then I proceed to throw a short pity party just a bit before I really get a hold of myself and begin to thank God that He knows what's best for me. I finally give it up and tell Him that I trust Him for bringing the right person into my life at the right time. I know He will. I just get impatient.

Nevertheless, this whole episode has caused me to consider what I would do if I met someone who was divorced and had a child. I don't think I would have as much a problem with dating a man who had been married and had no children with his first wife, especially if the guy was a dedicated Christian and had done everything in his power to try and reconcile. But to consider someone who was married and had a child....I just don't know. This guy would make me wonder about it (if he were available and were interested in me, that is!)

To any of you reading this who are divorced or are in a situation similar to this, please don't think this is a judgment on you or your life. I'm just writing about my feelings and experiences. I know that there are certain things I don't want, and until God changes my mind, that's the way I feel. Being involved with someone who is divorced with children is one of those things I don't think I could do. But - I'm not sure.

I'm just glad that God is in control. I truly trust Him for this area of my life and can't wait to see what He brings about. I'm just keeping my eyes and ears open, so that when He directs, I will follow!

A beautiful day!

I just love it when God blesses us with beautiful weather! Fall has finally and officially arrived!!!! Woo hoo!! I saw it when it came. It was the coolest thing!

I was driving to my house after going by the bank and could actually see fall arrive. Let me explain: this morning when I woke up, the sky was overcast and it was muggy outside. Not really hot, but just yucky. Well, when the front was moving through, you could actually see where the clouds ended and the blue skies began! It was cool! By the time I got to my house, there was a wind out of the north, blowing through the trees and you could just feel fall arriving! It was fantastic! I was so excited and the rest of my day was just great! This is my absolute favorite time of year!

In other news....I am really enjoying this Bible study - "A Call To Die". Well, enjoying may not be the right word....but it will do. I know one thing - I am learning a lot about myself. (I think I said that in another post.) It has been very revealing - and not always easy. I believe that God is about to do something in my life, or allow something big to take place. I only wish He would give me a "heads up" about it. Well, I guess He is - I know that I am supposed to be preparing for whatever it is by spending time in the word. I need to take some time to just "listen". I'm not real good at that.

Anyway - my battery is about to die and I'm getting cold sitting here at Cups, so I guess I'll go for now. I'm going to go home and open some windows! :)

One other thing...

To all my fellow bloggers whose sites I used to visit on a regular basis (and you know who you are).....

I have not forgotten about you! I miss you terribly and feel so out of touch since I haven't been able to read your sites and post comments to your pages.

Don't forget about me or give up on me! I'll be back in full force in a couple of weeks! (Lord, willing!)

Watch out blogosphere, here I come!

Found some time

Here I am again at a local coffee shop, Cups, so that I can post to my website. I am tired of not having internet at my house, but it will be a couple of weeks before it gets hooked back up. Waiting for the next payday.

Finally got most of my money from Meagan's paycheck fiasco. I hope to get the rest of it by tomorrow. It's not a moment too soon, since my car insurance will expire on Monday if I don't get a check to them. (That's another result of the money problems caused by Meagan's paycheck bouncing.) Anyway, it is about to be resolved and God has still been faithful through it all. I am glad I know Him.

Speaking of God....this Bible study Deedee and I are doing is kicking my tail. I've come to realize it is a good thing...but VERY difficult! In my previous post, I mentioned that God is dealing with me on some issues in my life. It has been difficult to come face to face with these issues. The one thing I am more certain of than ever, is that I need a Savior. I thought I "had it together" on a lot of different things. That was one of my main problems. I had become comfortable with me the way I am, but what I am is still way short of Christ's standard. Darn. I'm just thankful for my Savior and for the grace and mercy that was provided to me by His sacrifice.

A scripture I've had to memorize for this study is Galatians 2:20 - "I no longer live, but Christ now lives in me. So I will live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I've read that scripture before (as I'm sure most people have) but it definitely has more meaning now. I am awed and amazed at the price Jesus paid for me. The least I can do is to trust Him. (Another one of my incredible shortcomings!) It isn't easy, but I'm getting better at trusting Him.

Checkin' In

I got an opportunity to be online, so I thought I'd post something really quick.

Deedee and I have started the study "A Call to Die". It is really bringing out some things in my life that I've never dealt with before. As hard as it is, I'm glad to be doing it. I've gotten tired of my spiritual life as it is and so it is worth whatever cost to be able to know Christ better and be more real with myself.

My pastor pointed something out at church last night that I had never considered or realized. He said that the Bible is a mirror that shows us our shortcomings and failures - our imperfections. For example, I may have never known what envy is until one day, I read about it in the Bible. All of a sudden, I realize - I have been envious of my friend. Now I know of a shortcoming in my life. The good news is, we have hope in Christ! There is redemption! Thank God for Grace!

Anyway, what I realized is this: I had been reading the Bible looking for a "good feeling" so to speak and not for the the hard truth. Not for the Word that cuts like a two-edged sword. I have been avoiding those parts that point out my shortcomings. Those parts that would really cause me to examine my life and that would eventually make me more like Christ.

Needless to say, it hasn't been "fun" exactly. I've been looking hard and long at my life. I'm not sure what I think right now, but I know that God is working something out in me and I can't wait to see what He can make out of this mess I am. :)

I have not forgotten

that I have a blog! I just do not have internet at my house for a while.

It is a crazy story!

Here's the deal: one of my roommate's paycheck bounced! Can you believe that!?!?!?! She has been going absolutely crazy trying to get this mess straightened out. As a result, she has had hundreds of dollars in NSF and returned check fees (which she will recoup from the company she works for). It has affected all of us - she wrote checks on behalf of her sister (who was out of checks at that time) and also wrote me a check for some money she owed me. Needless to say, it screwed my bank account up and I have been winging it until payday (which is tomorrow - thank God!)

So.....our cable and internet access was cut off because of this fiasco. It will be a few days until I get the hi-speed internet connected. We've decided not to get cable for the time being. One reason is we are trying to save money; the other reason is, my roommate Deedee and I are starting a daily devotional titled "A Call to Die" by David Nasser. One of the things it suggests for the study to be effective is to commit to fasting from something for the 40 days it takes to go through the book. Deedee and I both feel like TV is what God is calling us to fast from. I haven't tallied the total hours a week I've spent watching tv because I'm scared to know how much of my time has been wasted in front of the tube.

Anyway, this is one of the goals I had in mind when I posted this article. I still haven't taken the time to write out my list of goals, but I will be able to do that now that I'm fasting from tv!!! I'm excited about this study and will share my experiences about what I learn.

Not much to say

As you can tell, I haven't had much to say. I've been busy but more to the point, I've been putting off some things that would greatly increase the number of posts. Namely - I've been avoiding dealing with some personal things. But more on that later.

The family is doing well. Roomates are doing good - although there's been some drama for Meagan. I've got to make sure it's ok with her to post about it, but right now is not a good time for it. If you're looking for something to pray about - pray for her about her job. She could really use some Divine intervention!

Anyway, I'll be housesitting for the rest of the week, so I might try to write some things at night and then actually post them when I get to work. Hopefully I can do some catching up.

Later!

What a beautiful day

It sure was a beautiful day today. I wasn't outside for most of it, but the few times I was outside it was nice.

No, my day was beautiful in other ways. It was so good to be in the house of the Lord this morning with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, I went to my mom's house and ate dinner with my family. After that, I washed clothes while watching a movie with my mom and dad. It was just a great day.

By the way, we watched one of my all time favorite movies - "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". That is a fabulous movie for discussing spiritual things. It (along with the first movie) are rich in spiritual applications. I highly recommend both of them!

Hope everyone else had a good day, too!

Don't you just love kids?

Ok, here she is - Trinity Cheyenne! Isn't she beautiful!!?!?! She is so tiny, too! I'm so excited by her birth and a bit sad. Excited because I get to love another wonderful child and be an influence in her life - sad because this will be the last opportunity for me to be an aunt for a while. If my youngest brother ever gets married and starts having children, I'll be excited.

I'm also a bit sad - but not too much - that I don't have any of my own yet. However, when I look at where I am and the life that I have, I can't imagine being married and having a family right now. God's timing is always perfect - even though it's usually not my timing. Still, His way is always the better way.

In the mean time, I'm living a full life - spending time with friends and family, working, writing for this blog (although I haven't been good at it lately) and spending time getting into God's word. I cannot complain.

I'm still here

I know it's been a few days since my last post, so I wanted to put a little something here for my regular readers. :-D

I was going to post a picture of my niece, but for some reason, Blogger isn't working right. As soon as I can, I'll post her picture. She is a doll!!!

Well, I need to run. Got to take care of some business this morning before I go in to work. There may be more on this story later on!

The last time...

I'll ever be an Aunt! (Unless my youngest brother gets married and has children.)

Yes, my brother and his wife had their fourth and final child yesterday - Trinity Cheyenne. (Ben wanted to name her Trinity Omega - since she is the third daughter and the last child. Shannon wasn't going for it!) I can't wait to see her later today!

Anyway, I got to play mom yesterday to my other two nieces and nephew - Hannah, Mackenzie and Nathaniel. I took off of work to stay with them and we had a good time! I must say though, it wasn't real fun when Hannah got up at 5:50 am this morning. I don't usually see that hour of the day! I'll be staying with them each night until my brother and sister-in-law get home with the new baby. The two Mamaw's are taking turns keeping them during the day today, tomorrow and Sunday.

In any case, I'll be busy for the next few days. If I can get a picture of Trinity, I'll post it. TTFN!

Goal setting

I came to the realization today, that I really don't have any goals that I am working towards. Well, to be honest, I can't say I just realized it today. I've known for a while. I guess I just had these amorphus plans for my life - you know....get married, have children, be a stay-home mom and homeschool, be an active part of the church body....those kinds of plans, but nothing really solid that I can work towards on a daily basis. Those plans I had for me are based solely on one event - getting married. Since that's not happening right now (or in the forseeable future) I realized I better have something else to focus my time on.

What's crazy is, I thought I had pretty good plans for my life. Hah! That's what I get for thinking. My desire to set goals has really been stirred by some of the messages my pastor has been sharing over the last few weeks. It came to a head tonight with our Bible study.

We're studying Hebrews - and boy is it loaded with good stuff! Tonight we were discussing chapter 5, verses 6 and following. Verse 8 is really what spoke to me: "So even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered." What? Jesus was God in the flesh, why did He have to learn obedience. Because He was in the flesh. He had to bring that fleshly body into submission. He learned what it means to have self-control.

My pastor made the comment that lack of self-control means there is a deficiency in your spiritual character. Sometimes lack of self-control is obvious - i.e., being overweight, addictions (drugs, alcohol), etc. Other times it is not. This is where it really hit home. I posted a little about this the other day. I have a lack of self-control and I believe it stems from not having set any goals.

Now, I know that self-control is included in the fruit of the spirit, but I also know that fruit won't grow if it isn't watered and fed. If I'm not spending time in the Word and getting to know Jesus, that fruit is going to die on the vine. If I don't have some goals or plans for getting into the Word, I won't learn or gain any self-control.

I need some structure to my life. So, I'm going to sit down and write out some goals for myself. I will pray over them and ask God to shine His light on areas that I need to focus on. I'm sure these goals will change as I go along, but at least I will have something to work from. I'm going to post them so I'll have some incentive to follow through on these goals (and hopefully some accountability from friends!)

If anyone else has done something like this or felt the need to do so, I'd love to hear your insights and experiences.

The one thing I draw hope from is the last part of that verse in Hebrews: "...He learned obedience from the things He suffered." Christ knows all the struggles I have. All the times I fight to bring under control a response or an action that is contrary to His will...Jesus fully understands. He's been there. I'm just barely beginning to understand how much He knows about my struggles and it is comforting.

This could be interesting!

I found this link over at Susan's webpage. Sounds like it could be interesting! I guess I'll be posting more stuff about Mississippi on here. Who knows what will happen!?!?!

The Weekend

It's going to be a long weekend. But a good weekend! Both of my roomates have been gone since Thursday afternoon (they'll be home tomorrow night), but in the mean time, we've got our motorcycle ministry rally going on this weekend at my church. It's going to be fun! I've hardly been home and won't be home most of the weekend, so I'm glad Monday is a holiday!!! I'll need it to recover from the weekend!!

Yikes!

I found this tidbit over at Irene's blog.

Woman Hurt as Cellphone Bursts Into Flames

How scary is that??? What's worse is, I just bought a replacement battery for my phone at Interstate Batteries!

I guess I'll have to be extra careful!

My Hero(ine)!

I have finally found someone I want to be like when I grow up. (It's about time since I'm 30!!!)

Ann Coulter is the coolest woman! She has brains, she has beauty and she has strong beliefs and convictions. What a gal! And, she doesn't mind saying it "like it is."

I've only recently begun to pay attention to what she has to say, mainly because she's been on Fox News and Sean Hannity's radio program several times. Recently, she was interviewed by Rush Limbaugh for his newsletter. I've just begun to read some of her columns and I love her panache. I plan on getting every one of her books. Here is an excerpt from a column she wrote on September 13, 2001:

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."

That's something you won't hear from the liberal media, but she's absolutely right.