Life is...Unpredictable

Today is Day 2 of being unemployed. You see, I was let go from my day-job last Friday. Did I plan for something like this - no, not really. Was I planning to move on at some point? I had hoped so.

Do you remember back, for some of us WAY back, to elementary school? Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Me - I had ALWAYS wanted to be a country-western singer on the Grand Ole Opry. Still do. But alas, life has a way of getting in the way of dreams sometimes. There are unexpected events along the way.

In Proverbs 3:6 it says, "in all your ways acknowlege him and he will make your paths straight." Does that mean life will be easy? Not at all. Jesus himself said each day has enough trouble of its own. But the path to the RIGHT PLACE will be straight (and narrow), and focused on what's important in life: God, family, yourself, others. Jobs/Careers do not matter a bean in eternity. I believe He gives us those works so we will be prepared to show His glory daily.

So for me, I will enjoy this time off from work. I am under His shadow right now. (Psalm 91) And I hope I will have the sense to stay there. Did you happen to see the gorgeous sunrise this morning? Turned the corn tassles outside my bedroom window pink!

And for everyone else, take Psalm 91 to heart. It's there for a reason. Whatever life (the world, Satan, others, your own choices' consequences, etc.), throws at you - and there is some pretty heavy stuff sometimes - give it all to the One who can handle it. That would be God / Jesus / Holy Spirit. They're there to help, listen, and love you through anything. And right now, HE and all of heaven is celebrating that I "get it."

So now - I'm going back to housework and looking forward to spending time with the Almighty, My Lord, today.

Grace & Peace!

Friday Fragments

I love this time of week. The day I get to purge some blurbs that have been urging to be released. I started doing this as inspired by Rebecca, but as time's gone on I've made some wonderful bloggy friends through this. My friend, Mrs. 4444 is the creator of Friday Fragments, and then there's Sara with Friday's Freewrite (which I found through Mrs. 4444). Just click on the images to get more fragmented and free! But as for me...

} I totally want to go to BlogHer next year! For those of you reading this late because you went - I'm jealous! It's going to be a fabulous time, I'm sure.

} BUT! Women of Faith convention is in Indianapolis - right up the road - again this year. Next couple of weeks and I am counting down. I am more than ready for a time of refreshing.

} This week has been like a constant battle. Not sure what's going on in the "realm," but it just makes me want to nap. Oh, no, wait - that's the Xyzal medicine.

} The hummingbirds have gone through more sugar so far this season that I did personally all last year. Well - that doesn't count the ice cream, cookies, snickers, cream sauces..well, maybe we're even.

} And, I've gained a few pounds. Probably from trying to keep up with teh hummingbirds.

} I'm still adding new blogs. I'm working on a travel one and one that will be focused on missions.

} I've started a new baby blanket. It's for a little indian princess (papaw is proud of his Cherokee heritage), so it'll be the navaho pattern. I've adjusted it to use a bigger needle - hopefully that will cut down the time too!

} Another auction tomorrow!

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Addendum:

} I walked into work this morning and got "let go." Ready to go burn daylight on that one.

Breathing is a Good Thing

I have had respiratory issues for as long as I can remember. I get bronchitis easy, a touch of asthma every now-and-then, and there's allergies. Ahhh, allergies. When I first went to my ear/nose/throat doctor to get allergy tested I told him I was allergic to air. It wasn't far from the truth: dust mites, mold, animals, pollen..basically everything affects me. Bill has "affectionately" dubbed me "wheezer."

So over the years I have taken all kinds of medicine - liquids, pills, inhalers, etc. This last go-around my doctor prescribed me a new medicine after questioning why I was still taking liquid Zyrtec as an adult. Oh, I don't know, maybe because you prescribed it for me two years ago? AND - because it works really good at night to help me sleep without having that ear-draining symptom wake me up at night. If you have this, you know what a misery it is. I end up digging in my ears like a dog - and the best cure for the itch - warm Coca-Cola. That stuff burns off the itch, and no-telling what else as it's fizzing down my throat.

But this new medicine? When the nurse was going over it with me she said, "make sure to take this only at night when you're ready to go to bed because it'll make you drowsy. And make sure to start with HALF a pill at first." Half-a-pill, got it. Then she gave me samples to get started with. Do you see this picture? That red tablet is my Excedrine pill - normal pill. Xyzal (zie-zall), if half its size -- and I have to cut it in half to take it. Ok, no problem. Bill happens to have a handy pill-cutting tool.

So I take it one night. The next day I "wake" up and think, "Well, I got through the night with no symptoms." But I was groggy ALL day! Half-pill. Groggy all day. No, couldn't be the pill. I just need more activity. But since then, I have tested this theory and have proven that for me at least, this is a little half pill of evil. I like to be able to sleep and breathe through the night, but I need to be able to be awake in a day. I took one of these little half-buggers last night and I am shocked I made it in to work. One caffeine-laden drink down, at least 5 more to go.

So if you have allergies, or your doctor prescribes this little thing to you - just know to take it in serious moderation and with the knowledge you may very well not be able to complete a full sentence the next day, or be able to raide your head without leaning it on a shoulder to be propped-up -- like I'm doing right now.

Broken

I'm sorry if I am being redundant with this posting, but it's just been with me since Sunday. I've got just a piece of my notes in the "Bible Thoughts" box to the right. Sunday at church, Kevin did a message on Mark 14:3-9 where a woman comes into a dinner that Jesus was attending. He reminded us that the world is full of broken people.

(3) While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
(4) Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? (5) It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.
(6) "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. (7) The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. (8) She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. (9) I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

Kevin made some great points from this that I just HAVE to share.

• SHE broke the jar. No one can force you to be broken to Jesus - it's an internal process. We can THINK we're not broken all we want, but we are ALL broken. Each of us. But to come to that - to come broken before Jesus is the internal and individual process. This requires us to get real.


• Brokenness offends and shocks others, but not Jesus. Some of those around rebuked her for wasting the perfume. But Jesus put value on the jar AFTER it was broken.


• "New" keeps brokenness away...new husband/wife, new friends, new job, new car, new house, etc. NOTE: everything that is broken was once new.


• She did what she could (vs. 8). Just like the widow giving her mite - her only finances, she did what she could with all that she had.


• Hemingway said "The world breaks everyone, and afterward some are strong at the broken places." Did you know that broken bones are stronger at the break after healing?

And Matt, the worship leader pointed out something from his own personal study that just amazed me. He was studying in Exodus where Moses asks to see God's glory (Exodus 33:19-23). The Lord puts Moses in a cleft in the rock to pass by. Well, a cleft in the rock is a broken place. Moses saw a glimpse of God's glory from the broken place.

I am broken, not just broke. I have been getting real with Jesus for a few years now. And at each new broken place, I grow stronger, but not hard. My strength is found in Jesus alone. And I still struggle in some areas. Am I willing to get real in those places too? Regardless of who's around? Am I willing to do what I can with all that He's given me? That requires a sold-out lifestyle of worship for the one-and-only Jesus Christ. Do I measure up? Nope - not even close. But I am getting closer every day I spend time with Him who made me. He made me - He alone can mend me.

Grace & Peace to you all!

Life is...Like a box of chocolates...

You just never know what you're going to get. You know I couldn't resist. And while I couldn't find the right clip on youtube, I did find this one that is probably even better! Enjoy!

Today

This morning was a peaceful, easy start to a beautiful day. I woke up to a bright, sun-shiny day. Little did I know there would be so many wonderous images to find!

See this little guy - the rabbit? Out my office window. When I sat down at the computer to do the deadline projects, he just nibbled at the grass then mosied across the road to a much larger field with better grass, I'm sure. He stopped to play with a red-winged blackbird on the way.



The time for some cleaning work. I needed to get my trash and a few other items to the dump. So I called my mom for a ride in exchange for garden labor. I felt like an avatar in FarmTown - I helped harvest some veggies. Of which, we ate a couple green tomatoes - fried, of course - and some corn-on-the-cob with cucumbers for lunch. Topped off with a peppermint patty for dessert.

It was good spending time with mom and catching up with all our personal drama and how the world should be ran conversations. She showed off her flower gardens and plans for the rest of the yard. She has stargazer lillies in the midst of other kinds and it brings such a fragrant blessing to the whole area.

And what would a visit to mom's be without loving on the "puppies!"

Katie, the black & tan, and Preacher followed us everywhere we went. Tammy, the 16-yr old (that would be 112 in dog years), decided she had better things to do and found a nice cool spot in the hostas. Actually, she has made a bed in the hostas - complete with a mound for a pillow.

Preacher is the one who LOVES fireworks. Katie is the guard dog pretty much. These dogs used to live a life chained to a dog box. That's the life of a coonhound - a hunter. But when mom & stepdad got a divorce, these three got a new life OFF the chain. They lay wherever they want - run whenever they want - eat whatever they want. They're spoiled rotten that's fo sure. They are not "inside" dogs, but they get to sleep in the garage whenever they want. Ahh, the life of a dog!

I've enjoyed my day off. I got a few things done around the house and now to play!

Auction Update!

Remember that storage unit auction? And those few units we couldn't get opened? Well, I found out how it turned-out! LOL!! You can surely guess how it turned out. The first one had a couple of big plastic dollhouses and drywall material, another had some junky furniture, but the last one - that was the winner! Appliances, good furniture, full of decent stuff to resell and earn a profit. Now why would someone pay rent on a storage unit for a couple of dollhouses and drywall material? Oh wait, they didn't pay rent - that's why their stuff was auctioned off!

So while I was working another auction on Saturday (tools! tools! tools!), I took a minute to capture some video.

Friday Fragments

It's Here! Friday Fragments. AND - Friday's Freewrite @ Ordinary and Awesome.

} What a rough start to the week! My poor old blue-boy! He's been in the shop more in the past two weeks than he has in the past two years. I still refuse to get rid of him. I always used to joke (before Bill came along) that he was the most dependable man I knew! Oh by the way - it's my truck.

} I updated my other blogs! As well as this one's look - yes, again. May not seem much to you - but I just love doing this stuff!


} It never ceases to amaze and depress me that I can work in an office of 7 and still not know what's going on. So much for communication.

} I work for an auction company part-time (http://www.brewerauctionservice.com/). Last night we had an auction where we sold the contents of various storage units. There were 3 units that we couldn't get unlocked. We sold the contents anyway. How? You might ask... sight un-seen. People can get crazy at these things! The deciding factor for some was when the auctioneer brought up the fact that many of them go to the "boat" to gamble away $50-$100 in a night, at least this way you're coming home with something! Wouldn't you know it - the bids started to skyrocket! I can't wait to hear what was in those units!


} Tomorrow is another auction - tools, tools, and more tools! Let me tell ya - you see all kinds at auctions! It's a regular study into all kinds of lessons - psychology, ethnography, social etiquette, personal hygiene, relational interactions, and so on. And you never know what you might find stuck away in a box. Sometimes it crawls or slithers out on its own. Plus, last night I saw this guy who looks like he could be a twin of my media rep in Chicago. Now, I know Cliff would not be down in Indiana looking through storage units - especially with a woman who looked like she was there to please him more than herself. I would hope with those short and her shoes and her makeup and .... anyway. You can't see it in this picture - but she has on heels. HEELS! I ached when I saw her coming. And yes, they're looking at a Corvette with glass t-tops. Go figure. Two hours on heels....



} Been feeling a little, no, a lot down this week. Same old crap. Hmm...I could use this for my book - just when you've got the toilet all clean...well, you can picture the rest.


} I never realized how much I enjoy blogging till I go a day without commenting or getting comments. So to anyone who's reading and has left me comments -- THANKS BUNCHES!

Have a great Friday!



For more great Friday Fragments - visit Mrs. 4444.

A Thousand Words

This was my great-uncle, Ed, along with his "huntin'" pups. It's one of my favorites in the family photos. Tragically, Ed was killed early in life leaving behind 2 young sons and a wife that we still get to enjoy from time-to-time. Especially now with Facebook! But this photo show just how much Ed loved life and the simple things found in it.

My Grandpas

I decided to take the MamaKat challenge this week, and write about my grandpa - actually both of them. For more of her challenge inspiration - click the board!

My little bathroom has got touches of both my grandpas (Udell and Alfred), and they loved me! So I like just going into my little bathroom to play with the Avon "lazy man" or look at a picture I got from my other grandpa's room. Then I get to thinking about the men they were and the things we did together. They were by no means knights in shining armor. Far from it. But there are still points I admired from each of them. And there are so many memories from each.

Alfred was a former Navy man and a truck driver most of his life. He was actually Mamaw's second husband, her first died of a brain hemorrhage (which was my biological grandpa - died when my dad was 13). Alfred loved my Mamaw - and dogs - and food - and traveling. They lived in Texas for years, so I got to spend Summer vacations with them when I was little. He and Mamaw took me on my first road trip when I got my driver's permit - all the way to the west coast and back. This picture was us on that trip - somewhere in Wyoming I think.

Udell was a Korean war vet and a farmer. He was big and rough - temper that would shake the house - but he loved life. Loved his family, loved the land and animals - taught me to write cursive before I could print, make Strawberry milk and to not worry about what the food looked like all mixed together, "It was all going to the same place anyhow," he would tell me. This was the same grandpa that would bring the runts into the house to take care of them.

This is a picture of him with the twins - my mom is on the left. When we would go see his and Bonnie's parents once a month, we would always stop and eat at KFC in Jasper, IN. (Irony nowadays, I know - since I work for KFC Advertising). The next picture is Stella and Burnell Small (Udell's parent), Sherry, Udell, Carry (my mom), and me in the front (happy little child, huh). I may have been smarting-off - shocker that would be! LOL! So anyway, we eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken every trip. And I would always ask mom if I could have one of the strawberry shortcakes. You know, those little "bucket parfaits." Mom's answer would be "no." But before we left the restaurant, grandpa would always get me one. So now, when my boss surprises me with one of these little "buckets" it takes me back to spending that time with grandpa. Grandpas are great...they really know how to spoil granddaughters! Boy, do I miss that...

Both of my grandpas didn't know how to show love in a mushy way. Alfred's was through the pets - love the dogs and kids at the same time in the same way. Anytime Candy or Hottie (the dogs) would get a treat, so would I. And sometimes we literally shared teh best treat - cold Reese's Cups! Thus the name Candy. And Udell? His favorite way to show love was rough-housing. You could never get down the hall without passing him in his rocker. He would always grab me or my cousin and just rub our faces against his 5 o'clock shadow. And let me tell you - that felt like sandpaper!

But regardless of their methods - I knew they loved me. And I sure miss them nowadays.

Life is...

MESSY!

Bill & I just finished up a discipleship study called Roots & Fruits. There was some really great stuff in this study. Stuff that I am hoping we can use when starting up our own discipleship training. Anyway...

One of the points that was made about being a disciple of Christ is that Jesus was not afraid to get messy with people in their messy lives.

And that reminded me of a message that one of our former preachers gave about the junk drawer. Everybody has one. Everything gets thrown in there. And it hardly ever gets cleaned out - sometimes for years. And isn't that how we handle our lives? It's a mess - everyone's life is a mess to some degree. There are issues in our lives that we just throw in a "drawer" and just refuse to deal with - sometimes for years.

So, what can be done about it? Well - the great organizer can come into our lives and convict us to clean it up. But we don't have to do it alone. If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord & Savior, and been baptized - you've been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us of things to clean-up in our lives. But I digress as usual.

The main point of this posting is that we are a mess, and so are others. To be a disciple of Christ, we need to be willing to get messy with others. Don't shy away from sitting across the table of a homeless single mom to hear her story. Don't shy away from playing ball with someone that's of a different lifestyle than you. Don't shy away from someone who doesn't have the luxuries of life you do in hearing, seeing, speaking, or moving all parts of their body the way you do. Be willing to hold a hand, lend an ear, or walk with someone who just needs you to be there and be kind about it.

"Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words." ~ St. Francis of Assissi

Friday Fragments

It's that time again!

} A neighbor stopped by to let me know his son-in-law saw some "scruffy" looking guy in my barn this week - and there were no vehicles around. Hmmm...my mower thief? So I am still playing phone-tag with the officer who took the report. But I know "people" who can find this guy. Maybe my mower will turn back up just like it disappeared? HA HA!

} A 2-hour brake job turned into 5+ hours...not a fun day. Not to mention they conveniently found about $1,000 worth of other stuff that "should" be done to the truck. Well - old blue-boy will just have to wait. I wonder how long it would take me to get to work on horseback? OR I can get the tires aired up on my bike!

} Dead bugs don't float for long. The pool - especially after a heavy rain - just accumulates all kinds of bugs. And the poor birds - they sit on top of the fence around the pool just staring at the pool as if they are trying to determine if they can be ducks just for a few minutes. But even though it's a slow process, I have this great gadget that fits onto a garden hose that does a fabulous job! And Bill put the tiki torches out and is playing around with some other lighting around the pool. He loves lights!

} Watched the Dominican mission team's review this week. It's heartwarming to see how hearts are touched during a mission trip. Lives are never the same for those on the team as well as the people they are able to bond with wherever they go. And the kids shared their gifts in amazing ways. God just does amazing things on an individual basis just like He does on a universal level.

} I can't say enough about the book, "Captivating." It's simply amazing. And coupled with some reading I've been doing in Luke makes me feel like a very important and special woman to Jesus.

} Bill and I are going through NCIS withdrawals. I'm not a reality show watcher, and I don't have cable/satellite, so I am very limited in what I watch on TV. Which is good, don't get me wrong. But there are just some nights I miss seeing Abby and Gibbs.

} And let me just say - hateful ex's are unncessary. Without details, it's going to be a rough go-of-it with Bill & Tom for me. She is going to constantly be saying stuff about me when she doesn't know me at all, she's going to fill Tom's head with crazy things, and will probably do many hateful things just to make Bill's life miserable. And yes, she does it on purpose - she literally says so. Incredible stuff.

} And I wanted to share this posting again: Puppy's First Fireworks. Over the 4th weekend we got to do this again, and this dog just LOVES fireworks! Just check out the video from last year. He already knew when he saw a bag in Bill's hand, the block for the fireworks coming out, and his leadstrap - the show was getting ready to start!

And if you want to see more Friday Fragments - click the box at the top of the post - Mrs. 4444 has it all!

G&P

Captivating

Inspired by Rebecca's excitement about her latest read, "The Noticer," I thought I would share the one that has really gotten to me lately, "Captivating."

Honestly, I am reading it again right now. John Edlredge has written a fantastic book for men - "Wild At Heart." If you ever need an insight into men - that will do it. And it's all so true. So when I found out he and his wife had teamed up to write a book for women I was more than intrigued. Here's just a snippet from the end of chapter one:

The longings God has written deep in your heart are telling you something essential about that it means to be a woman, and the life he meant for you to live. Now we know - many of those desires have gone unmet, or been assulted, or simply so long neglected, that most women end up living two lives. One the surface we a re busy and efficient, professional, even. We are getting by. On the inside women lose themselves in a fantasy world or in cheap novels, or we give ourselve over to food or some other addiction to numb the ache of our hearts. But your heart is still there, crying out to be set free, to find the life your desires tell you of.

You can find that life - if you are willing to embark on a great adventure.

That is what we are inviting you to. Not to learn one more set of standards you fail to meet. Not toward a new set of rules to live by and things you ought to do. Something far, far better - a journy of the heart. A journey toward the restoration and release of the woman you always longed to be. This book is not about what you ought to do or who you ought to be. It's about discovering who you already are, a woman. A woman who at her core was made for romance, made to play an irreplaceable role in a shared adventure, and who really does possess a beauty all her own to unveil. The woman God had in mind when he made Eve...and when he made you. Glorious, powerful, and captivating.

This book is helping me unlock my heart as a woman. Kind of like me discovering me. This book is not a "new" release; however, it was new to me, and I'm sure if you've not heard about it or read it yet -- I wholeheartedly encourage you to read it.

Life is...

Busy! Good grief. I was all prepared to talk about how abundant life is over the weekend. I even wrote the beginning of a sentence and got pulled away to something else. Then I got pulled away from that on to something else, then something else, and another, and another till at the end of the day nothing really got accomplished, but I was wore out! Ever have those days?

Our days are filled with activity: jobs, church, travel to and fro, kids' activities, housekeeping, cooking meals, working out, time with family in & outside the home, pets, gardens, grass, vehicles, and on and on and on it goes. Days are full. No wonder we're so tired all the time. No wonder we just veg in front of the TV. No wonder we can feel overwhelmed at times.

But you know what? God built in a solution to our busy-ness - the Sabbath. In Exodus 29 God gives us one of the 10:

You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. (NLT)

At church a couple of Sundays ago, the pastor gave a great message on the Sabbath - CHILLAX. You know - to chill-out and relax. God knew what He was doing when He gave us this commandment. He knows we as humans need rest. If we don't - we burn-out. He takes care of us and gives us full permission to do nothing at least one day a week.

So take advantage of that one day a week to just chillax. Make it purposeful: crockpot instead of actually fixing meals, read a book (Ruth & Esther are great books), take a nap, but most of all - spend quality time with God. Let Him restore & refresh you.

Grace & Peace!

Wordless Wednesday

I found this picture again and still love it - my fur-boy, Maestro, loves to watch superhero cartoons!