Updating Blog & Book Reco

As you can see - I've been updating my blog. I've added a lot of new links in categories so they're easy to find. This is done so I can share some goodies with others as well as have a central place I can always go to when I want to find them myself. I'm going to keep adding as time goes on, but I have to say - I think I found my dream blog layout. I know it's not frilly and real pretty, but it'll be packed with good stuff to keep coming back for. Plus, I hope to get out there more in blog worlds and start following more people. Everyone has a great story they are living out in God's Epic.



Now for the book recommendation: "Jesus Mean and Wild." This is about one of the best get-to-know-Jesus books outside of the Bible. Most conversations I have or hear about Jesus always involve His great sacrifice and compassion and love - Jesus, meek & mild - and that's absolutely true. But so many times we don't take into consideration just how hard He can be. The gentle sheperd, yes. But remember how demanding and confrontational and fearless and assured and confident He can be: rebuking and casting out demons, putting the Pharisees and religious leaders in their place, training and disciplining the disciples, making bold statements ("Before Moses was, I AM," "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father except through me," and so on). This book just reminds me (and you if you read it), that Jesus is more than a healer and redeemer and forgiver. He's God in the flesh - and that includes characteristics of an Old Testament God - remember in John 2 Jesus cleared the temple with a whip of cords HE MADE!


A few weeks ago in church the speaker had us do a visulization exercise - how do we SEE Jesus? How do we imagine talking to Him? Greeting Him? Being greeted by Him? For me - my initial seeing of Jesus is on a white horse with this huge flaming sword with the legion of angels behind him. Then He rides up to me and dismounts to give me a hug then leads me through a narrow gate through the garden to sit on rocks next to a waterfall to talk. That is now my peace place with Jesus - on the rocks next to the waterfall.

How do you see Jesus? Do you have a peace place?

Spring has Sprung!

I got home Sunday night in the dark - I couldn't see this awesome sight! I got home from work yesterday and guess what's coming up - tulips!! Spring's a'comin'!

Awesome weekend

This was one of the best vacations I've had in awhile! Bill and I went to the Smokies to just get away from everything. For me - no work, no computer, no phone calls, no paperwork...just good books to read and rest to be had. For Bill - it was a celebration of his birthday (a week late, but still). It was his weekend - whatever he wanted to do.

I was fortunate enough to find (with the help of my mom who is well-versed in cabins in the Smokies) this fabulous deal on a 2-bedroom cabin that had a pool table, hot tub, wood-burning fireplace, and great view (even better when there's leaves on the trees). All these are some of his favorite things. So after the 4 hour (or so) drive down, we "planned" the weekend - no plans! He went golfing Friday while I went shopping. He cooked for us a bunch - YEAH for me!! Steaks on the grill, hot wings (his are perfect!), and breakfasts.

It was funny cause I was looking forward to having the loft bedroom - I love those. But because it was his weekend, and I didn't express my desire in the upstairs - he chose the loft room! Goober. But my room had a TV in it - plus the outside door went right to the hot tub, but the front door was literally another five feet away - so not a huge bragging point. Saturday we walked around Gatlinburg for awhile people-watching mostly. We are certainly a funny race, God definitely has a sense of humor and loves us all for who we are no matter what we choose to look like! And when we came back to the cabin, it was warm enough I just sat out on the porch reading and soaking up some sun. It was hard coming back home.

Photo Tag

Ok - I didn't OFFICIALLY get tagged, but Lynn kind of tagged everybody on her blog, so I'm taking it! 6th and 6th, right?

Yes, I was really this close to Brooks & Dunn! KFC Convention, 2006 in Dallas, Texas (of course). This was an awesome concert. I was close enough you could see 'em sweat. AND - Kix here actually took one of the attendees' cell phone and talked to the person on the other end. Then laid the phone down on the piano to serenade the caller! Plus, these guys are just great. They pulled a couple of the kids up on stage to dance with them. It was such a family-friendly night (with the exception of the overly drunk guy behind me in the crowd - not pretty).

Ok - just one more

Just one more video for today

I'm cleaning up my emails and just HAVE to post all these! This guy is utterly incredible. If you think you can't get back up from whatever you've fallen - think again!

Goodnight Irena

Amazing Story

The Colonel and Mel Gibson?

Ok - I live in a crazy chicken world around here. For any of you who watch Jimmy Kimmel, you will have seen this clip. Mel Gibson's "trailer" for "The Colonel." Hilarious! (Warning: 2 cuss words if that offends).




And then of course, we at KFC responded with our own "trailer."

English Language

Shawna sent me this in an email and I just HAD to put it on here!

If you ever feel stupid, then just read on. If you've learned to speak fluent English, you must be a genius! This little treatise on the lovely language we share is only for the brave. Peruse at your leisure, English lovers. Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2meese? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

Back to normal

Well, I got home Friday afternoon from Convention in Washington, DC, and now I'm back at work - back to normal already. It was a great trip - meeting went smooth, Convention went smooth and was packed with a lot of beneficial stuff, and the siteseeing was fabulous. I've added a few albums on my facebook page.

On my downtime I was able to visit a few museums (and a seriously fun whirlwind tour with Moses, my driver). The Smithsonian is fantastic, but the Library of Congress blew me away. The architecture was amazing (that's it with all the arches), and the exhibits were really interesting. I think my favorite part was Thomas Jefferson's collection of books. Did you know he owned over 65,000 books! Not all of those books survived the years, but there is one gigantic room in the Library that houses what's left. And the whole bookcases are encased in glass.

One very interesting treasure I found was Jotham's ring. Jotham's story begins in 2 Kings 15:32, and also shows up in 2 Chronicles 26 & 27. This piece was unbelieveable.

Then there was the rocks! Oh my goodness! I don't know how many pictures I actually took of the gems, rock formations, and other geological stuff. It was amazing. And all I could think about when walking through this exhibit was how much the whole of creation gives God praise and glory! I had just been reading in John the night before and am still amazed how much

God loves us - me. He chose me (and you) to be his adopted CHILDREN. Not JUST his created-in-his-image-beings, but His Children! Seeing all the formations and colors of the rocks (some even glow-in-the-dark!) just made it very clear that God does not NEED us to be His glory. He CHOSE us to be His Glory on this Earth.

I want to be the best me possible - and with the Holy Spirit working in me, I can be (as I let him work!). I want to show excellence for God in everything I do including my relationships, work, creative projects, eating, play and rest and so on.

Then I get to this beauty - the Hope Diamond. This thing is huge and gorgeous. There's a history to it. But the thing I found most interesting was that it is considered imperfect. It's a crudely cut gem - and because of imperfections of other minerals in the diamond, it creates the blue coloring. And another God moment - we are SOOO imperfect, yet gorgeous in God's eyes through Jesus!