Waiting For The Shout

Checking in.........

2009-05-26T10:29:00.003-04:00

Just checking in since it has been a few days since I blogged (okay more than a few but who's counting?). To give you an idea of how our lives are going here in East TN, here are just a few highlights of the past few days.....

*Youngest nephew graduated from high school (same school I went to only there was no police chase during HIS graduation - there was a police chase during mine - Go Cougars!)

*My dad came to visit for the weekend.

*We went to a Barbecue cook off and paid $10 to get in, but you couldn't actually EAT the barbecue. We found out that little detail AFTER we paid the $10. Apparently the Health Dept. said that the BBQ vendors could compete for prizes but no one could eat their food. It has been advertised on the radio and TV for weeks now, but no one mentioned that little (HUGE) fact.

*Kaden fell and broke his nose Saturday morning. I have always told my kids "If you are going to do something, do it right".....he must have listened because he did a number on his little nose. It looks much better today than the past few (he looked like another kid - nothing like my sweet little baby-faced Kaden). We go to the ENT today at 1:00 to hopefully have it "set and splinted". If it is too bad to set, they will have to put him to sleep. I know that there are parents at St. Jude's who would give anything if all that was wrong with their child was a broken nose, so I am trying to keep that in mind as I am tempted to cry when I look at him.

*Don't tell Kaden, but he is so pitiful right now that he could pretty much ask for anything and I would do it, get it, go to it for him......it breaks my heart to see his little black eyes and crooked nose.

*Lake's last day of school is tomorrow (1/2 day). My personal opinion is that kids should never go to school before Labor Day and never be in school after Memorial Day, but the School Board has never asked for my opinion, sooooo ........

*We are finally finished building our house, but now another house is being started across the street.......guess it's our turn to be annoyed by hammers, nail guns, concrete trucks, delivery trucks, etc..... ;-( What comes around truly does go around, huh?

*We had Memorial Weekend off from t-ball/baseball.......it was a much needed break, but baseball is back on tonight......Kaden's t-ball team will have to do without him for a couple of games, I suppose......He thinks they will lose if he doesn't play.....how does one teach a kid humility without causing him to have low self-esteem? ;-)

Time to get ready for the Dr. -- should be fun---- ER doc mentioned shots in the nose and face....Kaden is never happy about shots. Taking my mom with me for moral support and backup.

A Quick Thought

2009-05-19T09:15:00.002-04:00

I was just reading my Facebook page. I have noticed a distrubing trend on Facebook.....unashamed promotion of sin. Yes, I know it isnt something new, but it seems to be getting much worse. Okay, you might be thinking I sound like a preacher from the 1800's when I say that, but hear me out on this (or read me out as the case may be). The Bible says we should not do anything to cause our brother to stumble, right? Yet, I see Christians on Facebook (and out in public as well) promoting their sin as if it isnt sin at all. Are you pickin' up what I'm throwin' down here? It's one thing for a non-believer to promote and glorify their sin....that's just what nn-believers do.....they do not believe in God, so they dont see sin as sin, but they see it as fun. But for believers (or "so-called" believers) to blatantly and openly advertise for satan on their Facebook status, well, it just bothers me to no end.

It begs the question(s), do we really believe that God is real, and that He actually is Holy? Do we believe He expects US to be Holy? Do we REALLY believe Jesus is coming back (and SOON)? And do we even CARE how He will find us? Are our actions and words building other believers up in the faith or are thy causing them to stumble?

Some would say "What is sin to you, may not be sin to someone else"....I beg to differ! The Bible explains sin to us pretty clearly, and I think it's safe to say if there is a question, it is always better to err on the side of caution. In other words, if what you are doing could ruin your witness or cause a Christian brother or sister to sin, it's best not to do it.

Before you accuse me of being "holier than thou", let me just say that I'm not claiming to be perfect, as a matter of fact, I hate to think of the times in my life that I have been a poor witness for Jesus.......

I feel as though sin holds no more shame for the believer than it does for the unbeliever anymore.........I suppose it's a sign of the last days when even the church will fall away and you guys know I am all about prophecy, but shameless promotion of sin on the part of believers is troubling to me. I hope it troubles you too.

A Couple Things

2009-05-14T09:19:00.003-04:00

Okay, I have about three minutes (literally) to say hey to my blog peeps. I have about a million - gillion things I should be doing rather that sitting in this floor typing.....yes, the computer is still in the floor. This moving thing is a slow go, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to write a few lines and let you know I am still alive and kicking...or should I say still alive and barely breathing? Whatever. No big random post, but here are a few random things I need to get off my chest......in a short amount of time...........

1. As I was watching the train wreck that is American Idol last night, it occurred to me that I was sitting there watching darkness take over my living room. That Kate Perry who sang reminded me of a Vegas karaoke show gone bad (although she was better than some of the other AWFUL singers AI has hosted lately). She looked like Elvis meets WWF meets Betty Boop! Everyone loved her! What????!!!! The dark part is that Danny (who I really think is the best singer - and not just because he is a Christian) was sent home in favor of a goth looking gay guy who screams out rock songs and America thinks he is the bomb! As we were watching, my husband said "What are we doing? It is so sad that America has come to this. Thinking this abomination is entertainment"......It is so true. I love American Idol, but some of the things we have been seeing the past several weeks are not entertainment....they are sin on stage and we are becoming immune to the sight of it. It's a big deal when One Nation Under God decides that morals mean nothing and that the dark side is the right side.

2. I thought yesterday was Thursday......so imagine my surprise/horror when I wake up to another Thursday today......

3. Remember when I told you I was freakishly strong? Yeah? Well, I still am. Today is junk removal day in our city and yesterday I single- handedly (well, I used 2 hands but they were both mine) moved our old couch (all 8 ft of it) out to the road so it could be removed this morning. I might run away with the circus to be a "strong woman" side/freak show.

4. I am 36 yrs old and freakishly strong, but also completely stupid at times. I spent 4 1/2 hours at Lake's field day Tuesday and did not put on sunscreen. Needless to say the heat radiating off my arms, legs and face could melt butter faster than a microwave. I am on Fiyah!!!! Did you know that too much time in the sun can cause blisters on your lips? And did you also know that those blisters HURT????? I'm just sayin' that kind of thing COULD happen, not that I know from experience ..........

5. Kaden (5) is playing t-ball and Lake (almost 8) is playing baseball.....we have never had 2 kids in sports at the same time until now.....why didn't someone tell me we would never see our home again until the season is over?????

6. Lake is playing actual baseball (not t-ball) and after the first game, I realized we are playing for blood now. They are 8-9 years old, who knew? The parents and coaches are s-e-r-i-o-u-s! This could get ugly before the season is over.......

Well, that is all I have time for....I have gone over my three minute limit, so I better say good-bye for now. Steve and Missi at Jesus Is Lord, if you are reading this, I have not (repeat) have not forgotten you! I WILL be back sometime! For those of you who are interested in Bible prophecy and how current events relate to it, check out the Jesus Is Lord blog.

I wish I had a few more minutes to catch up on your blogs....it is gonna take me years to catch up with you all......so much can happen in a few short weeks! Have a great day!!!

Feet Time

2009-05-08T10:27:00.006-04:00

It's no secret that I hate feet. I guess hate may be too strong a word....how about if I just say I don't like the look of feet? I have never seen a pretty foot and just the thought of feet kind of grosses me out (other than baby feet - baby feet are cute). I appreciate feet for their usefulness, but they are simply not aesthetically pleasing to my eye....any of them (sorry, don't mean to offend anyone or your feet).
As I sat down to type this, feet came to my mind for some odd reason, so I did a Bible Gateway search of the word "feet" and got 262 results. (I promise I am going somewhere with this....stick with me). Alot of those results were relating to measure, such as in Ezra where the temple was to be built 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. Or in Esther where Haman had (his own ;-) gallows built 75 feet high. And you will remember that Goliath was over 9 feet tall compared to David who was just a young boy.
Other references to feet were about people whose feet were lame like Mephibosheth and Jonathan. Or what about when Ruth lays beside Boaz and uncovers his feet waiting to see if he will fight to be her kinsman redeemer? There are verses about foot washing, feet being like feet of deer, feet being cut off, people walking on foot, wiping dust from feet and moving on, enemies being under our feet, the feet of those who bring Good News being blessed......the Bible is full of references to feet.
But......
The foot references I like the best are the ones where people fall at the feet of Jesus. I wont list them all, but over and over in the Gospels we see people falling on their knees in the presence of Jesus---falling at His feet.

Mark 5:33
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

Mark 5:22
Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet

Luke 7:44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

Luke 7:45
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.

When we see Jesus we will all fall at His feet in worship. Have you ever pictured the moment when you will finally see Jesus face to face? I've never seen Jesus face to face before, but I have a feeling that there wont be much face time in our first "in-person" meeting......I have a feeling there will be more "feet-time" than anything. I just bet that face to face will quickly turn into face to feet (our face to His feet) and I am positive that those will be the sweetest, most aesthetically pleasing feet any of us will have ever seen.

Take a minute and try to picture what it will be like when you touch Jesus for the first time in person. Picture in your mind's eye what it will be like when He actually touches you. Whatever you mentally picture will pale sadly in comparison to the real thing, but I promise whatever struggles you are going through today will become irrelevant when you picture yourself falling at the feet of Jesus.

Not That You Care......

2009-05-05T08:55:00.004-04:00

Hey guys! I am sitting here in the floor of the "office" in our new house. On the floor because we haven't brought the desk or chair to the new house yet.....we move like we build....slowly. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive. We are working like mad to try to get everything done. We have been staying at the new house for a week and a half, but we still have some stuff at the old house to bring here (or throw away or yard sale). The problem has been we haven't had more than a few hours at a time to do anything. It seems that baseball, t-ball, AWANA, nephew's wedding, guitar lessons, hub's work, and just life in general have completely gotten in the way of moving. I haven't even gotten to sit on my new furniture for more than 2 minutes (and I am not exxaggerating at all unfortunately). Hopefully, this week will be more productive.

One thing I have learned over the past couple of weeks while I have been out of pocket (ie. off the blog and off facebook) is that I need fellowship with you guys. I need encouragement from my Christian friends. You guys give me a lift everyday and I am so thankful for your influence in my life. My day goes better knowing that I have Christian friends who encourage me and are "doing life" and have struggles just like I do. It's good to know that I am not alone in this crazy busy life....so thank you all for being my friend (even though I have never even seen some of you in person).

I have had a heavy heart about a lot of things lately (which proves that new stuff doesn't bring you happiness --- did ya hear that? Stuff DOES NOT bring happiness). I got in the shower this morning and it was as if the Lord said "Beth, this stuff isn't for YOU to deal with....give it to ME and let Me work it out." So, today, I am trying my best to let Him deal with my "stuff" and keep my nose out of it.......pray that I can hand over the worries and keep my eyes focused on Him and I will pray the same thing for you, okay?

Back to work...................

Vague

2009-04-16T09:01:00.002-04:00

So, we're finally moving. We are moving the same way we built the house...SLOWLY. Slowly because we have so much stuff (ie. junk)- stuff we need, stuff we don't need, stuff we never needed, stuff nobody should keep. Pack rats, we are. I hope you all are well. I am itching to take time to look at blogs and catch up on all of you, but time is in high demand. I have been packing a few hours, then going on Facebook for a few minutes just to keep in touch with the real world.....well, the real-fake world via the Internet.

Aside from my nasty house, busy-ness has caused me to neglect my landscaping. There are weeds EVERYWHERE! I hate them -even the ones that have blooms on them (a weed is a weed even if it flowers, but don't tell my boys who are constantly picking dandelions for their mama). If I had time I would stomp right out there and pluck each and every one of them and happily throw them in the garbage. If I had time.

Have you ever noticed that sin is like that? Sometimes we just don't have time to deal with it..... or maybe it's more like we just don't want to deal with it. We have to hate the sin in our lives so much we cant wait to pull it up and throw it out. If we don't hate sin, we let it grow and it will eventually take over our hearts until the are covered. Those blooming weeds? After a while we tend to see them as pretty and normal.....just like those sins we allow to remain in the garden of our hearts - we have to get rid of the sins that look pretty before we see them as normal. Make sense? Maybe not to you, but it makes perfect sense to me ;-)

See y'all soon.....Miss ya.

On Necessary Hiatus

2009-04-11T08:32:00.007-04:00

Hey Friends.....yes, you are all still my friends even though I have not visited your blogs in a couple of weeks. I am on a self-imposed, necessary blogging break as we are packing and moving. We are taking things slowly (just as we did while building our house - yes, it took us forever). Anyway, I honestly have had no time to sit down and type a post. So much to say, no time to say it. Puts me in a pickle for sure.

So, I hope you guys don't forget about me while I am on hiatus. I have surely not forgotten you all. I pray that you all have a wonderful Easter and I pray that none of us get caught up in the eggs and candy, but remember what Easter really means.

Wouldn't you love to have been there when that stone rolled away? If that stone was still there, you and I would be on our way to eternal hell.....I am thankful for the Cross, but I am also thankful for the rolling stone!!!

Here is an oldie but goodie, turn it up.

My Favorite Song

2009-04-02T09:56:00.000-04:00

I WILL RISE!

Some Stuff

2009-03-26T09:08:00.004-04:00

To all my blog readers (nearly 400 of you per day)and all my commentors (nearly 8 of you per post - what up with that?): I would like to apologize in advance for the poor grammar and poorly constructed sentences in the following post (and previous posts for that matter). I seem to have a sinus infection that is causing me not to be able to produce a coherent thought.

It's raining again. Which is okay since we need the rain (we're hoping for a thick, lush lawn at the new house, but will take whatever we can get at this point), but it is not a good thing for those of us who have a sinus infection and an active TB type cough. Seriously, I have come close to hacking up a lung for the past week! I took some of the hubs cough meds night before last and had a cough medicine hangover for 48 hours....I'm still not over it! I have the kind of sinus issues where you turn your head and it takes a few minutes for it to actually get there....make sense to anybody? Probably not, since nothing I have said for the past week has made sense.

I thought it was time for a little randomness (that, and I couldn't think of anything of substance to write). So, here goes it:

First off......I have several "issues" with Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I am addicted to Facebook and I love it, but some things just totally get on my nerves. For example, how they change layouts as soon as I get used to the old one. Or how everyone uses it to brag on themselves. Or how everyone has to tell us in their status update every time they go to the gym (seriously, is it a FB rule that you have mention every time you head for the gym? I'm glad people are exercising, but do we have to hear about every crunch and lunge?). Or how people who use their status update to try to brag without being obvious about it - IE. "John Doe is tired from my long, difficult, and very expensive trip to sight-see in Europe" or "Jane Doe is so thankful that she can still fit in her size 3 shorts from last summer" or "John Doe is so tired of long meetings, but I suppose that is why I make 6 figures" and I wont even comment about the people who are constantly telling us how "hot" their spouse is.........can I get a witness???? Is it just me?? Please tell me I am not alone here. I am all about sharing what you are doing with you FB friends, but do we really need to know how much your car, your watch, and your 12 karat diamond ring cost???

As I was doing laundry and cleaning toilets this morning, something occurred to me: "What if I have actually reached my full potential?".......I mean what if I have been away from the "working outside the home" world so long, that cleaning toilets IS my full potential??

Monday was one of the most horrible days I can remember. A delivery service that works for SEARS delivered our new washer/dryer to the house (old ones are over 15 yrs old - R.I.P. old w/d). The men brought them in boxes and sat them in our laundry room floor. One man starts telling me how to install them when I say "We paid for you guys to install them". He looked at me like I had two heads and then he said, "Well, we'll have to take them back outside and take them out of the boxes then. I'll be right back."......I waited for about 10 minutes and looked outside to see what they were doing. This is the good part......THEY WERE GONE!!!!!! Left. Outta there. Needless to say, I called the company and they fell all over themselves trying to make it right. The same man showed up the next day to install the washer/dryer and the first words out of his mouth were : "I understand we had a miscommunication yesterday".............Is there a law against being a liar??? Or against being stupid???? Just curious (and yes, I know we don't say the words liar or stupid in my house).

So, I have told you that we have a car wash. That's right folks, I spend my days emptying trash and shoveling up junk - unfortunately, life ain't all Bon Bons and high tea for me. I do man's work....and lots of it. Anyway, shortly after the "Great Washer/Dryer Debacle of 2009", I looked out my window to see a wrecker with a dune buggy on the back at the car wash. That is not an abnormal sight except for the fact that the dune buggy was lodged into the side of the car wash. Damage was done, minor damage, but damage nonetheless. I walked over to the wrecker driver and the lady that was with him and before I could open my mouth she started calling me every name in the book. Cussing. Like a sailor. That has been in prison. For years. In front of her small children. I told her that I would need her name and number...she wouldn't give it to me. I told the driver I would need his and he gave me the name "John Jones"......yeah. Well. I didn't think it was enough damage to call the police, especially since I got their tag number and had two witnesses, but I did get a good cussing out for what reason I do not know (apparently she thinks I am a dog, have no daddy, and she uses God's name in the wrong context). So, in case you were wondering, gone are the days when people damage your property and say they are sorry. Now they violently tell you off........be prepared. The world has gone to hell in a hand basket.

For the record, I hate all buffets....just thought I would throw that out there.

Well, I would write more random thoughts, but to be honest I have none. My neurons are not all firing at this point. For those of you who have read this far (mom) I appreciate your reading my rant. For those of you who didn't read this far - you missed your opportunity for a good nap --- seriously, this post is like Nyquil - it will definitely put you to sleep ;-).

I'm Back

2009-03-22T22:26:00.006-04:00

I am back from Spring Break and wishing that it wasn't over. It was a stupid idea for Spring Break to only last a week. It's funny how I look forward to school breaks for my child even more than I did for myself when I was in school. I think that makes me officially old or weird.....or both.

I suppose you have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately (or maybe you don't really care - if so, feel free to click that little X at the top right of your screen - hahaha). The truth is that life is so busy right now that I rarely know whether I am coming or going. What I DO know is that blogging takes thought and usually by the time I sit down to blog, I am so tired that thought is an impossibility. I have lots of thoughts - the problem is getting them from my head to this blog. So, please forgive me for being absent from the comment section of your blog. It's not you - it's me (and all the things that life is throwing at me right now;-). Hopefully life will settle down soon. Hopefully.

I hope to be back later in the week with some of my usual mind-numbing randomness, but for now, I wanted to share something that I have been thinking alot about lately: Entitlement.

Why entitlement? Well, in the past couple of weeks, I have heard more than a couple of people say that they "deserve" this or "deserve" that. I actually heard one friend say, "I deserve to be happy". Well, the truth is that we all deserve one thing : hell. None of us deserves to be happy. We don't deserve ANYTHING, but God chooses to bless us with things like happiness, children, homes, etc. We have done NOTHING to deserve any of our blessings, yet if we are honest with ourselves, we all have a sense of entitlement when it comes to the things this world has to offer.

Truth be known, many people feel they deserve to go to heaven. Deserve to go to heaven? The Bible tells us that "it is by Grace we are saved, not by works lest any man should boast"....and we are great at boasting, aren't we? Our society has made us into a bunch of ingrates. Think about it.....when someone doesn't want to work, they are entitled to welfare. When a business is poorly managed and corrupt, our government races in to bail it out (regardless of the fact that CEO's are making millions and millions of dollars). How about our kids? Most kids today are being raised to believe that everyone owes them something, that they are entitled to have whatever they want and that they deserve all the "stuff" that they get. Gratefulness is a foreign concept to most children nowadays.....and sadly, most adults.

Our society is so focused on what they think they "deserve" that there is no room for God in the picture. When everyone feels they are entitled to every little thing their heart desires, the Cross is minimized and Grace is pushed to the side. We are rarely thankful for the things we feel entitled to, which may be the reason even Christians take for granted what Jesus did on the Cross.

So many people (Christians included) spend their time asking "Why me?", when the question is really "Why NOT me?". There are people in other countries (some even in this one) that have so little they are thankful for any little thing they are given. Go on a mission trip to another country and thousands of people will accept the gift of salvation, but knock on a few American doors and you will find people so arrogant and self-sufficient that they don't see a need for God (and they definitely don't think they need the church).

I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to feeling that I deserve the blessings God has given me, but my prayer is that I will get out of the mindset of entitlement and become more thankful ....in every area of my life and for everything God has blessed me with.

Off to bed.....thankfully ;-)

Peace Out.

2009-03-14T20:55:00.003-04:00

So, I am off the blog for a week or so....it's spring break and the fam and I are having some adventures. If you didn't read my previous post, you will want to look at it....there is a giveaway involved that you wont want to miss.

While I am away, I thought it might be fun to leave something for you to ponder....something that I have been thinking alot about lately.....

True Christian, what differentiates you from non-Christians? When non-believers look at you and your life, what is it that lets them know you are a child of God? What EXACTLY makes you different from those who have no relationship with Jesus and what would a non-believer say it is that sets you apart from the rest of the world?

You dont have to answer in comments, although you are free to do so, but I think it's a question we all need to ask ourselves. Do we really act like a royal priesthood or do we look just like everyone else?

Just something to think about.......

Have an awesome week!

Love Mandisa?

2009-03-14T13:49:00.003-04:00

Okay, this might be the shortest post in the history of blogging. My friend Stephanie is hosting a giveaway. If you love Mandisa, then you wont want to miss this. If you love the Lord, you wont want to miss Stephanie's blog because she does too....and you will be blessed. Off to do some spring breaking....be back in a week.

A Quick Word

2009-03-10T10:50:00.003-04:00

This morning on the way to school, Lake was annoyed with Kaden. I am not sure what Kaden did to Lake because they were in the backseat while I was driving, but whatever it was....Lake was mad. He turned to Kaden and in a loud, angry voice said "WILL YOU STOP THAT!!?!!". The funny part is that when he said it, he sounded and looked just like me. The irritation in his voice, the sharp tone, the evil eye....just like me. Did I say that was the "funny part"? Yeah, well.... what I should have said is "sad part". Lake has heard me reply to him with irritation in my voice (more than once I might add) and in a "less than sweet" tone. Patience may be a virtue, but it's one that I don't naturally possess.

We all know that kids learn behavior from their parents. My kids spend most of their time with me so it's no wonder they would speak and act like me. We humans tend to take on the traits of those we spend the most time with.....ya smell what I'm cookin' here?

Maybe if I spent with the Lord, His traits would become mine and in turn they would also become my children's traits..........

I know it sounds so simple, but it's something I need to hear everyday.....The more time we spend with the Lord, the more we become like Him....and that's THE GOAL....to be like Jesus. We can teach our kids all kinds of valuable life lessons, but if we don't teach them to be like Jesus all those lesson are useless.

Yes, I think "Be Holy for I am Holy" might just be the most valuable lesson our kids will ever learn.....but, it wouldnt hurt for us as parents to learn it first.

Dear Winter, I dislike your actions.

2009-03-05T08:45:00.012-05:00

When we were little and my sister or I would say "I hate so and so", our parents would smack our mouths and say "You do not hate them, you just dislike their actions".......since "hate" is a bad word at my house (along with stupid, dumb, b-tt, no, and many more - email me for a complete list of words that my kids cannot say), I decided NOT to title this post "I hate winter" (as originally intended). I guess I dont really hate winter, but as I get older, I dislike it more and more.

Why do I dislike winter? Well, I cant stand to be cold and I dislike sickness very much, and we all know that along with winter comes cold and sickness. For instance, I spent a couple of hours in Lake's pediatrician's office "sick" waiting room yesterday (with all the other mothers in the Tri-City area). Turns out that Lake has what is called "Flu Type B". If you will remember, it was only 2 weeks ago that Steve and Kaden had "Flu Type A". I am praying that there is no such thing as "Flu types C, D, E, or F" because at the rate we are going I am sure that we would get them all. And ya'll I am not the least bit interested in the Flu alphabet.

Also, I dont mean to sound ungrateful, but we have spend over $500 in three weeks on flu meds (do not get me started on how insurance and pharmaceutical companies are robbing us blind!).

Truth be told, I would rather have hemmorhoid surgery and a root canal than for my kids to be sick.....no! Scratch that! I would rather have hemmorhoid surgery WHILE having a root canal with NO anasthesia than for my kids to be sick!!! (okay, maybe the no anasthesia part is going a little too far, but the rest is really true!).

It's funny. My boys are used to being together. They sit right beside each other while they watch TV....much of the time with their arms around each other. They sleep together curled up like two little puppies in a ball. They lay in the floor with their little heads together and draw pictures. But when one of them is sick, I am constantly having to tell them to move away from each other. If I had a dollar for every time I have said "Please dont get in his face", I would be rich. They really would not know what to do without each other.....sweet.

So, I guess you all have noticed that I have become what I used to despise-- a blog neglector. I have been remiss in my self imposed blog duties. I spend most of my days running errands and carting kids to and from activities. I get up at 6 am and before I know it, it's 9:30 pm. How does that happen? I mean how do we get so busy that we have no idea where our day went? How do mothers with 5 or 6 children do it? I will never know.

I just wanted you all to know that the reason I have not been commenting on your blogs is not necessarily because I havent read them, but because I havent had time to type out comments. Well, at least comments that are semi-intelligible/intelligent.

In other random news, I think I may have turned into an angry old Republican man. Let me explain. I was working at our new house the other day. The painters are frantically working so we can move in before the return of our Dear Lord. While they work, they listen to (very loud) music. Music of the Rock variety. Now, I dont say anything because I feel that upbeat music makes one work faster and I have to say that I grew up in the 80's, so I am no stranger to rock music (ie. I know every word to the songs they are listening to - remember: God said not to judge). Anyhoo, as I was working, the song "Born in the U.S.A." came on the radio. We all know the words, but it doesnt hold the same appeal for me that it used to when I was younger. (This is where I become and angry old Republican man). I know now that Bruce Springsteen is an outspoken liberal who has used his celebrity status to help defeat conservative candidates. And it just plain makes me mad that celebrities think we are so ignorant that we care what they think about politics. Newsflash: The average American COULD NOT CARE LESS what Bruce Springsteen or any other Hollywood actor thinks about politics. Who died and made him "Boss"? And who is Bruce Springsteen "the boss" of anyway?

Moving on.........I wonder if you all would think less of me if you knew that Steve, the kids, and I think it's fun to go to Sam's Club and eat dinner? (Again, Judge not lest ye be judged). We love to go to Sam's and get hot dogs, pizza,cokes, and ice cream for dessert. We sit and watch people and talk about what we are going to buy and the best part is that all four of us can eat for $10. Yeah, we're classy like that.

This morning, Lake woke up with a nosebleed. A huge nosebleed - we are talking lots of blood here. His nose has never bled before, so I thought I should call the Dr. to see if it might be a side effect of the Flu and see what I needed to do. I asked for a nurse and told her the story. She asked me what I was doing to stop the bleeding, I wasnt exactly sure what to do for a nosebleed because we have never had one before (ummmm, that's why I am calling a Doctor??? Hello????). She was so rude to me and acted like I was a total idiot for not knowing how to stop a nosebleed (let me just add that I love our Dr's office, we know most everyone there and they are always very nice, well until today).

I think it says something for my intelligence level that I knew enough to know that I didnt know what to do and to call someone who supposedly does. So, after making me feel stupid (and yes, I know stupid is a bad word) she told me to pinch the top of his nose and hold it AND (this is the weird part) to tear off a piece of a brown paper bag, roll it up and place it in his upper lip..........AND I'M THE STUPID ONE?????? Okay, maybe I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but does the average Joe out on Main Street REALLY know that a paper bag between the teeth and gums stops a nosebleed???? (Sadly, My mother just called and when I told her his nose was bleeding she asked "Did you put a paper bag in his lip?" ....Apparently I am the only one in America that does not know a paper bag stops nose bleeds....P.S. Dont tell me if you knew that already. I feel stupid enough already without your two cents. Thank you.)

Okay, I suppose those of you who have read this far have been punished enough. Thank you for reading this and if you think of it, say a prayer that Lake will get better soon and the rest of us will stay healthy. Neither our nerves or our bank accounts can handle any more sickness.

I will leave you with some pictures of us from the Monster Truck Race we went to a couple of weeks ago. You know, you might be a redneck if you like to eat dinner at Sam's and go to Monster Truck shows.....I hope these pics of my family with ear plugs in our ears watching loud trucks with large tires does not change your image of me (although I fear it will just reinforce what you already knew;-).

Have a happy day!

Whatdya think?

2009-03-04T11:06:00.002-05:00

Like my friend Cassie, I have been thinking of changing up the blog. I am over all things winter and ready to move on to spring (well actually summer, but we all know spring has to come first). What do you guys think of this background? It seems like I have seen it on someone's blog recently, but I cant remember whose it is, so I hope I havent stolen anyone's blogskin (if I have, let me know and I will change it really quicklike). Let me know what you think......we'll see if it stays for more than a day or two ;-). You guys know I have a problem making decisions, right?

Monday, Monday, Why do you hate me so?

2009-03-02T13:19:00.007-05:00

So, it's Monday. Not my favorite day of the week....usually not even my second favorite day. And this has definitely been a Monday (sad part is that it is only 1:20 pm - there are several more hours to go until Tuesday rolls around). I wont bore you with the details, but let's just say that "life is tedious today".

Anyway, I thought I would check in and post my new memory verses. It's a familiar one to most of you....the first part of it I already knew, it's the second part that I will have to learn.

Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Why did I pick these verses?

Well, because I need to remember that God's Word is relevant to me today....and everyday until He calls me into His presence where He can speak to me face to face. His word speaks to us in the way we need to hear it - you can read a verse today and it will speak to you differently than it will tomorrow - no other book can do that (because no other book is divinely inspired by the One True God - and no other book is "living and active").

Through His word I can get a glimpse of Who God is and what He expects of me. He uses His word to show love, to rebuke, and to cause me to change directions.......and to remind me that when I sin, I sin against Him.........nothing I do, say, think or feel is hidden from Him, He knows it all - the good, the bad and the ugly, yet He loves me anyway........the Word is living and active, because "in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God".....These verses remind me that spending time in the Word IS ACTUALLY spending time with God Himself...... and quite frankly, I need to be reminded of that....often.

Revelation 19

2009-02-27T10:41:00.003-05:00

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

I have been thinking....

2009-02-23T09:00:00.008-05:00

Here is part of a post I wrote a long time ago....back when I only had about 50 or 60 blog hits per day and most of those were accidental. I am re-posting this because it has been on my mind for the past week or so.

Have you noticed that sometimes people are not what they seem? Sometimes we judge before we know the whole truth. Take me, for example....on a normal day, I can be found wearing nasty clothes emptying trash at our car wash or cleaning empty apartments for my father-in-law. I have found that people treat me differently when I am in my "work clothes". They treat me as if I am "less" than they are. Last fall, I was working at our new house tying the the steel rebar together so we could get the concrete poured....a new family moved in who did not know we actually owned the house and every time I waved at them, they looked away. I'm sure it is because they thought I was a worker instead of their neighbor.

Treating people differently because of their station in life is one of the BIGGEST character flaws I can think of, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about here.....

Ya'll, I believe with all my heart we are living in the last days. I truly believe that the Jesus has gotten up from His seat on the throne and is literally looking to His Father saying "Can I call for them?". We are privileged to be living in such an exciting time.

My concern is that there are many people who go to church every Sunday, who even work in the church, but do not truly have a relationship with Jesus. Matthew 7:21 says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." We all know that Satan is prowling the earth seeking those he can destroy. Satan's goal is to cause the true Christian to fall so that their witness is left in ruins and to keep those who are not yet believers from truly trusting Christ.

In his quest to keep people from trusting God, satan sometimes causes Christians to have a dull conscience when it comes to sin. He also causes those who "think" they are saved (by works) to continue in their religion and never see that we are saved by grace and not by works. My fear is that there are people who may be close to us all that put on a good act. People who we see at church every week who are active in the house of God, but not part of the Kingdom of God. I fear that we are evangelizing the lost in the world and forgetting the lost who sit in the pews every week.

The tribulation will be terrible (if you want to read about the events after the rapture see the article link below). The horror will be unimagineable. Think about the elderly who have been taught that you just have to "be good and do right" to go to heaven --they will be left behind without food or medical care. Unless they take the mark of the beast, they will starve to death. Think about the young who were old enough to accept Jesus, but just put it off (it could have been any one of us). They will be left to fend for themselves in an evil world without hope. Then think about the average capri pant wearing, Vera Bradley bag toting, ballet flat wearing young mommy. Maybe she thought her church membership saved her. Maybe she thought since her parents were saved she would be too OR maybe she thought that her confirmation or baptism as an infant would save her. Picture her standing over the crib of her precious little baby only to find the baby gone.

This is why we so need to be asking even those who we know fairly well if they truly know the Lord. We need to be dilligent and consistent in our witness and witnessing. I love to think about the Rapture and heaven. I can't wait to see Jesus up close and in person - I dream about it all the time (I just realized I am a Jesus groupie!). Our time here is so short. We are told to watch for His return, but also to work until He comes. There is lots left to do and we may just need to start in our own Judea, no, in our own house of worship.

The Sign of Our Generation by Britt Gillette (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, THIS!!!)

"In the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus revealed to His disciples that the primary sign of the end of the age and His soon return would be the restoration of Israel as a nation. However, He didn’t plainly say so. Instead, He once again used the fig tree as a metaphor for the nation of Israel:
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near. Just so, when you see the events I’ve described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” Matthew 24:32-35 (NLT)

The fig tree is Israel. It’s been six decades since Israel was once again declared a nation against all worldly odds. In Matthew 24, Jesus promises that the generation which witnesses the reestablishment of Israel will not die off until the end of the age comes to pass. Given the Bible’s impeccable track record, we have every reason to expect His imminent return. Jesus will return soon, within our generation, and a wise person will prepare accordingly.
Just as the time of His first coming was clearly revealed to the previous generation, the season of His Return has been clearly revealed to ours. The previous generation was unprepared for His arrival. Ours should be watching with a patient and enduring faith, fully confident in the glory we are about to witness. Christ is coming. The fig tree is in bloom, and ours is the generation. "

Now, that, my friends, ought to make you jump up and have a Holy Ghost spell!!!

A Semi-Blog Post

2009-02-19T11:00:00.004-05:00

Just as I was feeling guilty about not blogging this week since Monday, I looked at my sidebar and noticed that I am not alone in losing my bloggy touch.....there are many others who haven't blogged in over a week....some, who will remain nameless (unless you look at my sidebar) haven't blogged in over a month.......Anyway, I have an excuse (don't I always?). The hubs and Kaden have had the flu....the type A flu, which is apparently worse than type B....not that I know anything about the flu or its types. What I DO know is that when your kid and husband have the flu, the Dr. prescribes medicine for the whole family and it costs $75 per person (even if you have good insurance it costs $75)......oh, and I know that stinks.

But I know people who dont have insurance at all or people that dont have a job at all, so I suppose I should be happy with $75....but it still strikes fear in the heart of a person when you drive up to the window at Walgreens and the total they give starts with a 3 and ends with the word hundred.

SIDENOTE: As I am typing this semi-post, Kaden is watching Little House on the Prairie.....he thinks that it was set in the time that I was little (I guess because I told him that I used to love it when I was a girl)......he wants to know if I had to collect eggs out of a chicken house and sell them at a store when I was little or if we rode to town in a wagon...... sad part is, I feel that old some days.

So, just to update you, we are thinking about taking our boys to a Monster Truck show this weekend......and no, there could not be a more redneck thing to do. But, when you have boys, you do what they like and right now, my boys love Gravedigger.....it's hard being the only girl in the house sometimes.....I mean, what on earth does a self- respecting female wear to a Monster Truck show anyway? I don't own any leather and my halter tops are all at the cleaners (do be afraid -its a joke- I don't really own a halter)....anyway, if we go, I will be needing some advice as to what to wear, because the last thing a girl wants to do is look out of place in a room full of rednecks, dirt, and over sized trucks that flatten Winnebagos. So, Monster Truck Show? Yeah that's how we roll here in the south.

I do have some more "spiritual" things to say, but no time to type them today, so maybe tomorrow I can be back with something worthwhile for you to read.

Happy Thursday, friends!

So Simple

2009-02-15T17:57:00.002-05:00

Hey guys!!! Long time no blog, huh? Life seems to get more tedious by the day and blog time has been limited to say the least. Lately, the only time I have had to blog has been after everyone is in bed, and I have to admit that sleep has won over blogging every time.

This past weekend, our church sponsored a "Parent Connect" weekend. The guest speaker was Steve Wright, the Student Minster at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. Our student pastor heard Steve on the radio with Dr. Dobson and decided our church family needed to hear what he had to say. And we did.

Did you know that 70% of teens who are involved in a church youth group will stop attending church within two years of their high school graduation? SEVENTY PERCENT. That means that only 30 percent of the youth in your church's youth group will not "graduate from God" when they graduate from high school. A sad fact, but a true one.

Steve Wright contends that the reason for this is that parents are not discipling their own children, but depending on a couple hours a week with a youth pastor to do the work for them. Unfortunately, I think he is right. The problem is that most parents are not equipped to disciple their kids because they don't spend enough time with the Lord OR with their kids. Many parents cannot disciple their children because they are not spiritually mature enough to do so. Again, sad, but true.

Mr. Wright says the key to discipling your kids is simple: Treasure Christ above everything else. Our kids know what is most important to us....they know what we value most and statistics say that parental influence is greater than any other influence on children. What does that mean? If we value Jesus most in our life, our kids are more likely to value Him most in theirs.

What I want most in life is for Jesus to be first in my kids' lives....which means I need to let them know He is undeniably first in mine.

So, with that in mind, I chose Deuteronomy 6:5-7 as my new LPM memory verses:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up

2009-02-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

I tried to write a blog post last night, but was so tired I couldnt even make a complete sentence (not that it has ever stopped me before ;-). Today I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off to get ready for Lake's V-day party tomorrow and do lots of new house errands - seriously, I have about 15 places to go today between the hours of 7:45 and 2:30......this afternoon is Lake's guitar lessone and then tonight its basketball. Hopefully, I will be back on the blog soon......

"The Lord your God is with you
He is MIGHTY to save
He will take great delight in you
He will quiet you with His love
He will rejoice over you with singing"

Have a great day!

PC/Mac or Christian/Christ-follower

2009-02-09T10:01:00.001-05:00

Last week? Blizzard (okay a 1/2 inch of snow). This week? Sunny and 70's......Only in the South, people, only in the Sunny South. You guys might have seen this a thousand times. If so, please disregard or watch and make it a thousand and one.

Morals

2009-02-06T12:06:00.004-05:00

So, I have been AWOL from the blog this week due to circumstances beyond my control....okay, maybe not totally beyond my control, but I have been snowed in and have been playing with my boys the whole week....okay, not really snowed in like many of would consider snowed in........can you be snowed in with a 1/2 inch of snow? Our local school systems believe so. Many schools are out today and it is going to be 50 degrees. Go figure - snow in the south is really up to personal interpretation. A flake or two causes our grocery stores to sell out of every gallon of milk and every loaf of bread. Suffice it to say, southerners really don't know what to do with snow and ice (other than make snow cream and stay home).

Anyhoo, I really don't have anything blog worthy to say, so you know what that means.......

Personally, I believe every kid should get a few snow days each year....what fun is winter without snow days anyway???? The excitement of watching for your school system on the bottom of the news screen with the word "closed" beside it. Makes me happy just thinking about it. I have wished for Lake to be out for snow and he finally got two days in a row....problem is that he will have to make those days up and we don't know when . We have a little trip planned for spring break....it has just occurred to me that our snow day fun might upset our Spring Break fun. And that my friends, is no fun at all.

What's the moral of this story?
Be careful what you wish for or you might be taking your kid to school in July or even worse, missing vacation because of snow days. Sadly, there is some truth to the saying "Play now, Pay later".

Since there was no church or basketball this week, I got to watch both episodes of American Idol in their entirety. (That never happens). I was cracking up at gay guy with earrings in his lips and a headband around his hair- oh the drama! Or what about the girl with the hair that is actually the color red? What up with that? The girl with the freaky laugh makes me cringe and I mean that in the worst possible way I can think of -- cringe, I tell you. Where do they get these people anyway??? Also, "bikini girl" was most annoying. The girl cant sing well, so the only reason they sent her to Hollywood was because of her bikini. If she had been ugly, Randy would have said "It wasn't good for me, dog" and Simon would have simply said, "It was abysmal" (I am using that word a lot now, Abysmal- I like it). I predict that bikini girl will soon regret her decision to go on national TV (not to mention the #1 show) and try to sing while wearing next to nothing. I regret it for her! She will always be known as 'bikini girl', even after she has three kids and her bikini body has turned into a "fat granny skirt swimsuit" body.

What's the moral of this story?
Don't use your body to gain the favor of men. Women will hate you and you will be embarrassed when stretch marks, flab, and extra pounds take over your bikini body.

I have seen several pics of new babies lately. Lots of friends having babies....lots of bloggers too. I have to admit that seeing these little ones kinda makes me want a little girl. Although I am not the kind of hair bow, dress, and American Girl doll kinda gal, I think a little girl would be fun.....that, and I am sooooo outnumbered here in a house of all boys. I do believe there is some truth to the phrase, "A son is a son until he takes a wife, a daughter is a daughter for all your life". I see all these people buying little pink outfits and wonder what it would be like to have a little girl of my own.......

Moral of this story?
Stay away from people who have new babies 'cause it might get you in trouble and at my age I cant afford to be staying up all night with a newborn....beauty sleep is a must!

Yesterday, I was reminded of a time in Middle School when I wanted to fit in at any cost. A friend of mine who was on my cheerleading squad got the sides of her hair shaved (it was the 80's - everyone had weird hair!). Back long. Sides gone (well mostly gone). I liked the way it looked for some reason and so I did it too. The top of my hair was big (thanks to a body wave and Aquanet firm hold) and the back was just past my shoulders.....The sides? About 1/8 inch long.

Moral of this story?
Don't compare yourself to others or you will end up with a mullet.

I am now being paid back for many things I did to my parents. When we go to the grocery store, my kids put things in the buggy when I am not looking and I have to take them out before I pay (they love to put toys and candy in there just to see what I will do - the other day it was a huge Spongebob pillow - they do it to see if I will notice). They think its funny. Me? Not so much. When I lived at home, I used to love to put different things in my mom's grocery cart to embarrass her. When she would reach the checkout and would start placing her items on the conveyor, she would realize what she had in her hand and be embarrassed in front of the check out clerk and other people behind her in line.

Moral of this story?
Don't put condoms in your moms grocery cart because when she places them at the register for all to see, she will slap you in front of God and everybody.....and then she will say things like "I hope when you have kids, you get paid back for everything you have ever done to me" and you will...... you will be paid back in some way because God has a sense of humor.

Well, time to go and do something productive.......hopefully, I will be back soon with something of importance to say, but until then, have a great weekend!

Snow Day #2

2009-02-05T12:42:00.003-05:00

Lake was out of school yesterday because of a terrible snow storm that dumped a 1/2 inch of snow in our area ;-) (Greg and Mari, this is the point where you all laugh uncontrollably). Today he is out because of extreme cold? (It is 17 degrees outside right now....I think that is why they are out....the roads are clear, so cold is my guess). (Insert laughter). We have spent the past 2 days playing, eating, and playing some more and then eating some more. I just finished making the boys pancakes and now we are playing Playstation until its time for Lake's guitar lesson and then on to his basketball game. I assume I will be back on regular blog schedule tomorrow as the temps here will climb into the 50's........

Some Stuff

2009-02-02T13:39:00.002-05:00

It's time again for a new LPM memory verse. This time I picked Zephaniah 3:17:

The LORD your God is with you,
He is MIGHTY TO SAVE.
He will take GREAT DELIGHT IN YOU,
He will quiet you with his LOVE,
He will REJOICE OVER YOU with singing."

Why did I pick this particular verse?

Because I like it.

Schools let out at lunch time today because of an ice/snow storm that is moving in (there is ice in Knoxville which is just down the road from us). The problem is that the thermometer on my car says it's 40 degrees -- this may come as a chock to some, but this might not turn out to be much of a snow "event". The forecasters here are not necessarily known for their accuracy (but don't tell them that - they call themselves the "Accurate Storm Team"..........too bad they are not so accurate most of the time. I will say that there is some sleet coming down as I type........I did stop by the store for some cream in case it actually does snow. My kids would revolt if there was snow without making snow cream.

Yesterday, after church, I went to Kaden's bedroom to take a nap (which never happens here and I do mena never) and Lake came and rested with me. After we woke up, Kaden came in, jumped on the bed and hugged Lake's leg.....then he looked at me and said, "What? You never saw a guy hug a chicken leg before????" He also asked me if I thought it would be funny if he had some shorts that said "I heart Las Vegas" on the back........He has been singing really loud and asking "How'd ya like that, Simon?" Or "Was that good to you, Dog?" .........I really have no explanation for where he gets these things. Really I don't. BUT, I am thinking it might be time to limit American Idol watching around here.

I have been running errands since 7:30 this morning and I am not done (snow or no snow --- just like the mailman - rain, sleet, snow, hail, dark of night......exhaustion). Gotta run now, but will be back soon with lots and lots of fascinating things to say...........(okay, maybe fascinating is too strong a word ;-).

It's time for a little..............

2009-01-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

Randomness......Long time, no random post. All serious and no randomness makes Beth a dull girl. I have been having randomness withdrawals....okay, maybe not withdrawals, but since I don't have anything else blog worthy to say today I thought that a little randomness may be in order..........read at your own risk preferably while drinking a strong cup of coffee.

First I would just like to say that I have been unaffected by the recent peanut butter scare. Even under threat of death, I continue to eat and love peanut butter.

Can someone tell me what sprucing up the National Mall has to do with stimulating the economy? Seriously. And while you are at it can you also tell me why they call it a mall? Can you shop there? No, so if we are going to spend all that money to "spruce it up", why don't we make it a real mall where people can actually purchase clothes, shoes and accessories? That, my friends, would stimulate the economy.

Also, would someone tell me why giving each American family $1 million dollars would not stimulate the economy? It would be cheaper than what they are proposing and it would pay off many delinquent mortgages thus eliminating the housing crisis. I think it's a brilliant plan. So, why didn't you people write me in as your candidate for President?

I just have to say that I believe Nancy Pelosi to be a forerunner of the anti-christ.

I like that Michelle Obama wears dresses instead of business suits all the time......that woman is like an amazonian. I thought their little girls were so cute in their little dresses and coats at the Obamathon that was the inauguration. Can you imagine being their age and living in the white house? Too cool.

I am still not happy that all our surrounding cities are placing video cameras at red lights. If you run the light, they take your picture and send you a ticket in the mail. I don't make a habit of running red lights, but should we really have to be on video everywhere we go? I just think this kind of thing is opening doors for big brother to watch us anywhere we go (even though I don't know exactly who big brother is or why he is called big brother) .

Blagojevich is a total nut. I cant believe Al Franken is even a contender for political office much less elected. The political scene in America gets stranger and stranger by the day.

If Bernie Madoff had made off with all my money, I think I might hunt him down and hurt him. Not kill him cause that would be wrong, but just mame him so that he would be in constant pain remembering what he did to me and all those other people who trusted him....but that's just me.

I watch one TV show all year. American Idol. This year, Lake has had a ballgame at 7:30 every night Idol has been on. Sometimes life isn't fair.

Yesterday, Kaden was watching a Disney movie and the characters were in a museum. The characters were walking with trepidation (that's my big word for the day) through this museum as "impending doom" music played. Kaden said, "Oooh No. They are in a museum and ALWAYS something terrible happens in a museum.....I am NEVER going to a museum!" I guess it's a good thing we aren't really cultured or sophisticated around here....he shouldn't have to worry since we don't frequent the museum scene.

Speaking of museums, when I went to Paris, we were in the Louvre and I was chastised by a "Museum Cop" for trying to take a pic of he Mona Lisa. What is up with that? Everyone in the world has already seen her and I cant even have a pic to prove I saw her in person?

I keep getting emails from people with weird names like "valkfyw892" and they want me to buy Viagra..........

I hate that Viagra commercials are on TV (and often), yet I will admit find them to be kind of funny. They always show grandma and grandpa hugging out in a field of daisies after a long bike ride......and then they give the warnings and side effects of the drug and then they tell the symptoms that require calling a doctor and I burst out laughing every time.........

My son has had lots and lots of homework lately....must be almost time for state standardized tests. Whatever happened to the good old days where if you didn't pass, they socially promoted you just so they didn't have to have you in class for another year? Not that I would know anything about that........I am just kidding, people! Only Kidding!!!! My son does have lots of homework, but he is an A student.

Speaking of the good old days.......I miss the days when you could call a business and talk to a real person or a real person who speaks English. Yesterday I had to call Sears to reschedule a delivery. It took me 20 minutes to finally get to speak with a human....my conversation went something like this:

Automated Computer with Woman's Voice: Thank you for calling Sears. Please say what department you need or wait for the tone to hear a list of departments.

(I listen to the list and find that Washers/Dryers is the department I need)

Me: Washers and Dryers

ACwWV: You said "Tires", is that right?

Me: No

ACwWV: Okay, let's try this again. Please say what department you need.

Me: Washers and Dryers

ACwWV: You said "Tires" is that right?

Me: NO!!!!! WASHERS AND DRYERS!!!! I SAID WASHERS AND DRYERS!!!!!!

ACwWV: Okay, let's try this again. Please say what department you need.

Me: (silence)

ACwWV: Okay, let me transfer you to an associate that can help you.

Associate: (in my best foreign Accent) Hello, this is Sanjay, how may I help you?

Me: disgusted, mad, wondering where the English speaking associates are and why I can never talk to a person FIRST..............after several "huh's?" and "excuse me's?" I finally got my delivery rescheduled............

Yesterday was cold and rainy here. This morning it was 62 degrees with gale force winds (okay, I added the gale force part, but the wind was very high). This afternoon it is supposed to snow...........do you see a pattern here? Yeah, me neither. What does the Bible say about "signs in the weather"? 62 in the morning and snow in the evening? Yeah, that has to be a sign.

Okay, sorry for the stream of consciousness that is this post.........for the two of you who are still awake and reading this.....Mom/Dad......I have one request of you both............send money.

Quick Little Story For Ya

2009-01-26T09:03:00.008-05:00

So, (have you noticed I always start my posts with the word "so" - kinda makes it seem like I am talking to you in person)..........I wanted to share a little story with you about how God has worked in my life recently (I know He is always working, but this is a concrete example). I am in bit of a hurry, so please do not examine my grammar or spelling too closely.

Many of you know that Beth Moore and Travis Cottrell were at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia (where my dad works) this past weekend. Some of the LPM "Blogging Siestas" had planned a "little" get together (with each other AND Beth Moore!). I was invited by one of my favorite blog friends (Stephanie -Notes from the Soul- check out my sidebar - no time for linking) who lives near Woodstock to come and stay at her house for the weekend (yes, I know that my dad and sister live in Woodstock, but I really wanted to hang out with these girls for the weekend). Not only was I invited to stay with her, but she invited some other bloggers to stay who I really wanted to meet in person.

Anyhoo........I prayed about it for a month or so and I never really had peace about going. I just never got the go ahead from God. The hubs said go and my mom offered to watch the boys,but I never felt "right" about going. I SO wanted to go, but I knew it was not meant to be. I didn't understand why. I kept thinking, "Lord, why does everyone else get to go and I don't?". I mean these are my friends whom I have never actually gotten to see in person and Beth Moore for cryin' out loud! I kind of felt like I was missing the prom or something.

Sometimes God makes us wait for years to understand something and other times He reveals His plan immediately......this was one of the more immediate times. The hubs' grandmother died on Monday of last week. I knew that her death could not be the reason God didn't release me to go to Georgia for the weekend, after all, she died on Monday, the funeral was on Wednesday and I wouldn't be leaving until Friday or Saturday. What I didn't know and what God DID know is that because of the recent cold weather and snow, we wouldn't be able to have her burial until Saturday afternoon. He knew back in December when Fran and Stephanie asked me to come to Georgia, that the hubs' grandmother would die on Monday and not be buried until Saturday. God knew I would need to be there for my husband, our boys and for his family.

God knew what I needed long before I understood what He was doing.

Proverbs 16:1 says, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh"..........in other words, we have all sorts of plans that we want to carry out, but without God's wisdom, they are useless because He knows the future. I had a plan in my heart to go to Georgia to hang out with my girls, but God had the wisdom to know that wasn't the best thing for me to do at that particular time. I love it when answers come quickly like they did this time, but it is important to remember that even when the answers don't come for years, God is still working and He still knows what we need when we don't understand what He is up to.

More Snow Pics

2009-01-22T11:03:00.006-05:00

In my last post, I told you that he hubs' grandmother passed away this week. We have been so busy with arrangements and services that I haven't had much time to blog or read blogs ;-(......hopefully in the next couple of days I will be back on track. I don't want this to become a photo blog (you guys know I have way too much to say for that to happen, right?), but I have some pics from the past couple of days that I wanted to share with you.........I know that a few inches of snow is nothing to our friends from up North, but to us a few inches is like a few feet! This is the south, people, let us have our snow moment no matter how pitiful it is! ;-)

Some Snow & A Homecoming Updated with Pics

2009-01-19T11:36:00.004-05:00

So, I have been asking for snow for some time now and it seems that my request has been granted. It is snowing (hard) right now and has been for some time. We have about 3 inches so far and it doesn't look like it will quit any time soon. The weathermen are saying that we haven't seen the worst of it yet (okay, this is where you Northerners double over from raucous laughter). The kids are begging to go out and sled, but it is 31 degrees and pouring snow......it goes against everything in me to let them out in this right now, so they will have to wait until the snow stops. I know, bad mommy........

On a less happy note for us, the hubs' grandmother passed away this morning at around 4 am. She was 98 and had been in poor health for about a month and a half. Up until a month and a half ago she lived on her own and took care of herself. Funny lady and full of life even up until a few days ago. She will be missed by so many people, including all four of us. Even while she was in the hospital over the past few weeks, she could remember back to when she was 5 years old - this woman worked from the time she was a small child and when I say worked, I mean daylight to dark physical labor. If we had a question about how to do something, we knew we could call her because she knew how to do everything! Some of our funniest dinners, were when she came over to eat and told us stories from her younger days.I wish we had her stories on video to remind the boys when they are older what a fun great-grandmother they had. They will miss her, but they know she is with Jesus and we will see her again because of 'Christ in us, the hope of glory'.

I will probably be somewhat of a stranger to blog land until later in the week as we will be busy with funeral plans and services. If I get a chance this afternoon I will post some pics of the snow so those of you who are South-er than us can see some real snow and so you Northerners can see what we call real snow and laugh. See you guys later in the week!

This is a pic from last week when Kaden was so sick. I took his picture because he was so pitiful (and cute at the same time). He is sitting with a towel on his lap just in case.......

The boys filling goodie bags for Kaden's friends who came to the party.

Here is Kaden getting ready to ride go carts at the party with my sister's youngest child......

New Memory Verse(s)

2009-01-14T23:02:00.002-05:00

So, last week, I told you that my first memory verse of the year was Jeremiah 33:2-3....."This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

I am happy to announce that not only do I know it by heart, the hubs also knows it from memory (no kidding, go ahead, quiz us!). I am writing these verses in a little notebook and it has been sitting on our bathroom counter for 2 weeks. Gives me something to do while I am teasing my hair -just kidding (kinda). Having that verse in front of me while I am getting ready gives me something to meditate on AND starts my day off the way it should be started-- in the Word.

The second set of verses that I have chosen to memorize is a little longer, but memorizeable nonetheless (is memorizeable a word? spell check says no, but this is my blog and I can use imaginary words if I want to, right?). I decided to memorize Romans 8:31b-34 this time which says:

"If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us".

Why did I choose these verses?

*If God is for us, who can be against us?

We memorize scripture so we can recall it when we are facing temptations or circumstances....I need to remember that God is FOR me. Me and God? Yeah, we are on the same side. Ya see, sometimes I work against Him thinking that I can do His job better than He can. And every time I try that, I fail, so I need to remember whose side I am on and WHO is on my side. Makes the battles a lot easier to fight when you know which side you are on.

*He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

God, the One and Only God of the whole entire Universe, gave up His most prized possession, Jesus, for me. He allowed His precious Son to die for me even though He knew how vile, sinful, ugly, and evil I would be. He had to turn away because He couldn't bear the sight of what my sin did to His precious child and yet, He still allowed Jesus to die for someone like me. If He loved me enough to give up His beloved Son for me, it makes sense that He loves me enough to take care of all my needs. He allowed innocent Jesus to take my place and die like a common criminal on the cross, He must think I am worth saving, worth using for His glory.

*Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

It doesn't matter what the world says, my identity is in Christ. Let the world say what they want, I don't answer to the world. God chose me and He will defend me.

*Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Jesus is praying for me right now. He has been praying for me for years and will continue to pray for me until He calls me home. Jesus is sitting at God's right hand in the heavenlies mentioning my name to the Most High God. When we feel alone, burdened, devastated, unwanted, unappreciated... Jesus knows our deepest hurts and He is talking to His Father, our Father about them. That, my friends, is something I just cannot wrap my small mind around...it seems impossible that Jesus is praying for me.....but He is and He is praying for you too.

Jesus is praying for you right now. And if that doesn't bless you then nothing will.

OMG TV

2009-01-12T08:53:00.004-05:00

So, in my last post I told you that the stomach bug had left our house. At the time I posted it, I thought it was true (absence of puke means "all better", right? Wrong). Unfortunately, there was more vomit to come. Kaden ~~threw his guts up~~ was sick for 4 days last week. We actually stayed home from church yesterday just to be sure that he was REALLY better....and we NEVER stay home from church.

Since we weren't at church last night, we got to watch a show that I love, but never get to watch because it comes on Sunday nights while we are at church...Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I love the show, but I always hate it when the people come back to see their home and the first words that come out of their mouths are "Oh my God!". It seems that no one sees those words as blasphemous anymore....even some who claim to be Christians. I was glad to see that the family that was on last night did not say those words, but they were not the norm.

I was thinking about that this morning when I went on to Facebook and (not coincidentally) one of my Facebook friends, Barbara Cameron, had commented on something her daughter had posted called ohmygod.tv. It is really a great site and I think you guys will love it. People use those words way too often and without thought to what they are saying. God's name used in vain should cause a Christian to shudder, not just because it is a violation of the "Big Ten", but because it is a blatant, blasphemous offense to God Himself. If something is offensive to God, it should offend us as well.

Hope you all have a fabulous Monday....excuse me while I go do 17 loads of laundry from the past few days..................

Is God Good All The Time?

2009-01-08T13:39:00.006-05:00

You will be glad to know that the stomach virus has left the building....well, it has left our house for the time being anyway (although my stomach is making strange noises that are causing me some concern). After reading the comments from Tuesday's post, I have a feeling that I didn't express myself very well in writing that day. Maybe I should try to explain myself a little better so that many of you (who are not regular readers) do not think I am unsaved and searching for....well, searching for God......... ;-) I mean at one time, like all of us, I was searching for Him and I found Him on November 16th, 1986. No, my search isn't to find God........What I AM searching for is a deeper understanding of Who He is. Who He REALLY is.

As I said Tuesday, one of my "New Year's Resolutions" is to know God better. I use the term resolution loosely, because I am famous for breaking resolutions by January 2nd or before. When I say "know God better", I mean know better WHO He is, REALLY know His TRUE nature, know more of His character........I believe God is urging me to get to know Him more intimately and dig deeper when it comes to knowing His character...I don't know why He keeps bringing this up to me at this point in my life, but I am sure He will reveal His purpose in His own time (and in case you were wondering, yes, I am a little concerned by what the outcome may be, but I have no control over it, so.....).

How many of us have not heard "God is good all the time/all the time God is good"? I have been to churches where the congregation repeats this phrase in every service. It is something that rolls off our tongues pretty easily, but are we just saying words or do we really believe that God is good all the time? It's easy to believe God is good when your life is free from trials, but do you believe God is good when your life is in turmoil?

Psalm 100:5 says,"For the LORD is good and his love endures FOREVER; his faithfulness continues through all generations." His love endures forever - His faithfulness continues through all generations......This verse requires us to look at the big picture and not simply what is happening today. The big picture is what most of us have a problem with. We understand the immediate and not the eternal......but when we are saved, we become citizens of heaven....the eternal city. We we are saved our bodies need to be reprogrammed from Daylight Savings time to Time Eternal. John 5:24 says, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life". A saved person can no longer view life in light of this world, but must view their life in light of eternity.

When we are in the midst of terrible circumstances it is easy to be caught up in the "why's" and forget that God has control of time, space, the universe, AND our present circumstances. The big picture is hanging on the wall in God's office, He painted the big picture, and knows it like the back of His hand. When all we can see is our hurt and pain, God is studying the big picture and keeping His master plan for our lives in motion so that when all is said and done, we can look back over our lives and see the scenes in the tapestry that make up the big picture. In order to truly believe God is good all the time, we have to get over the "immediate", squint our eyes really tight and try to focus on the big picture. That, my friends, is a "hard teaching".

In Luke Jesus is talking to the rich young ruler and says, "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good - except God alone." God is the standard for goodness. Should make us think next time we tell someone they are "good"........even Jesus said only God is good. Jesus may have been trying to give the young man a subtle hint without shouting "I AM God, silly". Or Jesus may have been warning the worldly young man not to be impressed by earthly credentials that might prevent him from pursuing the True God...back in that day, there were plenty of "credentialed teachers" that did not teach the Truth, but taught religion. Jesus may have been warning the man not to focus on imposters because God is the only one who is REALLY good. Either way, we are told that 'No one is good - except God alone'..........No one.

So, if we believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God. If we believe it is true down to the last jot and tittle, then we have to believe God is good all the time because His Word tells us that no one else IS good except Him. Our standard of good is completely off base. The meaning of the word good is not what we thought it was, because none of us can ever be good (even at our best we are not good). We can throw our ideas of what is good out the proverbial window......ONLY God is good. And since He said, "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." (Malachi 3:6 ).....I suppose the phrase "God is good all the time/all the time God is good" is VERY TRUE even when we cant see the big picture.

Snow Day? No Way.

2009-01-08T10:38:00.003-05:00

So, I have been up all night with Kaden. He has some sort of evil stomach bug. He has kept a sip of Sprite and a cracker down for an hour, so he may actually be on the mend. He is behind me on the couch counting in Spanish with Dora. (Don't let anyone know he watches Dora, because he says it's a girl show - a five year old has to keep up his image). It is snowing here (big ole flakes, too). We have almost 2 inches on the ground which would normally close all schools in the area for at least 2 days, but we weren't even on a snow schedule....dern City schools. Don't they know that this mama needed a break today? hahahahaha Just kidding, although a break would be nice, a break is not possible for me in the ~~next 15 years~~ near future. After school, Lake has guitar lessons and tonight he has a basketball game............Rest? Nope, none to be had here people.

Anyway, I will be back either later today or tomorrow with an actual blog post. Guess I am not doing very well with my Mon-Wed-Fri schedule so far in 2009.............Oh well, good thing blogging isn't my job, huh? BUT.......if you know someone who is looking to hire a part-time blogger (who can work from the privacy of their own den) let me know! ;-)

Have a great day! Hope the stomach bug stays away from you and yours!

Don't Judge Me, But.....

2009-01-06T09:03:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I am going to share one of my "unspoken" New Year's resolutions with you. Remember? I have several resolutions that I keep to myself so if I don't keep them, you wont think I am such a big loser? Yeah, this is one of those that I am bringing out of the closet and into the light....if I don't keep this one, you will know it. So here it is: I desperately want/need to better understand the character/attributes/personality of God. Please don't judge me, because I am really ashamed to admit this, but I tend to view God more as a huge deity up in the clouds that is waiting to "smite" me than a loving God who has my best interest at heart. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not the only one who feels this way.

I think because we know what Jesus went through for us on the cross, we minimize the fact that it was the Father who sent Him there...for us. It is easy to see Jesus as compassionate and loving because we know He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". Likewise, because of all the examples in the Old Testament of God's wrath, it is easy to view Him as a strict ruler instead of a loving God. Or maybe it's just me that thinks this way........

So, one of my goals for this year is to set allow the Holy Spirit to set me straight as to the character of God. I want to take off my old mindset and put on a whole new one. I know God is good all the time, but I want to know WHY that's true. I want to really KNOW Him. I want to know Him better than I know anyone....ANYONE. I want to replace my self-imposed ideas with the Truth of God's Word when it comes to who God really is.

Why do I want to do this?

So, I can respond to God out of love instead of fear. So I can talk to Him in truth. So He can tell me 'great and unsearchable things I do not know'. So He can TRULY be made known to others through me - if I don't know the true nature of God, how can I accurately explain Him to someone else? So that I can worship Him for who He really is........

When I Googled "The Character of God", I got 65,400,000 results. So, I KNOW I am not the ONLY human being on the face of the earth who is interested in knowing more about the character of God. So, over the next year (more or less), I will be posting about the character(istics) of God, the Father.

I hope I wont be boring those of you who have it all figured out ;-).

It's Over

2009-01-05T08:40:00.002-05:00

Lake goes back to school tomorrow. I hate to see the fun of Christmas break end. We have spent several of our days in pajamas (that never happens here anymore). So, today, instead of spending time blogging, I will be spending time with my favorite guys. See you guys tomorrow when I am back to my regularly scheduled program.....For those of you who came here to read something more substantial than me griping about my son returning to 2nd grade......here is a snippet of something I wrote last December:

I have been thinking about New Year's resolutions. Maybe a resolution or goal would get my mind off the bleakness of January. I have resolved to spend more time in the Word, but other than that the only two other resolutions that I can come up with are to exercise and lose weight. I hate to be cliche since EVERYONE makes a resolution to exercise and lose weight, but I will try ;-).

I have to admit that I am skeptical every time I hear someone say that they are making a New Year’s resolution. I suppose it is because I, myself have never actually kept a resolution for more than a couple of weeks (okay,… days). It seems to me that the most common resolutions are ones having to do with our physical health, not our spiritual health (I.e. lose weight, get into shape, and spend more time on “me“). While those are all noble causes, I believe that many times as Christians we miss the mark on what God wants us to change about ourselves.As women, I think we tend to compare ourselves to the rest of the world. We want to look and dress like the hottest Hollywood actresses, with no regard to the fact that most of them live totally immoral lives on and off the screen. We envy people who don’t even know the Lord, or worse, completely deny his existence. Should it not be the other way around? The Bible says , “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Too many times we get consumed by the latest trends, when we should be consumed by God.This year instead of resolving to beautify our outside appearance, maybe (definitely) we should work on beautifying what is inside. Jeremiah 9:24 says, “But let him who boasts boast of this: that he understands and knows me”. While I think we will never completely understand God on this earth, to better know Him and understand Him is the best resolution for everyone. I think that my main resolution will be to spend more time with the Lord in Bible study and prayer. If I exercise more, then that will just be the icing on the cake (oh, wait I can't have cake......;-).

I pray you all have a Happy (Healthy) New Year !

Acknowledgement

2009-01-02T08:22:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Thanks for the compliments on the blog skin. Not sure if I like it, but I am sick of looking through all the possibilities. I might change it so don't be surprised if you come back to something different. Forgive me for the following stream of consciousness, but I don't really have time to flesh everything out "perfectly" (HA!) this morning.

The verse "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven" ( Matthew 10:32) has been on my mind for the past couple of days. I don't know why the Lord keeps bringing it up to me, but I know He has been. Maybe I am lacking in the acknowledging department or maybe I am about to face circumstances that will warrant some heavy acknowledging....we'll see.

"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God." Luke 12:8

"No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also" 1John 2:23

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God" 1 John 4:15

"He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels". Revelation 3:5

Some of the Hebrew synonyms/definitions for the word "acknowledge" are: be aware, familiar friend, kinsfolk, kinsmen,have respect for, be sure of, understand, be certain of.....

In the Greek it means : recognition, full discernment and knowledge

I have been asking myself these questions: Do I acknowledge Jesus as my familiar friend to everyone I meet? Do I give Him the proper respect? Do I give Him proper recognition? Do I have full discernment and knowledge of Him?

When I get to heaven, I wonder if I will get an "A" in Acknowledgment.....will Jesus tell me that I acknowledged Him at every opportunity or will He tell me that I did a poor job in the subject of acknowledgement. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed to tell people Whose I am. I wonder how many times I have kept my mouth shut when I should have spoken up for Jesus.

Have my actions represented my faith? My words?

I truly believe Jesus will rapture the church any minute now, but I pray that in the time I have left that I will acknowledge Him to everyone in EVERY situation, because I want Jesus to acknowledge me before the angels and before the Father in heaven.

Happy First Day Of The New Year!

2009-01-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

So, I have some New Year's resolutions in my head that I refuse to put in print (that way if I don't keep them, you guys don't know what a loser I really am ;-), but one that I will put into print is my resolution to memorize scripture. I have decided to join LPM in their year long scripture memorization challenge. Here are the first verses I chose to memorize for the year:

Jeremiah 33:2-3

"This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

Why did I choose these two verses?

This is what the LORD says -- If the Lord said it, I want to hear it

he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it - if the Lord made the earth, then my little problems are nothing for Him to handle

the LORD is his name -- He is the Lord, not me, my name is Beth - His name is the LORD - I have to quit trying to do His job for Him because I stink at it.

Call to me - I don't do that enough

and I will answer you - when I do call on Him, I don't always expect an answer and am sometimes shocked when I get one - whats up with that? Oh me of little faith!

and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know - If the Lord is willing to tell me things, I want to learn to be still and listen.....especially great and unsearchable things!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-12-31T08:37:00.004-05:00

Just a short note to say Happy New Year to all my blog friends. I am excited to see what 2009 holds for all of us (The Rapture? maybe). Anyway, I pray that you all have a blessed New Year! (And who knows? Next time you visit Waiting for the Shout, things may look a little different - New Year...new look? Maybe ;-).

Revelation 21:3-5

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Breaking My Blog Fast

2008-12-29T08:22:00.010-05:00

**UPDATED** I added a few more pictures to this post. Yesterday, Blogger was not working correctly and it would not let me add any more pics and it still will not allow me to post captions beside the pics......maybe blogger is mad that I took such a long break~!

So, Christmas is over and so is my blog fast. It was a much needed break since things have been so busy around here. You probably dont know this, but I tend to put unessecary pressure on myself to meet my goal of blogging three times per week (even when I have nothing to say-- as you all well know and if you didnt know, you will find out by the end of this ~~completely boring~~ post). And, yes, I do realize that blogging is not my job, but when I set a personal goal, I am just ~~anal~~ OCD enough that I feel I must meet it (with the exceptions of weight loss and exercise of course). On a side note, I would like to point out that even though I have taken an extended leave of absence from the blog, I have not lost my mad ~~striking~~ skilz.

Thank you all for your Christmas wishes. I hope your Christmas was a blessed one filled with lots of fudge, cakes, non-dry turkeys, sweet potato casseroles (much like the cold one that I make ), appropriate presents that you did not have to return, relatives that did not get on your nerves, and most of all Jesus.

Speaking of gifts that you dont have to return.......I wonder, is there anyone left in the world (besides my Father in Law) who still likes fruitcake? Seriously, I would hate for Claxton to go out of business, but why are people still giving fruitcakes for Christmas gifts? Just curious.

We had a good Christmas here. Seems like they go by way too fast. My house looks like a tornado swept through leaving a wake of toys and games behind. Somehow, we ended up with more toys than Toys R Us (how would one make a backwards R on this thing?). We never buy the boys toys for Christmas, only clothes, they love that ;-). And Santa brings them three toys each. The vast majority of toys come from the grandparents and aunts - for which we are eternally grateful, because while they junk up my house, they also provide hours of entertainment which in turn allows me to do laundry, clean, and blog. So, lots of toys = win/win for everyone.

As I type, Lake is playing a Playstation game that Aunt Lisa got him. It is called The Bible Game. The player plays games like Daniel in the Lion's Den (played to the song "Indescribable") and The Tower of Babel (where you try to get the tower to fall), and then there are Trivia Questions, which are not easy. It is really a fun game (I lost at it last night - I landed on Wrath of God in the Grace of God final round and locusts ate all my points - sounds cheesy, but it is actually a great teaching tool).

We sang this song in church yesterday

And Kaden has been walking around the house pumping his hands in the air singing "We praise our hands in the sanctuary"......gets his mad lyrical skilz from his dad who makes up words to songs because he has lyrical altzheimers......

So, in the spirit of all things "SALE", I went to Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond, KMart, Lowes, Decorator Warehouse, and Stein Mart to purchase leftover Christmas stuff. Got lots and lots of stuff on the cheap (like I have somewhere to put it all). If I am not mistaken, I have enough wrapping paper to last until the year 2020 or until Jesus comes back. (Hopefully the latter will come first! - Woohoo! 2009 might be our year, people!)

Every year for Christmas, the hubs and I give all our family members a calendar with pictures of our boys on it. (Because what says ~~I'm cheap~~"I love you" more than a personalized calendar? And doesnt EVERYONE want to count down their year with MY kids? ;-) (Seriously, all those calendars ARE expensive...$18 a piece!.....and I have lots of family......whatever.) This year, apparently there were snow storms that caused outages at 2 of the three Fuji labs that our Wal-Mart uses to make their calendars. I was told that the calendars would likely not make it by Christmas Eve. But God.......wonder of all wonders, Wal-Mart Photo Lab called at 7 pm on the 23rd and said "Come and pick up your calendars!".....Praise the Lord, 2009 can proceed as scheduled for our families. I was worried that we would have to continue 2008 for a little while longer until the calendars came in and I am seriously ready for 2008 to be over, people! OVER!

Well, I am sure there are a thousand and one other things I could bore you to tears with (like ALL 250 of my Christmas pictures), but I will save those for later....cause there is only so much boredom a person can take in one day (I like to spread out the boredom so it isnt so boring, if you know what I mean).....I will be back later in the week and hopefully back on my three posts per week schedule next week. Thank you those of you ~~mom,dad~~ who have read to this point.......Here are a few pics from Christmas - blogger is acting weird or there would be captions.....

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T20:15:00.002-05:00

Hey Blog Friends!
I have not forgotten you or my blog. I have been so busy with Christmas preparation and a few other things that blogging time has been non-existent. Today, I took the kids to the mall to have their pictures made with Santa (it's a tradition now) and I went to Belk to pick up some make-up.....the lady at the make-up counter reminded me several (and I mean SEVERAL) times that they give professional makeovers for just $35. It's enough to give a girl a complex. Anyway, I will not be back on the blog until after Christmas so I wanted to wish all my blog friends a Merry Christmas. You all bring me lots of joy and happiness. I love your comments and so enjoy the fellowship that we have even though many of us have never met in person. You guys are a blessing to me and such and encouragement.

I am praying that all of you have a Jesus-filled Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

While You Were Sleeping

2008-12-19T17:12:00.001-05:00

"While You Were Sleeping"

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night

Long Time, No Type

2008-12-16T09:23:00.002-05:00

So, in the past few weeks I have violated my own "blog three days a week" rule. I hate it when I break my own rules. As I said in my earlier teeny tiny post, I have been too busy doing life to write about it. If I told you all the things that I have been doing over the past week, your head would spin. And you know what? I bet if you told me all the things you have been doing lately, my head would spin too. We are all WAY too busy, especially at this time of the year.

I wish I had some spiritual truth to impart to you, but it seems that I have been too busy to hear any truth being spoken over me lately.....oh wait, maybe that IS the spiritual truth I am supposed to share. When we get caught up in a flurry of activities and responsibilities, our ears can become deaf to the voice of God. And He desperately wants to speak to us.

Have you ever felt disconnected to one of your children? You talk, but they are too involved with something else to listen to you...like what they are doing is more important than what you have to say to them. I bet that is exactly how God feels with us. He speaks, but we are so involved in our whirlwind lives that we cant hear Him .....or we choose not to hear Him.

I think too often we see God as this big deity somewhere up in the sky who is waiting to rain on our parade that we forget that He loves us like no one else ever could. He loves each of His children equally, yet differently, just like we love our own children equally yet differently. When our kids ignore our voice, many times it is because they are afraid we are going to correct them or discipline them......we do the same thing with God. And many times that is exactly what He does....correct and discipline, but I wonder how many times we ignore Him when He just wanted to say "I love you, daughter" or "I love you, son".............I wonder how many rhema words I have missed because I was too busy or too stubborn to stop and listen.

Yes, I think that is the spiritual truth that I am supposed to share with you today (or maybe it's just for me). This is the day that the Lord has made, let us slow down to listen and be glad in it......(that's from the BBV - Beth's Blog Version). Have a great day, ya'll!

In case you were wondering......

2008-12-15T12:24:00.003-05:00

In case you were wondering, I have not forgotten that I have a blog. I have been a tad busy this past week and unfortunately life has gotten in the way of blogging as it does so often.......I will be back soon to share some life changing information with you.......okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but I WILL be back soon........and I am sure by then I will have something to say...................

WorthShip

2008-12-10T08:21:00.002-05:00

Have you ever felt like seeking God is hard work? I mean we put pressure on ourselves to have consistent daily quiet times, go to Bible study, be at church every time the doors are open, and "be good little Christians". Nothing wrong with trying to be a good Christian or having set daily quiet times or going to church/Bible study (those are all admirable things), but are we doing those things in order to seek God or out of duty? Are our actions sincere or are we simply going through the motions.

No where in the Bible does it say "Thou shalt go through the motions necessary to make a good impression on God and others". God knows our hearts even better than we do. He knows when we are sincere and when we are playing church or trying to get the "Christian of the Year Award". I think all too often we forget that everything we do should be an act of worship to God.......not just going through the obligatory daily routine.

In John 4:19-24, Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at the well..........

"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The word worship in this verse comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "weorthscipe" which literally means "worthship". When we worship in Spirit and in Truth, we are showing God how much He is worth to us...........and sadly, when we go through the motions and "half-heartedly semi-worship" out of obligation, we are also showing God how much He is worth to us.

I think we limit worship to what happens in the pews at the local church, but when we are given new life in Christ, we are called to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.....not just on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesdays at 6:30, but in our daily lives. Everyday worshippers are the ones God is seeking -- people who can worship God in Spirit and in Truth without a worship leader and a 3 bullet-point sermon. See, where you worship really doesn't matter, Whom you worship and HOW you worship Him is is what is really important. The steeple and the pews are irrelevant to a person who desires to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

John 4 says that the Father actually SEEKS those who truly worship Him in Spirit and in Truth........the word "seeks" here means to enquire, desire, to seek after. God enquires about, desires, and seeks after those who drop the Phariseeical obligations and simply worship Him for Who He is.

So, if you see seeking God as hard work......stop working and start worshipping......and then HE will seek YOU!

Not much

2008-12-08T09:19:00.006-05:00

Busy day today. House stuff. Laundry here, etc. Lake b-ball practice. The hubs Christmas party for work -- figuring out what to wear so I don't look like a dork (hope I win a good door prize ;-). Anyway, you get my point....not much blogging time for me today. But here are a couple of things I wanted to share.....................

A friend of mine from church told me about this site that does a blog personality test. Thought some of you might be interested in trying it (if you haven't already...I am usually the last person to know about these type things). Here is what it said about my blog...............

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

I am not sure about the management thing...I have a degree in Management and have never had a problem telling people what to do.....;-) hahhaaha

Another friend of ours at church has a son who is in the running to be in Gap Kids advertisements. If you want to, you can vote for him every day for the next couple of weeks. He is in the 5-10 yr old category and his name is Jett......bottom right corner. He really does look like the ultimate Gap kid, so if you get a chance, cast a vote for him here:

http://gap.eprize.net/castingcallphase2/index.tbapp?affiliate_id=2c

Hopefully, there will be more time for blogging later on.......

Oh Christmas Tree and a Meme

2008-12-04T08:43:00.006-05:00

Since I am going out of town tomorrow (just for the day), I thought I would post my Christmas tree thingie a little bit early..........

So, it's Christmas Tree Friday. For those of you who are playing along by posting pics of your tree and/or favorite ornament, please leave a comment so we can all go to your blog and see your tree. I would make this a Mr. Linky/sticky post, but I have no idea how to do that, so let's just do it the old fashioned way.........it will help you empathize with the early settlers in this vast territory we call blog land.

I took pictures of my trees and I realized that they look just like the pictures of my trees from last year....could be because they are the same trees with the same ornaments. Matter of fact, if you had come to my house 8 years ago, you would have seen the same trees and the same ornaments (well, for the most part). So, if you are a little leery of putting your Charlie Brown tree out there for the world to see......don't be....you are in good company. Seeing everyone's trees might actually give us all some inspiration and cause us to be better tree decorators next year (or this year if you are my sister and don't put your tree up until the week of Christmas and take it down in late March).

This is the tree in our dining room.....it has all the kids ornaments on it.........

This tree is in our living room. It is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.....well, the same last year and the year before and the year before.........love the ornaments - they are all gold and glass........next year, when I have a NEW tree (did ya hear that hubs...hint hint -- he doesn't even read this blog ;-) I think we will add some color........

This is a little hard to see, but it is a tree that has Snow Buddies on it....the tree is really skinny and only 5 ft tall.

These are some of my favorite ornaments. The one in the middle says Jesus (can hardly see it -- my photographer stinks - I am firing her as soon as this post is published). Then there are the ones the boys made that are in the shape of a cross and an Icthus....you can also see one that is a glass ball with the wise men and the stable on it....................

So, Stephanie tagged me for a meme.....I know you are thinking how blessed you are to get to see inside my home AND inside my head all in one day...........I'm supposed to answer the following questions with one word (anyone who knows me in real life knows that one word answers are not possible for me and following man made rules is a little difficult for me, so I will do my best --- and that's the best I can do).

1. Where is your cell phone? Side pocket of my new purse that I think is so pretty (the purse not the pocket--had been using my old purse for a long time --- very thankful for the new one.

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Reddish/blondish

4. Your mother? Donna - for more information, visit her on the web at http://www.anchoredontherock.blogpsot.com/

5. Your father? Eddie - for more information, visit him on the web at http://eddie-eddiesplace.blogspot.com/

6. Your favorite thing? raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings.....these are a few of my favorite things

7. Your dream last night? cant dream if you don't sleep

8. Your dream/goal? too many to list...I am only supposed to use one word in my answers!

9. The room you’re in? den

10. Your hobby? blogging

11. Your fear? that a snake will come up out of my toilet while I am sitting on it

12. Where do you want to be in six years? raptured

13. Where were you last night? a friend's house

14. What you’re not? skinny, rich, gorgeous, a liar, fake, a musician, regular

15. One of your wish list items? new boots

16. Where you grew up? I was raised Blountville.....AKA. Blount-vegas in the great state of Tennessee, Baby!!! I will tell you where I am when I actually grow up.

17. The last thing you did? put some goldfish crackers in a bowl for Kaden

18. What are you wearing? My daily mommy uniform.....jeans, a hoodie, and my Merrell's

19. Your T.V.? black tube type TV currently showing cartoons--- you know the kind they keep telling us will not work in January because the whole world is going digital??? Yeah, that's us. I am not a fan of TV with the exception of January - April during American Idol or while watching Fox News (or Life Today)

20. Your pet? saltwater fish --they hate me---don't ask

21. Your computer? HP Pavilion -- flat screen monitor, yet no flat screen TV in this house---tell you anything? We actually got a flat screen for the new house, but it is still in the box ............

22. Your mood? a little dazed and confused

23. Missing someone? my sane self

24. Your car? filled with travertine samples, cabinet doors, tile samples, paint chips, and various things the kids have made in Sunday School for the past few weeks

25. Something you’re not wearing? Depends undergarments, a kilt, a band uniform, a thong, support hose, parachute pants, a gun, an oxygen mask, leg warmers, braces, a flower in my hair, a Member's Only jacket, a jock strap, welding gear, a shirt with my name on it, a fireproof suit, a turban......this could go on forever---guess that's why you are only supposed to use one word.

26. Favorite store? all stores that have 50% - 70% off

27. Your Summer? Disney..........have I mentioned that I would love to live in Cinderella's castle and my children tell me everyday how much they miss Disney?

28. Love someone? yes, several someones

29. Your favorite color? ORANGE!

30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday when Kaden said "Mommy, instead of cutting me and Lake out of your belly when we were born, why didn't the doctor just slap you on the back so you could burp us up?" Yeah, that's my boy............

31. Last time you cried? I laughed so hard I cried, a few days ago when I was reminded of the police chase that happened during my high school graduation (yeah, we ARE TN rednecks, people......). One of my friends (Justin) was playing a beautiful piece on the piano while another guy (who I didn't know very well--okay we went all through school together, but we weren't close) ran from the police. He actually stepped on graduates (one of which was yours truly - stepped right on my white gown!) that were seated listening to the guy play the piano.....the guy who was running, got up on the stage and said "You're not gonna take me out!" (or something to that effect) as the deputies lunged toward him.....it went on for about 15 minutes during our graduation. Why was he running you ask? Well, he had sewn a Harley Davidson bandanna to his cap and gown and the school officials would not allow him to walk with our class (I use the term "class" very loosely)........................fun times brought back to memory by Facebook.

A Little Less Heavy Than the Last Post and a Chance to Play Along

2008-12-03T08:32:00.005-05:00

So, since my last post was a little shall we say, unpopular, I thought it was time to lighten things up a little and you know what that means, right?????............

You guessed it correctly, time for a little randomness (for those of you who are still reading this blog after my last post ;-).................................

First, I would just like to say that I PATIENTLY followed a man on a back hoe for 7 miles on the way home from taking Lake to school this morning. Yes, here in TN people drive farm equipment right on the main highways. It's like living in Amish country except our farmers drive John Deere's instead of horses and we have electricity. Only in Tennessee, people, only in Tennessee.

I am under the gun on the Christmas card picture this year. Normally, I would have already had the picture taken, printed, the envelopes addressed and stamped with this years Christmas stamp. This year, however, I have run into a couple of roadblocks. The first roadblock is that I haven't actually had time to get the boys into their obligatory "Christmas card outfits" that we bought them to take the pictures and the second roadblock is I have no idea of what background to use. And Cassie, you can rest assured that I will not be carrying any furniture into my yard for this.....while your pictures are very good (as usual), I do not have the drive (or the Nikon) to take such fancy pics..................so, any and all suggestions are appreciated.........especially from those of you who are professional or amateur photographers (unlike me who has the point and shoot and doesn't know focus from zoom about photography;-).

So, you have probably heard that the University of Tennessee has picked Lane Kiffin as their new head coach to replace the ousted Phil Fulmer. I don't really know much about Kiffin other than that he is like 12 and has a reputation of not playing well with others. I hear that his dad will be bringing him to all the games, so maybe behavior will not be an issue. Hopefully, he will pull TN out of their losing streak.

I am getting kind of sick of seeing tree hugger bumper stickers on cars (no offense to those of us who actually do love trees). You know the ones I am talking about.....the Subaru Outback with the Universalist Unitarian Church sticker, the sticker that says "Torture is a Moral Issue", "Who Would Jesus Bomb"?, Save the Orcas, Save the Three Toed Tree Sloth, Save the Red-Eyed Tree Toad, Honk if you Love Mother Earth (who is "mother earth" anyway?)............... You've seen 'em, right? These people cover their cars in bumper stickers and think that people following them can read them all without x-ray vision.........accident waiting to happen if you ask me.......(do these people really believe that their bumper sticker is going to put a fire in my belly for the plight of the horny toad????).....Forgive me if this is stereotyping, but it seems that the people who drive these cars are always the ones going 20 miles under the speed limit in the fast lane.

Yesterday morning, I drank a large cup of Mayfield Egg Nog. Good stuff. After I drank it, I decided to check to see how many calories a cup of egg nog contained............To my horror, I found that egg nog is not measured in cups, but half cups and each half cup equals 180 calories. A Half cup of egg nog? Why even bother? By my calculations, I drank 480 calories in one cup yesterday morning...........why is it that all things that taste good make us fat? Just another way that life as we know it, is completely unfair ;-)

This is my new favorite song. Once I start singing it, I cannot stop. I find myself dancing and pretending that Mandisa is actually in my house and singing backup for me.......You have no idea how many times I have actually said, "Mandisa, come on!" like she is really here in my living room..............yes, I do have a problem. The first step is admitting it. What's the second step?

Last night my kids were watching a Christmas show on Nickelodeon while I was checking emails. A commercial came on that caught my attention. There was a bald guy standing with his arms crossed and he said, "If ever there was an all American gay boy, then I am it"........My ears perked up and I said to myself....did he just say "gay boy"?.............before I could switch channels, I heard him say that he is HIV positive.........I will admit that I didn't hear the whole commercial, I was too busy falling all over myself trying to get to the channel changer...........All American gay boy?? What is up with that? My kids have no idea what being gay is and I cant understand why on earth Nickelodeon would think that commercial is appropriate for a children's channel. I was already opposed to most of the programming on Nick (well, the shows that come on after 1 pm). Now we cant even watch commercials on cartoon channels? Does the phrase "hell in a handbag" mean anything to you? It should, because that is exactly where this world is going.............................

OKAY, here is the part where you can play along......I think it would be fun to post pictures of our Christmas trees and our favorite ornaments. Believe me, my tree is NOT spectacular in any way (matter of fact the whole back of it is pretty much gone, but it faces a wall, so no one knows). I love looking at other people's trees, so if you want to on Friday, post a picture of your tree and/or your favorite ornament(s). This could be lots of fun.........hope you will play along......I wont tag anyone because I dont want you to feel pressured.........

Okay, enough with the randomness.......Have a great Wednesday!

Just How Narrow IS The Way (Warning: This post may not be popular)

2008-12-01T10:03:00.011-05:00

**I am going to go ahead and preface this post by warning you that its contents may offend some people. As a matter of fact, this post may actually cause some of you to delete my blog from your favorites list, but these are thoughts that have been spinning around in my head for some time and it is time that I put them down on paper (well, on computer). If you are offended by these words, ask yourself why you are offended................**

Recently in blog land AND in the real world I have been accused of being narrow minded. I wont lie, there is truth in that accusation. I do tend to see things in black and white and I am vocal about my views. Am I always right? Of course not, but when it comes to spiritual views, I make no apology for being narrow. Yesterday, in his sermon, our pastor reminded us of a very simple truth: Truth is ALWAYS narrow. Doesn't 2 + 2 always equal 4????

Lately, I have been thinking alot about how Christians blend in with the rest of the world. So much so that at times it is hard to tell the difference between a follower of Christ and the God-less. I am sure that satan laughs at how much God's people act like his people. Because, the narrow truth is that you are one or the other....you either belong to satan or to God....according to the Bible, there is no 'in-between'.

We know there is no middle ground when it comes to following Jesus, we are either hot or cold....luke warm will get you spewed out of His mouth, right? Matthew 7:13-14 tells us "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" .Yet, we continue to ask "Just how narrow is the way that leads to life?" Instead of taking Him at His word that the way to righteousness is very narrow, like children, we keep testing the limits to see how far we can go without going to far. I could give you example after example of how we put our hands on the cookie jar and look up at God to see if He will smack our hand or allow us to have the cookie.

As Christians, we are called out of darkness and into the light. We are to put off our old selves. Behold He makes all things new. We are to steer clear of even the appearance of evil, yet you can enter any restaurant and watch those who call themselves Christians drinking the same alcoholic drinks that the rest of the world is drinking. The devil loves for a Christian to give the appearance of evil....and don't we associate alcohol with evil? Drunk drivers, drunken wife /child beaters, etc ,etc.???

Many will argue that in Bible days, the people drank wine.......and it's true, but they drank at least 3 parts water to one part wine, so it wasn't the wine of today. Others would say that Paul urged Timothy to use a little wine to settle his stomach....that is also true, but today we have all sorts of medicines to remedy an upset stomach. And let's be honest, if you use these passages as excuses for drinking, then I have to ask you if you adhere to the Bible in every other instance as you do when it comes to drinking alcohol. See, we Christians love to twist the words of the Bible to suit our own pleasures and trust me, satan loves nothing better than when we twist God's Word in order to justify our sin. How do I know that Christians twist the word of God to suit their own purposes? I have done it myself many times.

As I said earlier, the Bible tells us to stay away from even the appearance of evil. God knew that we would have opportunity after opportunity to ruin our witness just by hanging out in places we shouldn't hang out and doing things that would cause people to question our testimony. Even the Christian now days rarely errs on the side of caution. Fifty years ago, a Christian thought about the appearance of evil and what the rest of the world would think of them if caught in an ungodly place or in a compromised position (a good example is that years ago it was unheard of for a young man to be allowed to be alone with a young woman). Yet today, we think it's okay to go to the R rated movie even though we know there will be cursing and nudity. Many Christians think it's okay to go to bars just to fit in with the crowd, to live with someone that is not your spouse, to cheat the government, to cheat on your wife/husbandto gamble, etc etc. We have forgotten the verse that commands us to do nothing that would cause our brother to stumble. Jesus hung out among the sinners in order to influence them not to fit in with them.

Why do Christians think this way? Because we have "broadened" our minds and in turn taken it upon ourselves to broaden the narrow way. The narrow way has been replaced by complacency to sin, and complacency that remains unchecked will ALWAYS result in spiritual death (and possibly physical death). We have decided that we would rather be popular than good (and that we would rather our kids be popular than good). Unfortunately, what is popular is rarely right. It is as if the emergent church mindset has crept in and taken over even the most conservative. Our deep love of the world has caused us to ask God over and over "Just how narrow IS the gate?", when we should really be asking Him to help us stay STRAIGHT on the path without veering to the right or left.

Might be time to check our relationship with Jesus and ask Him to show you where we are just like the world and where we need to narrow your thinking. The world is always going to call us narrow minded, but the world is not our final judge....Jesus is and the path to Him is very NARROW. At the Rapture, I have a feeling that many who call themselves Christians will be surprised to find that the way was much more narrow than they thought.

Just Checking In UPDATED to Include Pictures

2008-11-28T14:56:00.004-05:00

***See bottom of post for update***

Thanksgiving, the holiday not the state of mind, is over for another year. I cooked for 2 days straight and I think it might actually have helped my diet (well, the diet I have intended to start every Monday for several years now). When I prepare lots of food, it kind of takes the fun out of eating it for some reason. Suppose I should be thankful for that.

I baked a whole turkey again this year. Apparently I forgot how disgusting it was last year. This is the second year that I brined the bird. If you don't know what brining is, think of floating your turkey in a solution of spices and salt water for 24 hours before baking it....that's brining. It's the kosher way of fixing the bird, but really, we aren't Jewish. I place the bird in a huge clear plastic container in my fridge the day before I cook it.....it looks like some sort of freaky science experiment. I mean really, if you want me to throw up, show me a turkey bird floating in its own ummmm "juices" in my fridge (juices is the nicest way I can think of to explain all the gross stuff that comes out of that fowls orifices). Nasty is one word that comes to mind.

Anywho.........you guys may not know that I love salt. I always got into trouble for eating salt straight out of my hand when I was little (and when I was in high school). Why am I telling you this? Well, because it will let you know that the turkey I fixed was one of the saltiest pieces of meat I have ever put into my mouth. If I say something is salty....it IS salty. I threatened my dad and hubs with their lives if they said anything other than "This is the best turkey I have had in my entire life". They complied and other than a few comments, the sodium content of my bird was not discussed any further. These people should know better than to depend on me for a complete Thanksgiving meal.......I am only 36 years old for crying out loud.......a person should be at least 45 before expected to prepare a completely edible Thanksgiving meal!!!

In case you were wondering, I didn't go shopping today. I saw several ads for some really good deals, but the last time I went shopping at 4 am on Black Friday, I lost my Christian attitude by 5:30 am and I have decided that it is better for me to pay the difference than to hurt my witness (people get ugly when it's early and they want to be first in line for the "deal of the year").

So, I just wanted to check in and say that I am still alive and still Thankful even though Thanksgiving is over. My dad is here until tomorrow. Tonight we will be going to my sister's to eat some pizza and play some games. Maybe we can take some pictures to prove that we are actually related ;-).

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Have fun putting up your Christmas decorations.....don't want to rub it in, but mine have been up for a month now................

Me trying to look interested while the Geek Squad looks at my sister's new laptop.....I think they are irritated at my lack of interest...or maybe it is my lack of knowledge....not sure. Is it just me or are they looking at me with evil eyes?

My attention span is really quite short for a person my age.

Proof that Bethanne, Alliekat, and Eddies Place are truly blood relatives (although I do not look like either of them, I am thinking that the adoption stories my sister told me when I was little might actually be true)......

These photos were taken by my brother in law who used to be a photographer for a living as evidenced by the very staged pose. Seriously, its like being at Olan Mills.

The picture on the wall behind me makes my hair look even bigger than it really is (who knew that was possible)....I kind of like it though...remember my motto: "The bigger the hair, the smaller the butt".

The Results Are In and I am Back

2008-11-24T08:35:00.004-05:00

The hubs and I are back from a very successful trip to Pigeon Forge, but I am happy to report that our Christmas shopping is done (with the exception of a few things). God be praised. We had a great time, great fun, great food and we are extremely tired. I will be wrapping up many of our purchases today (because we have no room for them in our house except under the tree).

I would show you some of the wonderful deals we got, but most of the people we bought for read this blog.

I have to say that the outlet mall we go to was not extremely busy and many of the stores in it are closing. Unfortunately many of the employees at the stores will be losing their jobs by the end of the year. We really need to keep the people who are losing their jobs in our prayers this holiday season....there are so many that are facing dire circumstances right now and we tend to forget how blessed we really are (or maybe it's just me).

I really appreciate all your comments from this weekend. Even though out of hundreds of hits, there were only 28 comments -- come on people, what's a girl have to do to get you to comment? A giveaway? Yeah, we'll see, maybe I can do that soon too. While I don't know who left each anonymous comment, I have prayed over each one of them and am asking God to help each of you with your struggle in that area. I hope to use this information in future posts and I have another idea swimming around in my otherwise empty head, but will have to see what the Lord is up to before moving ahead with that.

So, my dad is coming to stay with us for Thanksgiving which means that I will be spending today and tomorrow ~~throwing junk in closets and under beds~~ cleaning and straightening. Wednesday and Thursday will be spent in the kitchen (which still has no microwave -- I am like the women in days of old, ya'll). So, my blogging time will be severely hindered by my household chores (dern - where's the maid when I need her? Oh wait, I AM the maid -- dern again).

Since I wont have a chance to blog much this week, I thought I would post some of the recipes that I will be making for Thursday........(in addition to these we will be having rolls, deviled eggs, creamed corn, green beans, dressing, turkey, spiral ham.......can ya tell I haven't had breakfast yet??)

My Sister’s Sweet Potato Casserole (served cold --- it is soooooo good!!!)

Layer 1
Crushed Ritz crackers combined with one stick butter. Press into 8x11 or 9x13 casserole dish and bake at 350 for 12 - 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
Layer 2
Combine 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 1 cup sugar, and 8 oz. Cool whip. Spread on top of cooled cracker mixture.
Layer 3
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (cooked)
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 egg

Mix all together and spread on top of cream cheese/cool whip mixture and refrigerate.
Top with crushed pecans before serving.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. PLANTERS Pecan Pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

POUR 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.
BEAT milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP. Spread into crust.
REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. Top with remaining COOL WHIP, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

Italian Marinated Vegetable Salad

1/2 lb. fresh green beans, cut in half
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
1 cup sliced stuffed green olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup KRAFT Tuscan House Italian Dressing and Marinade
ADD beans and cauliflower to boiling water in saucepan; cook until crisp-tender. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain again. Place in bowl.
ADD remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until chilled

O'Charley's Pie

2 cans of Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 pie crust
Cool Whip
Chocolate Chips and nuts

Remove all labels from milk cans. Do not open the cans. Boil the cans in water for 4-5 hours. I usually lean towards 4. While boiling, continue to check water depth. Add water as it evaporates to ensure the cans are covered. Let cans cool for 20-30 minutes. Open cans and pour caramel into pie crusts. Place in fridge to cool. Do not put cool whip on top until caramel has cooled. It will melt it. Top with any toppings. I use chocolate chips only, but many people add the nuts, too.

Corn Flake Cookies (for the kids)

7-8 cups cornflakes
1 cup light karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix sugar, syrup and butter in heavy sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil for one exact minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until blended. Add cornflakes gradually. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool.

One last thing: Yesterday, Lake was in the bathroom and Kaden told him that he was going to performa stunt show for Lake (using his little motorcycles). Lake said okay and Kaden said, "Before I start, remember, no smoking, no food or drinks and no Flush photography"...............

If You Are Reading This, I Need a Favor

2008-11-20T10:26:00.012-05:00

First, I would like to announce that it is snowing in East TN. Some of you are thinking that you would like to see actual proof of snow......knowing that you would not believe me, I went ahead and took some photo proof:

Now, I know what you Northerners (and Colorado people) are thinking....and no, it isnt a lot of snow, but it is enough to get my kid out of school ALL DAY! Can I get a "Praise the Lord"? Here in the south, we just dont have the equipment to handle ice and snow (Praise the Lord) so an inch of the white stuff can shut down half the state for a day or two (unless the temps stay below freezing and then it could be weeks). Someone better call Al Gore, because I think his global warming theory might be a hoax ;-) (but dont get me started on that!).

Moving right along...........

Well..........This is it. Our annual weekend shopping trip that began the first year we were married and has become a family tradition. We are doing it a little later than usual (we normally go in late October). We leave the kids with the grandparents and spend the weekend in Knoxville/Pigeon Forge doing ALL of our Christmas shopping. ALL of it. We eat where we want to (usually here and here and here). We shop where we want to. We touch and feel everything in every store. We even buy a few "little" things for ourselves. Yep, fun times.

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year ;-).........

So, you might be wondering what I mean by needing a favor from you.........

The favor is a simple one. I know how many hits this site gets per day and I know that most of you do not comment....EVER. Out of approximately 400 hits, only an average of 12 - 20 of you ever comment......and it is usually the same 12 - 20 people who leave their thoughts.

Here is what I am asking: I would love, love, triple, dipple love it if everyone who reads this post would leave a comment. And not just any comment either. I have a special request.

Please comment anonymously -- no one leave your name/blogspot - click the anon. before publishing your comment -- should make it easy for those of you who are "comment shy", because I will not know who you are.

AND most importantly, leave a comment telling me what your greatest spiritual struggle/stronghold is. For instance, do you struggle with sin (you don't have to be specific or you can - it is anonymous), with having a daily Bible study, anger, knowing where you fit-in in God's kingdom, knowing God's plan for your life, being judgemental, trusting God........etc, etc., etc. Those are just a few examples.

Whatever your struggle or stronghold, please leave it in a comment. As long as you leave it anonymously, I promise, I will not know who left each comment.

I am interested in the major struggles and hindrances that Christians face and plan to use your comments for some future research.

Thanks! Better get to the store and buy your turkeys and pumpkins - they are flying off the shelves as we speak! I hope to post some of the recipes that I will be making next week for our family Thanksgiving dinner which will be held at my house on Thursday (this time last year, we thought it would be held at our new house this year, but dont worry, I am not the least bit bitter about it ;-). Have a great weekend............

Delayed Randomness

2008-11-18T08:44:00.006-05:00

So, today started off pretty well. It was 17 degrees this morning so our school system decided to let the kids go to school 2 hours late (another reason why I love our school system). I know you Northerners are laughing right now, but we are Southerners and are not used to cold temperatures. Most of us don't even own heavy coats, much less the parkas our friends to the North love so much. My child doesn't ride the bus, but some of those kids have to catch the bus at or before 7 am in 17 degree weather...........well, I think the 2 hour delay thing is a wonderful idea. It allowed me to sleep an hour longer, I made breakfast, and the boys got to play before Lake had to go to school. I personally wish school never started before 10 am, but then again I live in a dream world most of the time.

Here are a couple of pics I took this morning before school. I am thankful that they still dont mind me dressing them alike. (And yes I know they will hate me for it one day, but I cant help it). Next year, when Kaden goes to school, I will have to stop (well except on Sundays ;-).

I told you in my last post that I would be back with some random thoughts so here I am and here they are:

Many of you probably have no idea about such indelicate things, but let me tell you that hardwood flooring is extremely heavy. How do I know???? Well, the same way I know how to tie steel re bar to pour concrete, the same way I know how to use a shop-vac (expertly I might add), and the same way I know how to moisture seal a home's foundation, and the same way I know how to do all the many chores that should be left to (male) building contractors........my husband allows me the privilege of creating pride of ownership in our new home (his words not mine......aka. we are too cheap to hire someone to carry our flooring). The hubs has graciously allowed me to share in the joy of hauling 216 large bundles and placing them in every room of our new house (approximately 170 lbs each - which I would like to add is more than I weigh! A lot more!).

In case you were wondering, Twizzlers??? Yeah they actually DO make your mouth happy.

Can someone tell me what in the world are table water crackers??? The name puts strange pictures in my mind and quite frankly grosses me out for some reason (kind of like goat cheese - gives me chills to think about it). What is table water anyway and why are they making crackers out of it? Someone tell me so that I don't embarrass myself (any more than usual) while standing around the cheese ball at Christmas parties over the next few weeks............

Someone sent me a quiz on Facebook the other day. It was called the American accent quiz. I took it and the results are in. I have a Northern accent. Seriously, that is what it said. The girl whose husband thinks "you-uns" is a word has a Northern accent? And all this time ya'll thought I a was a hillbilly......

My kids have children's choir on Sunday nights while we are in the worship service. When we got in the car after church on Sunday night, Kaden announced that a kid in his choir class punched him in the stomach that night. Our conversation went like this:

Kaden: A kid in my choir punched me in the stomach tonight.

Me: Who was it?

Kaden: I don't know his name - he's new.

Me: Oh. Did he get in trouble?

Kaden: No, he had little hands so it didn't really hurt.

I guess the kids with big hands are the only ones who get in trouble......hahahaha .......have I mentioned that Kaden is hilarious???

We took the kids to see Madagascar 2 Saturday night. Most of you know that we are not a fan of the movies, but Madagascar is our favorite movie, so we had to take the kids to see the sequel. As we paid for the movie and popcorn I remembered one of the reasons why we don't go to the movies very often:

Movie tickets: $30

Popcorn: $8

Large Sprite: $4.50

The look on my husbands face when he saw how much a night at the movies costs: Priceless

I have to wonder.....if we bailout the auto makers, how long will it be before we are having to bailout the rest of the businesses in the country? When does the bailing out stop and the paying back begin? I know that if the auto industry fails, America will be in big trouble, but where do we draw the line? And what kind of message are we sending to our kids? Dependence on the government is not what we need to teach our kids.....I believe it will instill in them a sense of entitlement. It seems that there are no consequences for anything anymore. Don't get me wrong, I don't have the answers, but I just wonder where all this financial woe will take us (both individually and as a country). I am guessing it is leading us kicking and screaming into dangerous territory......thankfully, as Christians we are not dependent upon the government.

I heard the other day that in a tough economy almost all purchases go down except LIPSTICK. In tough economic times, the sales of lipstick actually go up. Well, duh! When you don't have any extra money, you may not be able to afford to buy new clothes, but you can certainly afford a new tube of lipstick. A girl may be on her way to the poorhouse, but she doesn't have to look washed out on her way there!

The painters are working frantically at our new house. I love the smell of paint (and gas, but that is another issue for which I need help;-). It is nice seeing some actual color on the otherwise white walls. I just hope the colors I have picked out are the right ones. It occurred to me that I could really mess this house up, which is causing me to feel a little pressured.....ummmm a lot pressured. The painters told me that they loved the colors I chose and that they are the prettiest colors they have used in a long time. They said that I had matched and blended my colors very well from room to room. But then again, we are paying them and they want to finish the job, so can I really trust them? Probably not.

I was going to post a pic of the new couch my MIL bought me for Christmas,but I cant find a pic online.......allow me to paint a mental picture for you. It is big and has big arms and big pillows and it's gold. See why I could totally mess my new house up? Yeah, I thought you would.

Enough boredom for you for today. More boredom to come so stay tuned.

Focus

2008-11-16T22:02:00.008-05:00

So, maybe you have noticed my brief absence from the blog world (or maybe you could care less). Once again, I have been doing life and have had little time for blogging. I have so many thoughts running through my head right now I could never put them all into words. No time to blog sends one into a state of backlog. Unfortunately, the time I have to type this post is quite minimal as well, but hopefully I will be back in a day or two with some randomness (I know you can't wait). AND, hopefully I will be able to catch up on all your blogs at some point today......if anyone knows what to do about the fact that my sidebar thingie does not show updates correctly please tell me how I can fix it.............most of the time, when I do not visit/comment on your blogs, it is because I didn't know they had been updated. My computer is fairly new, so I cant imagine what the problem is......ever heard of Murphy's Law? Yeah, it usually applies to me in most every area of my life ;-).

The Lord has really been speaking to me lately about keeping the main thing the main thing. What is the main thing, you ask? Why, Jesus of course. When I say that I am busy from the time my feet hit the floor at 6:15 am until the time I lay down at night (anywhere from 11-12 pm), I am not exaggerating one bit. Among COUNTLESS other activities, we have been working lots of hours at the new house, we have had church "stuff" to do, and to top it all off, Lake has basketball evaluations tomorrow night (which begins yet another season of round ball for the family). Don't get me wrong, I know that most of you reading this are just as busy as I am. Not for a minute do I believe that I am the only hurried and harried mother who has no time to even breathe. There are lots of us out there.....not just mothers, but both men and women are much busier today than they were 20 years ago.

Maybe it's just me, but when I am as busy as I have been lately, it is difficult for me to keep my eyes on Jesus. It is a struggle for me to stay focused on what is important when I am burning the candle at both ends (even when some of the busy-ness revolves around the church). Ever heard the phrase "idle hands are the devil's workshop"? I think the same can be said of busy hands. It is easy to get distracted when your attention is drawn in so many directions. It is easy to become discouraged or dissatisfied when you rarely have a minute to just be still and know. When we are in the business of busy-ness we are quick to take our eyes off God and it is very difficult to regain our 'Godly tunnel vision'.

God does not want us to be a slave to a schedule or to be held captive by a flurry of activity. God never intended for us to simply go through the motions in life.....if He did He would never have mentioned that thing about ABUNDANT life. We are entering the busiest season of the year for most of us, I am praying that I will be able to keep my eyes on Jesus (it IS His birthday)
and slow down enough to live in each moment rather than look back with regret. The devil loves a busy, preoccupied Christian.....we are easy targets.......we need to keep that in mind this time of year more than any other. When we are in the busy-ness business, we are making life much easier for our adversary and I'm certain that NONE of us wants to do anything to make it easier for satan to attack. Let's try our best to make this holiday season extremely tough on satan by keeping our eyes firmly set on Jesus.

Lamp Unto My Feet

2008-11-12T09:10:00.003-05:00

Most of you know that I started blogging at another site called Jesus Is Lord, A Worshipping Christian's Blog. The blog owner's name is Steve, he and his wife, Missi love the Lord and have a desire to see people come to Christ through their blog ministry. Jesus Is Lord gets thousands of hits every day and many of those readers are atheists. In case you didn't know, atheists are not always nice, especially when it comes to things of God and the church.

I have been blogging at JIL this morning. What we do mostly is read Christian news headlines and post the articles for discussion. This morning, the headlines are particularly frightening. Here are just a few of the ones that I have run across:

Lesbians, Condoms Go Wild In Attack On Christian Church

Thirteen Year Old Girl Sentenced to Stoning (According to Sharia) for Being Gang Raped

Bill Graham Replaced by Homosexual Bishop

Post-Election Harassment Continues Over Marriage Amendment

And those are just a few of the headlines that should concern us as believers. I hear Christian people say that they cannot listen to the news because it makes them depressed. I agree that the way the world is today makes it easy for us to become down and depressed. But God......

I read these headlines and I see the world going to hell in a handbag......it COULD be depressing to me, But God.........

I believe Christians NEED to be aware of current events and we need to know what is happening in our world. We need to know what the Bible says about gay marriage, abortion, homosexuality, stem cell research, end times events, etc. We also need to know about current events, because in Matthew the Bible tells us "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour".

The Bible does NOT say for Christians to keep their heads in the sand and wait, but to actively watch and to wait with our lamps burning. Jesus wants us to watch for Him. Part of watching means that we need to be aware of the signs of His coming..........there are signs all around us, but in order to know what they are, we have to study the Word (which is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path)......are you watching and more importantly, are you watching with your lamp burning????

A Few Birthday Thoughts

2008-11-10T12:05:00.003-05:00

So, as many of you know, yesterday was my birthday. I was 36 (I guess I still am 36....for another year anyway ). It seems impossible that I am in my 30's, much less over half way through them!! Only 4 years until I am 40. I feel a mid-life crisis coming on, only I don't know what on earth a woman does in a mid-life crisis. I would get botox, but I'm afraid of it - it's poison for crying out loud. I could make myself a bleach blonde, but I don't look good with really blonde hair (don't ask me how I know that). I could lose 30 lbs, but that would require exercise and you all know how I feel about even the mildest of self-induced exertion. I guess I will just keep on keepin' on, but I'm afraid I don't age very gracefully.

Saturday, we went furniture shopping. I did find some living room furniture that I like, although I am not sure if I will get it or not. I always feel like I have to see EVERYTHING AVAILABLE before I make a decision.....I have shopped in NC, TN, FL, and GA. It would seem to some that I actually HAVE seen everything, but something in me says 'keep on lookin'. Yes, folks, I have a problem and my problem may just have my family sitting on the floor for years. My mother-in-law is buying us a couch for Christmas, so I guess I better decide pretty quickly, huh?

After furniture shopping on Saturday, we ended up at Chili's. I always eat way too much there and come away vowing to never eat another bite of food again. I always break that vow by the following morning. At least I am consistent in something.

Yesterday, after church, we went to lunch and then more furniture/house shopping. I had no idea we would be shopping after church as evidenced by the fact that I wore heels to church. My feet hurt so bad after a couple of hours shopping that I thought they might actually be bleeding. I didn't want to seem ungrateful to the hubs for taking me shopping, so I didn't mention anything much about the EXTREME, SHARP, CUTTING pain in my feet. I DID; however, sit down on every couch and chair we passed using the excuse that I wanted to see if they were comfortable or not. My feet were still hurting when I laid down to sleep last night....heels are of satan....straight from the pit.

Yesterday we were only home for about an hour before we had to leave for church last night. During that time, Lake and Kaden were playing 'swords' (no sissy play in this house). My favorite phrase around here is "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye". Well, that almost happened here yesterday. Unfortunately, Kaden turned the wrong way and his eye met with Lake's sword. He has a bit of a black eye today and a little scratch under it (thankfully, it wasn't serious). This morning, before taking Lake to school, the boys were sitting closely on the couch reading and Lake moved his arm and accidentally elbowed Kaden in the other eye. Kaden immediately put his hand over his eye and said, "Why'd ya have to hit my good eye? Mommy, Lake hit me in the good eye". I was still laughing when we got to school.

Just so you know, the Christmas stuff is all up and it looks nice. I just keep the blinds closed when the lights are on so people don't know that freaks live here. I figure I only have to hide for a couple more weeks. The funny part is that I have seen several houses with their decorations up and I have actually said, "It's not even Thanksgiving yet, why do they have their Christmas stuff up?". Ever heard of overlooking the log in your own eye while seeing the speck in your brothers? Yeah, this is me, overlooking the log.

Another Video

2008-11-07T10:07:00.005-05:00

So, here is another video. Accept my apologies in advance. I thought it might be time to lighten the mood in blogland, so I kind of changed the subject from the election to a post from last week where I asked if you thought it was too early to decorate for Christmas.

Let me say that I appreciate all your input. Most of you said that you thought it was way too early to decorate. Some of you said it is NEVER too early. Others said if I decorate so soon, I would have to dust my ornaments (good point and a point well taken).

Anyway, watch this video to see what I finally decided about decorating early......I will warn you that this video is very ~~unorganized and hard to understand~~ stream of consciousness and ends very abruptly. I had a short time in which to finish because I did it on the easy share -I had less than 2 minutes to talk....whatdya want, people, I am not Steven Spielberg!!!! ;-)

And I would like to say that I am thankful that the still shot below does not make me look like "Bethanne on Crack" as the other video still did.

Maybe you didn't understand what I was talking about. Our house might be finished right around Christmas time. I do not want to move at Christmas because I want to have a normal holiday. I know my hubs will want to move and will think it possible to have everything in its place by Christmas even if we move on the 24th (he has faith in his superwoman wife, ya know). So, I decided to remove all temptation of moving at Christmas ..........Talk about a surprise when he came home to Christmas lights and music. I figure if I keep the blinds shut the neighbors will never know know what a crackpot I am. Yep, that's how we roll in Tennessee people.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

Remember When Israel Demanded a King????

2008-11-05T09:44:00.005-05:00

As I told you in my last post, I received my copy of the Beth Moore Esther study in the mail on Monday. In the first lesson, she quotes a book called "How To Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by Fee and Stuart. One of the quotes she uses from this book is referring to Biblical narratives (Bible stories)......Fee and Stuart say "the story they (Bible narratives) tell is not so much our story as it is God's story---and it becomes ours as He 'writes' us into it"

This morning as I read 1 Samuel 8 & 9 (see the end of this post for a refresher course on this passage), I remembered this quote and thought it was very appropriate for 'such a time as this'.....................Remember when Israel demanded a king? They didn't really care who or what kind of king, but pretty much any king would do. Samuel prayed and the Lord told him that the people were not rejecting Samuel, but were rejecting God Himself. Are you seeing how America is being 'written' into this story???

America demanded a king. The people are so disgusted with Bush they were ready for any king (regardless of his views). The issue with our country is not about race, party, or political views. The major issue in our country is that America has rejected God. And our rejection of God DID NOT start with the election of Barack Obama. I cant tell you the exact time our rejection of God as a nation began, but I can tell you that over time it has only become more and more clear that America is no longer a nation that trusts in God. America may still be one nation under God (aren't we all under God?), but she is also a nation who is in love with sin (a trip to San Fransisco will tell you that).

In Galatians, the Bible says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows". I believe this also applies to our country. As a nation, I fear that we just might be getting ready to reap what we have been sowing for years. Galatians 6:8 says, "one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life". No matter who you voted for, it is easy to see that over the past several years America has sown to please her sinful nature. We have stood by while innocent babies were killed and used the excuse that it is a woman's body and she has a right to do with it what she pleases. Anyone who claims to be a believer knows that is a lie straight from the pit of hell. We have remained silent while homosexuality has become commonplace instead of an abominable act that is not the norm. I have never read a version of the Bible that said homosexuality was ordained by God, but I am sure if I were to visit a liberal Episcopal church, I could find one. We have stood in silence as the word of God has been perverted to encourage our sinful lifestyles. If you are TRULY a believer, you know that homosexuality is sin plain and simple.....there is no grey area.....it's black and white.

Speaking of black and white.......This election has brought up so many questions and concerns for me (and not just concerns about the candidates). I am concerned by people who call themselves Christians, but vote contrary to the Bible. I am concerned by people who call themselves Christians, but continue to live like the rest of the world, look, talk and act just like the rest of the world. A Christian is not someone who looks like the rest of the world.....we are to be different. Can you truly say that there is something different about you? Whatever happened to being a "chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" 1 Peter 2:9. Don't misunderstand me here, I am not just talking about the election, but about satan's power to deceive.

I have to wonder (and not because of the election) how many people satan has deceived into believing they are saved, when they have never REALLY made the change that comes with salvation. I do not pretend to know anyone's heart (sometimes it is difficult to know my own), but the Bible is clear that where there is no change, there is no salvation. The devil is the master deceiver and he would love nothing more than to allow people to believe that they are on their way to heaven, when in fact, they are still lost and on their way to hell. It is easy to talk the talk, but walking the walk is a different thing entirely. Billy Graham has said that he believes that as many as 80-90% of the people who sit in the pews of churches every Sunday in America are unsaved. If that is true (and I know Billy Graham is only a man not God) then, there are millions of people who think they are "okay", but will split hell wide open. If that thought does not sober you, then nothing will !!!!

So, if you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I have been passionate about this election. I am not afraid of what Obama will do as president, but I am concerned that his liberal agenda will cause America to slide further down the slippery slope of sin that she has been on for years. I fear that Christians will be silenced even more than ever in the name of tolerance. I believe our faith will be tested like never before in the history of America. I do not hate Obama (or anyone else for that matter). I hate sin because God hates sin. I hate sin because it nailed Jesus to the cross..........my sin, your sin, everyone's sin nailed Jesus to the cross.

When I voted last week, I voted not by party, but by Christian values and my candidate lost. So, the only thing left for me (and everyone else in America who is concerned) is pray. We need to pray for Barack Obama....pray that his mind will be changed on the issues of abortion and gay marriage among other things. Pray that he will be honest in his dealings as leader of the free world. Pray that he will not continue to oppose Israel. Pray for his safety and the safety of his wife and girls. Pray that prejudiced groups will not plot evil against him --- that his election will help ease the problem of prejudice in our country. Pray that he would not be able to rest until he is in right standing with THE One and Only Holy God. But most of all, we need to pray that God's will be done in America.

1 Samuel 8
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

Radical

2008-11-03T13:29:00.013-05:00

I have heard reference made to the radical right more times in the past year than I care to count. For some reason, the term 'radical right' has a negative connotation to me. I picture crazed people who bomb abortion clinics or people like those at the church in Kansas who protest at soldier's funerals. But today, it occurred to me that my view of the radical right is not necessarily correct. The people who bomb abortion clinics and protest dead soldiers are not radical, they are brain-washed and somewhat insane - their behavior is not radical, but abhorrent.

As I was working today, I decided that being a radical Christian is not a bad thing. Matter of fact, I think if we are true followers of Jesus, we are called to be radical. One of the definitions of the word 'radical' is "Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme". I think that Jesus went WAY above usual and customary and was MORE THAN extreme in showing His love for us when He died on the cross, so why shouldn't we be radical in showing our love for Him? Considering what Jesus did for us, I think being radical in our witness, relationship to Him, and worship is the least we can do..........

Maybe it is time we all got radical for Jesus. To be radical means that there has to be a change in the status quo. Radical throws normal and average right out the window. Radical wants to know the heart of Jesus and do the will of Jesus regardless of the cost. Radical is not easy. Radical is not for the faint of heart or the fair weather follower of Christ........

Radical means it just might be time to leave that liberal church that says it's okay to live like the world from Monday through Saturday as long as you are there on Sunday morning and help in the soup kitchen downtown when its your turn. Maybe its time to exit the church where you go to hear a watered down message by a wishy-washy pastorette and start to look for a church that preaches the cross and the blood and judgement. After all, radical Christians don't live on milk anymore --- they live on the meat of the Word of God. A superficial message will not suffice for radical Christians. Acts 2:17 says, 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams'. Maybe its time we get radically filled up with the Spirit so we can have something to pour out.

Maybe its time to let go of the stuff that makes you just like the rest of the world.....might be time to reevaluate your priorities and put Jesus first instead of 2nd, 10th, 20th or last. Might be time to speak up for Jesus in that group of friends who love the world a little too much instead of remaining silent and giving them the idea that you are 'one of the crowd'. Maybe its time to be radically different in a family or workplace where Jesus is never given a second thought. Maybe its time you quit acting like the devil with one group of friends and like an angel with another. Radical believers cannot be two-faced or double-minded. The Book of James says "a double-minded man is unstable in all he does'. Radical means going against popular opinion and speaking the Truth even when it will make you unpopular. Radical is excited to see God's will done no matter the outcome. Radical does not look, act, drink, or talk like the world.

Radical does not put on airs. Radical is REAL all the time. To be radical, we have to remove the words "politically correct" from our vocabulary and call people to Jesus out of love for them and love for Him. I doubt there was any more radical person than John the Baptist. His outward appearance was radical, his diet was radical (he ate locusts for crying out loud - eating bugs is quite extreme if you ask me), and his message was radical......He did not water down the message of Jesus, but he called people to repentance because he didn't want to see them perish. Why did he care if the people perished? Because Jesus cared. It is not God's will than any should perish. Radical cares about others the way Jesus cares about them and Jesus cared enough to speak truth to the worst sinner, not to condemn, but to save them from an eternal burning hell. Jesus did not sugarcoat the sin of the woman at the well, He loved her enough to bring it out in the open and tell her go and sin no more. Which was radical considering He knew He would have to die for her sins (and ours). If we want to be radical, we have to love people enough to tell them that sin leads to death and without Jesus, hell will be their eternal home.

One thing I know for sure is that the world will criticize radical, but radical gets God's attention (John the Baptist is proof of that). God was radical in His love by sending His only son to die a terrible, humiliating, painful death for us. Seems like that makes being radical our reasonable service to Him.

Look what just came by UPS........

Some Fall Festival Pics and A Short Video Surprise

2008-11-01T22:23:00.016-04:00

At our church

He looks just like the actual Dash in the movie (and yes, I know Dash is not real - he is a cartoon character)

He loves to pose...gets it from his Daddy.

Rough Character....hope he doesn't grow up to look like this

Our kitchen was turned into a tattoo parlor yesterday

He actually had 2 tear drops on his face (like the guys in jail have -- it was his Daddy's idea, I promise) and I tattooed his name across his knuckles.....you might be a redneck if you dress your kid as a redneck for the church Fall Festival......yeah, that's how we roll.

Just wanted to prove that my kids are unmarked and normal (well as normal as they can be considering who their mother is)

I would like to apologize in advance for the quality and subject (me) of this video. Am I the only one who hates to hear her own voice???? Or see herself on video???? Guess I have no future in the field of acting. At least this video is short....you will thank me for that later. Anyway, I hope actually hearing the accent and seeing me in motion does not make you think less of me......... hit play at your own risk.

I Got Nothin'

2008-10-30T09:24:00.008-04:00

So far today has been a wonderful day. Might be because it is only 9:30 and I have only been up for an hour!!! You read that right, folks! I slept until almost 8:30 am........8:21 am to be exact. I remember the good ole days when I thought that getting up at 8:30 on a day I didn't have to was torture, now it seems like such a treat. Sad that at 35, rest is a thing of the past. My yesterday was spent at Lake's school for Harvest Day. Every time I work at his school, it is apparent to me that teachers (well, the nice teachers....better not say anymore) definitely have a calling......a calling that I never heard. Oh my goodness. It was fun, but I fear if I went there everyday, I might have to be placed in one of those suits and stuck in a rubber room. It's not that I don't love the kids, it's just that chaos makes me nervous.......

I have taken all your comments about decorating for Christmas into account and I will let you know ~~after I decorate next week~~ when I decide what to do. Thanks for all your input though, especially for reminding me about having to dust the ornaments - I am trying to come up with a way to cover all decorations with plastic......or maybe we will skip decorating here and just ask if we can have Christmas at someone else's house....seriously, if you were at my house right now, you would see that I have an aversion to dusting....makes me sneeze....maybe I am allergic to Pledge.

While I have Christmas on my mind, let me encourage you to go to Sandi's blog and enter to win one of her beautiful creations. Sandi is starting and ETSY store and she is wildly talented! I mean she has a God-given gift for all things crafty.......go here to check her stuff out and enter to win a mixed media painting (and no I do not know what that really is, but I do know I love it). Sandi is my blog friend Heidi's mom (The Zawisza Tribune on my sidebar) and they are both a hoot!!!

I don't know about you all, but I am sick and tired of hearing about ACORN and their voting scandal. Believe it or not I am more sick of ACORN than I am of the words "Maverick", "Energy",or "Scranton" -which I would have never thought possible. I say we just shut down ACORN (not really sure what their purpose is anyway) and forget voting machines and paper ballots. Our banks have implemented thumbprint machines for identification verification, why cant we use thumbprints for voting? At least that way, we could know for sure that each person could only cast one vote. God made sure that all our thumbprints are different, so why not use the original technology straight from the Maker to keep our elections honest? Just my opinion.

So, I went to the store called Dress Barn day before yesterday. I cannot go into that store without thinking of this. It does make one wonder what kind of marketer would come up with a name for their store that gives the idea of a cow or horse. Anyway, after trying on clothes at every store in this area, I have come to the conclusion that nothing looks good on me. I either look 6 months pregnant (because the sweaters/shirts are in grand maternity style AGAIN!!!) or like I am 35 trying to look 15 OR like a grandmother. So, what will I wear this winter season? I have no earthly idea. Maybe I will just wear ~~long johns~~ thermal underwear under all my summer clothes. Who knows? I might start a trend.

I saw a story on my internet homepage the other morning ..... the headline read "Heaviest man in the World Marries". I had a dream about this last night.....I was the bride......the wedding was weird. Why on earth can I not be normal??????

So, for Fall Festival (we don't really do the Halloween trick-or-treating thing) Lake wants to be a "motorcycle rider". I am all about homemade costumes, so I thought it would be fun to put together. The hubs and I are not motorcycle kind of people. We think they are really pretty to look at, and we have friends that love to ride them, but we prefer to be enclosed inside a large metal casing while riding down the road (aka. and SUV or Truck - cause we ARE in TN, y'all, I mean, let's face it, there are nuts on the road and I do not want to meet them on a bike with just my jeans for protection against the concrete...I would not look good in a casket or with my limbs severed and laying in different parts of the highway). But that's just us....if you live to ride and ride to live....more power to ya....we will be sitting inside our SUV talking about how cool your motorcycle is as you fly by us!! Yes, we are so un-hip.

Anyway, I went to Smith-Brother's Harley here in Johnson City to buy Lake a t-shirt. I just have to say two things.....#1... Those people at the Harley store are sooooo nice!! They were the sweetest sales people EVER! I thought it would be kinda scary to go in there (I pictured lots of tattoos and big scary men looking for a Harley mama), but they were all so nice...I think they could give all the other stores in the area a lesson in customer service. (well, except for the guy who gave my 4 yr old a poster with a 1/2 nekkid Jessica Simpson on it --- he needs a lesson of his own ---I didn't know what the poster had on it until we got to the car and Kaden unrolls it and says "It's a lady on a motorcycle with big shoes on". I look to find Jessica in a leather 2-piece and high heels (it is at the landfill as we speak). #2.....Harley stuff is WAY EXPENSIVE!!!! When you see your average Harley rider going down the road in leathers and jeans that have the Harley logo-----he is wearing hundreds of dollars worth of clothing! I could go on and on, but this part of my post is already way too long.

Kaden wants to wear the Dash (Incredibles) costume he got for his birthday in January. Which was no surprise to us, but a good thing because it saved us about $40 bucks ....costumes are expensive y'all!!! Which is why I am a fan of homemade ones..... ;-) I usually like to have them dress up as something related (remember the referee and the football player and the State Trooper and the inmate???? Yeah, well, not this year ;-( ) We could have all gone as a biker gang..............

I will definitely post pics this weekend of Dash and The Harley Man......should be pretty funny....we have tattoos and everything....cause we are authentic like that. Have a great day.

Too Early?

2008-10-28T09:14:00.003-04:00

Okay, it is cold here, really cold. It actually flurried last night (well, it is going to be in the 60's on Thursday, but still cold now). I am seeing all the Christmas stuff in the stores and it has occurred to me that I might like to go ahead and decorate for Christmas a little early this year.....like next week. So, tell me in your opinion, how early is too early to decorate for Christmas????

Tolerance

2008-10-27T08:19:00.010-04:00

Yesterday, our pastor preached on John 2:12-25. You know the story. Jesus comes to the temple and is outraged to find that God's house had been taken over by money changers and marketeers. The temple that was supposed to be consecrated to God had become nothing more than a business and a marketing scam. I can just hear the money changers and evil entrepreneurs advertising their services now, "Get your doves, Get your cattle, Get your sheep.....Come see US for all your sacrificing needs". Jesus, who was and is always about His Father's business, didn't waste any time braiding cords into a whip and chasing out the dove salesmen and money changers.

I believe there is a great lesson for us to learn from Jesus' example in this story. See, Jesus didn't just throw His Holy hands up to the sky in disgust, He did something. He didn't stand by and allow evil to take over God's temple, He drove evil out. Jesus is not tolerant of sin, He takes action in the face of evil. When He met the woman at the well, did He look over her sin? No, He exposed it and told her to go and sin no more. Jesus doesn't overlook sin, He faces it head on and deals with it! Today, our society want believers to overlook the sins that are dragging America into the pit. Tolerance is the buzz word of they day. Unfortunatly, Christians have become wishy-washy and timid in the name of tolerance.

Our forefathers came to America so that they could escape religious tyranny and worship God as they pleased. Atheists would have us believe that our country was not founded on Biblical principals and that the first Americans came here to escape religion entirely. If that were so, then John Adams would have never said "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." And our first President, George Washington, would not have said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible". Our forefathers were willing to take a stand for what they believed and they stood on the side of a Holy God.

Yesterday in his sermon, my pastor made the statement, "As goes the church, so goes the nation". History proves that statement to be true. When the church was willing to BOLDLY stand up for what is right in the eyes of God, non-Christians were not so quick to oppose her. When the church becomes tolerant and quiet, the world sees her as a doormat and satan takes over. Our problem is that the church has become tolerant and complacent at the same time.....tolerance and complacence are a deadly combination in this world. (Tolerance + Complacence = A Silent Church and a silent church is an open invitation for satan to work). We are quick to blame satan for America's problem, but it might be time to look in the mirror and realize that we share some of the blame.....the silent church is also a contributor to the downfall of our society.

I am sick and tired of hearing about tolerance. Tolerance is the root of America's problem. Even in the church (especially the emerging church) we hear people say that it is wrong to denounce homosexuality. What ever happened to hating the sin and loving the sinner? We can speak out against what God calls an abomination and still love and restore those who are involved in that lifestyle. Christians should be speaking against such things, we should even be speaking against the idea of 'tolerance at any cost', but instead we are buying into the lie that tolerance is of God.

John 2 proves that Jesus had no tolerance for blatant sin......He drove evil out of the temple. Today we live by the motto "live and let live". It's as if we have bought into the tolerance idea so much that we feel guilty sharing our faith and our convictions. As Christians, we should not be tolerant of sin and sinful lifestyles, we should be preaching "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand". What greater way to show love for sinners (which we all are) than to tell them the Jsus loves them and help them turn from their sin and accept Jesus so they can go to heaven?

John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater" didn't sit back and sugar coat sin, He called sin what it is and called people to repentance. Where on earth did we ever get the idea that tolerance is God's idea???? God's idea is for His people to repent, pray, seek Him, and tell others about Him --- Can we tell others about God without telling them that He hates sin??? Maybe we have become so complacent that we have forgotten the fact that God never changes so He still hates sin (not the sinner, but the sin that separates His children from Himself).

The church has allowed liberalism to invade and we have come to the point in our society where a pastor has to reign in his tongue when preaching the truth (especially when it comes to political issues.....it is only a matter of time before pastors will not be able to openly speak out against homosexuality, abortion, gay marriage, etc). Today, if a preacher endorses a particular candidate for president, their church will lose tax exempt status (well, preachers except for Jeremiah Wright, Jessee Jackson, and Al Sharpton). If the church takes a stand against abortion, then they are accused of setting back women's rights (because babies apparently have no rights). If the church voices her opinion on gay marriage, then we are portrayed as backwoods bigots whose message is no longer relevant in a society such as ours.

Have I mentioned that I am tired of hearing about tolerance? Have I also mentioned that Christians have NOT been called to be tolerant of sin? Jesus tells us to love one another (and yes, that means even the vilest of sinners because we are all sinners). He never said to sit down and allow satan to take over and silence His church.

Is it wrong for a Christian to take a stand for Jesus? No, it is what we are commanded to do even when our stance is unpopular by the world's standards (Aren't we told that we will be hated because of our love for Jesus? Popular or not, we have a duty to stand up for what is right in the sight of God). Is it wrong for a Christian to stand up against the killing of unborn babies? No. Is it wrong for a Christian to say that marriage should be between one man and one woman? No. Is it wrong for a Christian to say that a vote for Obama is a vote for abortion, gay marriage, and the forced acceptance of homosexuality? No. A Christian's goal IS NOT to get a certain political candidate elected, but to spread God's word and speak truth whether the rest of the world wants to hear it or not. The truth is a vote for any liberal Democrat these days (regardless of who it is) is a vote in support of the sin that God hates.

Why is it that when Christians take a moral stand, they are labeled as hate-filled, psychotic, brain-washed, idiots?

The truth will stand when the world is on fire and it's time that Christians STOP APOLOGIZING for our Biblical world view and start speaking out (in love) against the sin that the world loves so much. The devil knows his time is short, so he is hard at work, we need to work even harder.

A Little Rambling

2008-10-24T12:44:00.010-04:00

As some of you may have noticed, I have been absent from the blog for a few days longer than usual. Others of you could care less where I have been (and I am strangely okay with that). Things are extremely hectic for us right now so, the blog has not only taken a back seat this week, but it has been in a whole different car. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. There I said it....please do not disown me as your blogging friend or call Blogger and report me. I am sure that things will be normal again for me at some point, although I do not foresee normal coming anytime in the near future.

The few minutes I have spent on the computer this week have been spent trying to upload a video of myself to the blog. Now, you guys know that I am no Bill Gates, so even the simplest of tasks regarding this ~~idiotic piece of of junk~~ computer can stump me. I am not even trying to take video from my video camera....I am trying to transfer it from the Easy Share. Which I have done before without incident (which is my favorite video of all time). I even contacted Kodak and asked what the problem could be.....their suggestions didn't work so I sent another email asking them for other suggestions. Cause ya'll, I'm nothing if not persistent. So, if they come up with the reason that all my pictures transfer in seconds but my videos wont, then I will be coming live and in person to a computer screen near you. Until then, look at this picture and pretend it is moving......Sorry guys, it's the best I can do 'cause I got nothin'

I have thought more than once this week, that God may be totally against me sharing myself on video. Oh, there is nothing scandalous in it...in fact, it is quite boring and bland;-), but I am thinking He might be trying to spare you the pain of watching it and me the embarrassment of having you watch it. I fear that those who read this blog and do not know me in person may hear my voice or see me (in motion) and wish they could erase the video from their memory. So, God may be trying to tell me something and keep your eyes/ears in tact at the same time (you know I have a bit of an accent, right?).

Today, after running errands, I came home and baked some cookies while doing laundry. As you may know, the hubs referees Friday night football, and I always bake some sort of cookie/brownie/cake/etc. for him to take and share with his crew. I am very Martha Stewart like that (even though there is usually some sort of fire involved in the making of said confections which is not very Martha Stewart, but whatever). Anyway, I had some oatmeal no-bake cookie batter coming to a boil on the stove and some chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven when I decided to go through the house room by room to check for dirty laundry (cause the men in my family do not believe in laundry baskets or hampers -they prefer leaving their unmentionables in the floor where they took them off). I retrieved all the dirty laundry, folded another load of laundry, and started yet another load never once thinking about the cookies on my stove and in my oven. Needless to say, when ~~the smoke alarm went off~~ I remembered, it was too late to save either batch ~~or the pans in which they were cooked~~. My point in telling you this story? To reiterate the fact that I am so easily distracted it is not even funny (or normal, it's just not normal, but what can I do about it?).

Do you have friends that preach to you at every opportunity? I am not talking about friends that are spiritual encouragers or friends that want to help you in your walk with Christ by sharing their struggles or Biblical advice. I am talking about pretend preachers who think the world is their pulpit and you are their congregation. You know the ones I mean. You can say you are having a bad day and they proceed to tell you that you are way too blessed to have a bad day and that God does not approve of Christians having bad days. You say that something gets on your nerves and they begin to tell you all the Bible verses that speak against the flesh and how you have to overcome your flesh. You tell them about a problem with another person and they tell you that you need to repent before the church...........am I speaking to anyone? Does anyone know this person? I know one or two and I have to say they really get on my nerves. There is a big difference between an encourager and someone who wants to wow you with their vast knowledge of scripture. I don't think God ever intended us to be on a "higher plain" when we encourage our brothers and sisters. He meets us where we are and He wants us to do the same for others. I know a person (or two) like this and have had this on my mind for a few days. I certainly hope I never come across as spiritually superior to anyone. The things I share on this blog are the things God is teaching ME. I share them to give Him the glory for the work He is doing in me. I also share just in case He might want to speak to someone else through what He has said to me (I believe He can use anyone or anything to speak to whomever He wants to reach). Anyway, I just wanted to say that I hope I never come across to any of you as a preacher, but as an encourager and someone who simply wants to share her love for the Lord with others. Thank you for allowing me to vent on this subject....moving right along........

Wednesday and Thursday, I spent working at the new house --- AGAIN. I spent the whole day Thursday crouching down and bent over. Today every bone and muscle in my body is protesting. I feel like I have done a thousand squats when in reality it was just one loooong squat. Have I mentioned that I know more about building houses than any girl should know? Yeah, well I do.

Went to Belk this week and bought 2 shirts for a total of $4.03. Yeah, I'm cheap like that. After I left Belk, I went to Target and bought a sweater off the sale rack for $4. I am telling ya, my husband should rise and call me bless-ed!!! hahhahahah just kidding (not about the clothes about the bless-ed part). You can see one of the $1.98 shirts and the $4 sweater in the picture above.

I got a catalog in the mail for a very famous company that sells clothes. I flipped through it and stopped at a page that showed these beautiful turtleneck sweaters. I decided I would order one UNTIL I looked at the price......$150 American Dollars. All I am asking is, "Why is cashmere so precious and do people REALLY pay that much for one sweater"????? If I paid that much for a sweater, I would not be able to sleep for a month.

Did ya hear OPEC is going to slow production? Did ya hear that I think OPEC is of satan? Did you also hear that I dislike OPEC very much and I believe the people in charge of it are complete idiots? (This is where my preachy friend would say, Now Beth, you know we have to love everyone, even OPEC and God is in control of everything so you are wrong to even mention your dislike of oil barons because God loves even the Iraqi people and when you show dislike for OPEC, it is the same as hating all Middle Eastern people..........does THAT kind of conversation ring a bell with anyone???? Just checking. Maybe I am the only one who knows someone like this).

The Toys R Us Christmas catalog came yesterday. The boys have already made their lists and after looking them over, I have found that they listed every item in the catalog (with the exception of all things pink of course). Did I mention that it annoys me to no end that the R in Toys R Us is backwards? To no end I tell ya!

Okay, I am off to play with my boys....maybe I will be able to be a little more dependable on the blog scene next week......and maybe I can put that picture in motion.......maybe.

Away

2008-10-21T20:45:00.004-04:00

So, today, I tried to make a video blog........unfortunately (or fortunately for those of you who know me in real life) I was unsuccessful. Why is it so dern hard to take video from the camera and get it into my computer? Oh well, maybe some other time. Anyway, I will be away from the blog all day on Wednesday. I am working at the new house ~~that will never be finished~~ all day. More rebar, hopefully no more blisters -- I bought a tool especially for this job and it should make my life much easier.

I feel it would be hypocritical of me not to confess that I ~~let the heat and air man have it with both barrels~~ spoke a little too harshly today to the man who is supposed to be installing our heating/cooling system. The key word there is "supposed to be"...as in paid him, but have not seen him and cannot proceed until he finishes his work. I tell ya that old sin nature really comes out when I am mad; however, after our conversation, he assured me that he will be there first thing in the morning (might be because I threatened to camp out at his office until the job is completed - even heat and air man knows that a nagging woman is like a dripping faucet ;-).

Tomorrow night is the last night of Living Beyond Yourself (guess I need to go back and re-do the lessons on self-control, kindness, peace......okay all of the lessons......like YOU never lose your temper!). Of course since we are Baptists and we eat together every chance we get, we will be bringing food to celebrate the end of our journey together. Can I get a "woohoo" for the Bible Study buffet??

I have noticed that my sidebar update thingie is not always updating when one of you publishes a new post on your blog. So, if I don't visit you, it is because my notification thing is not working properly......computers get on my nerves.

See ya'll in day or two unless Jesus comes back first --- can I get a "Come Quickly, Lord Jesus"????.

Oh and if you want to watch a funny/thought provoking video showing what it will be like if Obama is elected......click here.

Oh So Boring

2008-10-20T11:08:00.012-04:00

Well, the heat is official on in our house after a weekend of some very cool weather. I even made vegetable beef soup last night, although the family said I used way too much pepper in it --- I think the exact words were something like "Mommy, my mouth is on fire"...."It burns, it burns" and "This makes my nose run"...........ingrates!!! Don't they know that there are kids in Sudan that are starving??? Anyway, The leaves are changing and fall is finally here. Even though the high will be 67 today, when I left to take Lake to school this morning it was 37 ~~freakin' cold~~ degrees. Such is fall in the hills of East Tennessee. I really don't have time today to post anything of substance, so here are a few pictures and a meme for your viewing/reading ~~boredom~~ pleasure.

Last week Kaden's children's choir sang in church, this week was Lake's turn. One of the songs the kids sang, they also signed (as in sign language). I must say I was really impressed with my kid, not just because he is terribly cute and I made him (with help of course),but because he knew every sign and didn't miss a beat! His aunt Lisa would have been so proud (she signs for the deaf people in her church). They all did a wonderful job --- they have wonderful choir leaders (one of whom might be reading this and is one of my favorite people - and I am not just kissing up either!). Anyway, here are a few pics from last night.

Here is Lake talking to his friend, Cassidy before they sang.....Lake loves to talk.......sometimes his need to socialize gets him into trouble at school, but I cant really say much since I never got a report card that didn't have a check mark beside the words "Does not Control her Talking"...............

Making a joyful noise.

Kaden sitting beside daddy (the headless figure in the orange sweater) waiting for time to go to his choir class....we had to come early for Lake to practice...and yes, that is a kool-aid mustache he is wearing.

This is me trying to look like a nice, patient mommy while fussing at Kaden for playing with my camera and not being still - while I was fussing through closed teeth, he inadvertently snapped a picture ---not at the best angle either----Mental note: teach the kids to take flattering pictures of me, not ones that make me look like the Hunchback on Notre Dame.

Blurry shot of me and Lake at his school on the day of the high school's homecoming. Lake will go to a different high school than I did...the school he will go to was a rival of ours.......Even though the school he will attend always has a better team than we ~~ever did~~ do, I still cant bring myself to put on a Cyclone jersey because I am a Cougar at heart.......You would think at 35, I would be over high school..........Therapy? Why, yes I do need it.

So I have been meme-tagged by my friend, Sandi. The rules are :Grab the closest book to you, turn to page 56, start with the 5th sentence, and post 2-5 paragraphs........So, you know we have 2 small kids, right? Yeah, well, as painful as this might be (especially for mothers who will recognize which book this is from as soon as they read the first line), I am playing along and playing fair........so, let me apologize in advance for the following excerpt........here goes:

And THEN!
Who was back in the house?
Why, the cat!
"Have no fear of this mess,"
Said the Cat in the Hat.
"I always pick up all my playthings and so....
I will show you another good trick that I know!"
Then we saw him pick up all the things that were down
He picked up the cake and the rake and the gown,
And the milk and the strings
And the book and the dish
And the fan and the cup,
And the ship and the fish,
And he put them away
Then he said, "That is that."
And then he was gone with a tip of his hat.
Then our mother came in and she said to us two
"Did you have any fun, tell me, what did you do?"
And Sally and I did not know What to say
Should we tell her the things that went on there that day?

All of you mothers (who are bored enough with life to still be reading this) know this book well and can finish the last lines from memory.

For an interesting read on the upcoming election, check this out at Rapture Ready --- scroll down to the second article about Electing God's Way.

Hopefully, I will be back later in the week with something you might actually care to read.

Biden Blunders

2008-10-17T21:48:00.004-04:00

Okay, no matter which side you are on in the election (and I think you all know which side I am on), this is funny. Really funny. I daresay 99% of my readers are McCain/Palin fans, but I am sure we have all had a good laugh at Tina Fey's hilarious impression of Sarah Palin (although I am not a fan of Tina Fey in real life). I think this video of Biden is too funny not to share. I would embed or imbed it if I ~~knew how to spell the word correctly~~ had time, but the bed is calling my name so you will have to click the linky thing. Watch it to the end for the most hilarious part.....

To View Hilarious Biden Footage Click Here

On a more serious note, I think little has been said about Obama's attitude toward Israel. God said He would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. Mike Mickey at Rapture Alert gives us some insight as to Obama's stand on Israel ...........If we truly believe the Bible and take God at His word, then if we elect Obama, America is in for a rude awakening. The Bible also tells us in 2 Chronicles that "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land". Check out this video and see if you think Obama is willing to humble himself OR seek the face of the God he mocks. I could go on and on with example after example of Obama's liberal anti-God/Bible record, but you already know most of them by heart. So much of Obama's platform aligns with end times prophecy..........check out Rapture Alert to see exactly how much.

It is time for all of us to REALLY humble ourselves, seek His face, pray, and turn from wickedness, so that God can heal our land........it's time to stop thinking selfishly and start thinking with the mind of Christ.

Have a great weekend ya'll.

Some Stuff

2008-10-16T09:48:00.004-04:00

Sorry for my absence on the old blog for the past few days, but as usual, I have been performing slave labor under much duress. I spent 10 hours yesterday at the new house tying off steel rebar in our upstairs garage. If you are a woman (or man for that matter) and do not know what in the world it means to tie off steel or if you do not recognize the word 'rebar' -- fall on your knees and praise the Good Lord for keeping you from the knowledge of such things. I have said it before, but it is so true--- there are just some things women should not know about. Rebar is one of those things.

I was going to take a picture of my bloody, blistered, bright red, calloused hands, but I decided ~~it would make you throw your breakfast up~~ I would spare your delicate eyes from such an indelicate sight. Just know it 'ain't' pretty. It 'ain't' pretty at all. (And yes, I feel the need to place the word 'ain't' in 1/2 quotes because I fear since I am from TN, you may think I believe ain't to be a proper word.....Issues? Why yes, I do have them). The cuts and scrapes on my legs along with the aches and pains in my back and backside have made for a difficult morning so far. I was not made to be a day laborer, yet that is exactly what I have become. Dern.

I have several more spiritual posts floating around in my ~~otherwise virtually empty~~ head, but I will have to flesh those out and get back to you with them another day. (Why do we say we are going to 'flesh' something out?).

So, Heidi, gave me this Kreativ Blogger (Award). I wont type out my acceptance speech even though I WOULD like to thank all the little people and the academy. Oh, and I would also like to thank Heidi for bestowing this award upon me even though she also bestowed it upon several others who are apparently equally as Kreativ as I (but I am not bitter or jealous in case you were wondering ---oh and just so you know, Heidi was also giving out the BFF award on her blog --- she must have inadvertently left my name off her BFF list ---- hahhahahahaa ---- I am kidding, Heidi, only joking, and yes, it is at your expense,but I know you are totally okay with that ;-)

I have to say that it is kind of hard for me to post the link picture thingie of this award, because as many of you know, I have a strong aversion to intentional misspellings (Like Toys R Us - Why is the R backwards? What are we teaching our children? Why does it bother me when people intentionally misspell words? Where can I get counseling for my problem(s)?).

Apparently this award comes with a catch (figures ;-) ---the recipient must list 6 things that make them happy. So in the interest of playing along and since Heidi threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't, here goes:

1. I love Jesus first, of course. Then the hubs and then MY BABIES!!!. I love pictures of my babies. The smell of my babies when they get out of the bathtub. My babies when they were REALLY babies. My babies when they learn new things. My babies when they say, "I love you, Mommy". My babies when they do funny things. My babies when they have on matching outfits. My babies when they crawl on my lap and snuggle up to me. My babies when they are learning their AWANA verses and trying to get all the words right. My babies when they are sweet to each other. My babies when they are laughing and playing with each other...........ya smell what I'm cookin' here?????

2. Rehma Words

3. My family, my friends, my blog

4. My church

5. Vacations (especially Disney, Myrtle Beach, and Destin, Daddy, DESTIN!!!!)

6. New clothes.....Chap-stik.....the idea of John McCain beating Obamanation......shoes of all kinds and colors.......jewelry (both real and fake)......new books......bookstores.......free time......cappuccino.......laughing........looking at new houses or campers........a clean house (although I haven't had one in 15 months).....when my kids get new toys that I really wanted................the smell of a new car.....the smell but not the taste of coconut..........specialty shops............Christmas.............fall.................Fall Festival (aka Halloween).................memories of all my grandparents...................memories of my early childhood...................buying people presents.................The Rapture.....................Heaven..................my battery powered scooter....Lake's kick-n-go scooter..........Fireproof the movie..............homemade Heath bars...................fudge...........Thanksgiving.................when I really 'get' something the Lord is trying to teach me...............new dishes and towels (which I do not have,but really need and would be a great housewarming present for my parents to get me).................good hair days..............Cranberry Pomegranate Green Tea with 2 scoops of sugar...............the smell and taste of coffee........coffee ice cream.............all make-up............anti-aging products.......health and beauty aids section of Walgreen's.................70's and 80's rock music.........chips and dip...............chips and cheese.............Klaussen dill pickles..............sour apples with salt on them............watermelon/cantaloupe with salt on them.......................salt with salt on it (might be the reason for my hands swelling - who knew?)...............Facebook and stalking/reconnecting with old friends.....being able to strike out words on my blog - thanks Fran because of you I can do this ~~Obama~~ ....................sarcasm................the smell of paint, gas and freshly cut grass...............................white teeth.................casual clothes (hoodies and sweats which are a staple of the stay at home mother's wardrobe - I like to call them "my uniform" - sad, I know).................visiting places I have never been before..........learning new things................FoxNews.................Did I mention my love for all things Disney?..................I suppose I could go on forever, but I will stop here (this is where the two of you who are still reading stop and praise the Lord).

Anyway, thank you for the award, Heidi. I appreciate you thinking of me (even if I am not your new BFF). I am flattered, I really am.

OKAY, my dad has a contest of sorts on his blog, I am not sure what the prize is,but he has some Bible questions posted there and is looking for some people to answer. He wants you to answer the questions if you know the answer (I suppose if you dont, you could either look them up or make them up) . Go over to his blog and check it out ---be sure to leave him a comment whether you answer the questions or not!

It is now time for me to go and tend my wounds.......hopefully I will be back tomorrow to wow you with my limited blogging abilities....................... ;-)

A Rhema Word

2008-10-13T08:57:00.016-04:00

Do you learn by example or from personal experience? Sadly, in my life I have learned very few things by others' example. I will be the first to admit that I am not the smartest person who ever lived - not even close - not even in the top ~~50%~~ 10%. But there are a few things that I do know for sure. Not the least of which is that all plastic plates are not microwave safe. How did I learn that? From experience (a freaky, fiery, smoky, kitchen stinking, microwave ruining experience). Unfortunately, the 'plastic plate in the microwave thing' is not the only thing I have learned from experience. I could make a long list of things that I have learned the hard way, but you don't want to read them and I definitely do not want to relive them. So, let me get straight to the point (yes, I know that is a new concept for me). One thing I know for sure is that when we draw close to the Lord, He will draw closer to us. When we sit next to Jesus with no one or no thing between us, we are able to lean in and hear His voice - not just hear it, but hear it clearly. Ten years ago, I didn't really believe that, but today I know it for sure. How? From experience.

Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking/studying about how God speaks to us. Specifically Rhema words that are spoken to us by the Holy Spirit. I have had a few of those type words spoken over me by the Holy Spirit in the past month (some I have shared here on the blog, others I am pondering in my heart). Why am I hearing God speak so often and all of the sudden? I think it is probably because I am finally REALLY listening.

Last night at church, the evangelist that was preaching in our pastor's absence mentioned Rhema words from God and my mouth fell open.....that was about the fifth time that word has been brought up to me since I began to study it..............when God wants to reveal something to you, He will drive his point home over and over through other people, experiences, television, radio, internet, ......get my point? He will use any tool He can to get our attention, including His own voice.

By definition, Rehma in Greek means "an utterance (indiv., collect. or spec.); by implication a matter or 'topic' (esp. of narration, command or dispute). From the primary verb Rheo (ρηω) to flow or run , as water; and the suffix ma(μα) , a finite dispensation or portion (eg. "charis", grace ; but "charisma", a portion of grace, (spiritual) gift, etc". For instance, Rhema is the same word used in the verses about the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:17 "Take the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the (Rhema) word of God". Also in Matthew 4:4 "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every (Rhema) word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Rhema is used all over the Bible when referring to a word straight from God, so don't worry, I haven't gone all Pentecostal Holiness on you (not that we couldn't learn a thing or two about worship from them).

I guess my point in posting about this is that I wonder if many of us REALLY believe that still God speaks. And if we believe He still speaks, do we believe that He REALLY speaks to us??? As I said earlier, I know for a fact that He does. In our earthly friends/families, when we get close to and confide in them, they are quick to come close and confide in us. Same with God, the more we seek to know about Him, the more He will reveal to us. If you don't believe that God can speak a Rhema word directly to your heart, I challenge you to earnestly seek Him in prayer and Bible study and be ready to listen, because He has so many things to tell you. Things you need to know, but can only hear if you are REALLY listening. How do I know? From experience.

_____________________________________
So, here are a few pics of our weekend. Kaden's Music Makers choir sang in church tonight. I have several pictures, but here is one of my favorites. He is serious about doing the motions!

Here are a few pictures of a local air show we went to on Saturday. The Tennessee Highway Patrol brought their helicopters and did a mock rescue. There were all kinds of planes, war planes, training planes, and helicopters that did fly bys (very looooowwww fly bys). The boys had a great time - boys love that kind of stuff!

A nice State Trooper let me take his picture with the kids in front of his car;-)

The boys in front of the THP Huey helicopter. They got to sit in it and pretend to fly it - I am telling you boys get excited over heavy machinery!

Watching the air show. There were parachutes, sky dives, fly-bys, and all kinds of other interesting things going on.

This one is for Meemaw. The boys wanted to see what it was like for her when she took her wild ride down Roan Mnt. and had to be taken to the hospital by WINGS Air Rescue.

Here is the Huey in the air - good times.

Happy Columbus Day!

All Over the Place

2008-10-09T13:28:00.011-04:00

Some of you may have noticed that it has been a while since I did a random post. I know you have been anxiously waiting to hear my ~~weird thinks I think~~ thoughts so, my friends, wait no further......let the randomness begin:

First let me just say that the hubs and I have officially turned into our parents. It became official on Tuesday night when I put the kids to bed a little early so we could watch the presidential ~~snorefest~~ debate. Within 20 minutes of watching, we were both asleep. I remember my dad watching debates or news shows like 60 minutes and thinking how sad his life must be if the thought they were interesting (and I so hoped my life would never come to this, but unfortunately......). Welcome to my sad life.

The hubs and I have really been enjoying the McDonald's boycott. The kids? Not so much, but they have really been very good about it. When you have small children, you eat more McDonald's that anyone should, so it has been refreshing to us. The boys know that we have refrained from McD's because we are taking a stand against their unGodly policies. Then yesterday, the AFA ended the boycott because McD's finally agreed to the demands. My first thought was how great it is when Christians come together to take a stand, then my next was "What? It's only been a few months!!!" It took 2 years for Ford to cave in - apparently they really ARE Ford tough. I told the hubs this morning that the boycott is over and he has forbidden me to tell the boys. Thankfully, he says we are going to continue to ~~get out of eating there 5 times per week~~ drive our point home by boycotting McDonald's for just a little while longer.

In these tough economic times when we have all lost thousands ~~upon thousands that make me sick to my stomach~~ in the stock market, we need all the help we can get, so please allow me to give you a stock tip: Purchase stock in Chap-Stik and in Keebler. My Chap-Stik addiction is only becoming worse - I now reapply at least twice in the middle of the night. I know there must be other people who are addicted to Chap-Stik - surely I am not alone. Also, If I loved Keebler Deluxe Grahams or Fudge Stripes any more, I would have to marry them. Seriously, there is nothing like a little Elfin Magic to make a girl's day. I am thinking that my addictions alone could change the face of Wall Street (just for the record, you might also want to consider stock in Lancome, Wal-Mart, Kohl's, M&M's, and Brach's the company who makes those mellowcreme pumpkins).

My niece Anna has said she is going to change her last name to Zawesome (get it? Anna Zawesome). I think I will change mine to Sold or Stired or maybe Sychotic.....

Since the weather has become cooler, I am back in my usual fall/winter practice of drinking green tea (3 cups) and oolong tea (2 cups) everyday. The green tea in cranberry pomegranate flavor tastes like cider. The oolong tea doesn't taste too bad, but it does smell like hot manure in a field of freshly mown hay--they say it will help stop the aging process. At this point I am willing to try anything (well, anything except exercise). Maybe you should also buy stock in any company that makes anti-aging products - I tend to purchase those type things --- alot. Oh, and I dont think mown is really a word, but as you know that never stops me - some of my most effective words are ones I made up.

Does the way Obama says the word "Pakistan" make anyone else extremely nervous?

For the past few months, I have been working on teaching Kaden to read (and yes, I know he is only 4, but I like to challenge my children as much as possible - did I tell you he has been riding a bike without training wheels for quite some time???? ;-). Every time we work on 'b' words, he always mentions 'bolleyball'. I cannot convince him that it is volleyball not bolleyball. He keeps telling me that he watched 'beach bolleyball' on the Olympics and he KNOWS it is pronounced 'bolleyball'. All -rightey then.

Last night on our local news, one of the headlines was "Relief at the Pump". Relief???? Are you even kidding me? $1.50 for a gallon of gas? That's relief. $3.20? That is still robbery no matter how you look at it! And I never consider it a relief to be robbed whether it is legally or illegally.

I have been reading how much money has been spent by each candidate on their presidential campaigns. It occurred to me that if they had donated that money to the government, they could have bailed out the ~~sleazy, cheating, money stealing~~ banks themselves......They spent over $3 million on the set at Belmont in Nashville for the last debate........I don't think anyone really noticed the set......hard to see it when you are asleep. Seriously, does anyone else think it is ridiculous that they spend so much on campaigns????

Have I mentioned lately that I would rather wash my whole body in poop-scented soap EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE than watch 5 minutes of "The View"?

Have you noticed that Brooke Shields is on every commercial lately? She advertises for toothpaste, Volkswagen vans and all kinds of other stuff. I saw her on an ad in a magazine the other day. Beside her picture it said "Brooke Shields, Actress/Humanitarian". What does one have to do to be labeled a humanitarian? Wikipedia says that a humanitarian is "Humanitarianism is based on a view that all human beings deserve respect and dignity and should be treated as such". I believe all people deserve respect (well most all people). Maybe that makes me a semi-humanitarian. From this point forward, I would appreciate you addressing me as Beth, mother/semi-humanitarian. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Seriously, I love Sarah Palin (like you didn't already know that), but If I hear the words 'maverick", 'ruffling feathers', Scranton, or 'energy-rich' again, I might start peeling my skin off inch by inch!

So, now I am off to the kitchen (where fires and other disasters happen frequently) to prepare some wonderful confections for the hubs to take to his ballgame tonight. Yep, I'm like Martha Stewart (only I burn things and I haven't been in jail).

A Quick Fix

2008-10-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

As you read this, please know that I am probably slaving away at the ~~house that will never be finished~~ new house. While you are sitting in a cushy chair in front of your computer, I am probably lifting objects that are way too heavy for me to lift (even though I AM freakishly strong - just ask my husband). While you take a sip of your mocha latte, I am most likely shoveling gravel and various other types of rock & debris with a back that is still not completely over my last epidural (or my first epidural for that matter). As you surf the internet, just know that the callouses on my hands are becoming much more pronounced and the short nails that I had yesterday are now in the quick. Just thought you should know, please ~~feel sorry~~ pray for me.

Anyway, I have been in a state of 'discouragement' much of the time over the past couple of weeks. Nothing terrible has happened in my life (mostly little annoyances), but for some reason, I have found myself in personal 'funk' lately. This is not my normal outlook or attitude. I might be easily distracted, but not easily distraught. My mood is usually pretty upbeat, so depression is not something I have ever really had to deal with (and I use the term depression loosely - I don't want to make light of depression because I know there are people who are clinically and seriously depressed - that is not me).

So, yesterday as I was in the car line waiting to pick Lake up from school, I was praying for some deliverance from this funk and in that prayer I said, "Lord, you know these feelings of despair that I have been having lately, please take them away and fix my heart". Almost immediately, He said to my spirit "You don't need Me to fix your heart, you need to fix your heart on Me". Let me say that again "You don't need Me to fix your heart, you need to fix your heart on me". That's a powerful word. A word I needed to hear (and need to hear every day until I am raptured outta here). So, in addition to "For your glory", I am adding "Fix your heart on Me" to the list of phrases that I will be repeating over and over. I need to fix my heart on Him so my heart can be fixed completely. I was expecting Him to do all the work by giving me a quick fix, but He had something deeper in mind. Sometimes He allows trials in our lives in order to teach us. Maybe He has allowed these feelings of distress in order to teach me to fix my heart on Him.

I have so many thoughts rushing through my head about this subject and for the life of me, I just cant seem to make them into sensible sentences here in type. I hope what I have written makes some sort of sense even though it isn't written very eloquently (not that you expected eloquence from the Queen of Randomness - especially a Queen who is in a funk).

Hall of Faith

2008-10-06T13:04:00.000-04:00

Warning: This post contains a lot of scripture references. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed - I promise you can read them in just a couple of minutes. If you have time, please read them carefully (dont be a cheater! - cheaters never win and winners never cheat ;-).

From Hebrews 11

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Can you tell that my Bible study this week is on Faithfulness? I will admit that having or exhibiting faith is not always my strongsuit. I could go on and on about the subject of faith or lack thereof, but I really dont have time to do so right now. Hopefully, I will be able to flesh out my thoughts in a post later this week. But for now I want to ask you a question:

I wonder what sort of God-inspired achievement would come after our names if we were inducted into the Hall of Faith?

It is hard to imagine reading the words "By faith Beth..........." listed along side of heroes of the faith such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But, if we fulfill our purpose as believers, by faith we will do things that can only be done in His power.

Just a little something to think about today. By faith Beth.........

What will come after your name in the "Hall of Faith"?

Autumn At Oz

2008-10-04T17:06:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures of our day at Oz in Beech Mountain North Carolina (which is about 45 minutes from our house). This area is a ski resort town in the winter months, but for one weekend in October, it turns into The Land of Oz. There used to be a Wizard of Oz theme park here and it closed many years ago, but the town reopens that area every first weekend in October for a Land of Oz weekend and over 100,000 people come to participate. The hubs went to the theme park as a child and thought it would be neat to take the boys (ie. he wanted to relive his long lost childhood memories). I must have been deprived because I didn't even know the place existed --- in all fairness, I am MUCH younger than he is, so it could have been closed by the time I was old enough to go. Anyway, here are some pics (just a few out of the hundred I took) of our day. We had beautiful fall weather and clear blue skies.............

At the bottom of the mountain

The scarecrow and the boys

Glenda, the good witch and the boys

The boys and I trying to stand up in the house that was toppled by a Kansas twister....

We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country (in my humble opinion)

The whole Oz gang with a couple of flying monkeys named Lake and Kaden

We followed the yellow brick road

Beautiful view

The boys were a little scared when the Wizard's helper answered the door .......

Food is always an important part of our family outings!

We are NOT Wizard of Oz freaks (although we saw several people today that are). We actually rented the movie the other night to refresh our memories (our kids had never even seen it - I always thought it would scare them) we just thought it would be fun to take the boys to the Land of Oz for a little fall outing.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the wicked witch? Yeah, she really is dead.

The Pity Party is Over

2008-10-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

So, today was a much better day than yesterday - not without irritations, but much better. Thank you for your encouragement.....sometimes a girl just needs to hear that she is not the only one who has bad days straight from Sheol. I was in tears when I read the comment from my friend Angela. She is not a blogger, but a blog reader. We are in Sunday School together - her husband and my husband make a very scary combination as they are both quick to make fun of their wives --- alot! So, we are forced to take up for each other often - we mistreated wives have to stick together (it's a joke - we aren't really mistreated, but we do stick together). Anyway, after my rant from yesterday, her comment brought me down a notch or two (not that she meant to bring me down - actually quite the opposite).

You see, if anyone has a right to complain (and none of us really do - since anything above hell is grace) - Angela does. She has taken on the awesome responsibility of caring for 3 small babies (and I mean babies) in addition to her own 2 children. She and her husband have taken in these 3 children to raise them as their own so that they will grow up in a house filled with love. These children will come to know Jesus because of their sacrifice and they count it a privilege even though it comes with great challenge. They will grow up knowing Bible stories and singing songs about Jesus because Angela and her husband care enough to teach them. Because Angela and David care enough to pour themselves out, these kids will have God's Word on their tongues and hidden in their hearts. Who knows, one of those babies may just grow up to be a preacher of the Gospel .

Angela and her husband both work full time, so I know they are tired, but they are still at church every Sunday - she is one of Lake's children's choir teachers ( bless her). Will you pray for Angela and her family today? They need an extra measure of God's love and provision right now. She will be ever so grateful to know that people she does not even know are lifting her up.

So, from now on, no more whining and complaining about 'bad days' from me here on the old blog. My problems and annoyances are minimal compared to most. I think I will stick to my usual random thoughts with alot of Jesus mixed in.

Speaking of random thoughts (surely you didn't think I was through).............

So, I mentioned that we went to see Fireproof. All I can say is....GO SEE IT! You will love, love, love it! I would love to go see it again and will definitely buy it on DVD. At Christmas we always make "movie buckets" for the guys who work for my hubs. We buy a large popcorn bowl and fill it with microwave popcorn (for the people who still have microwaves unlike yours truly), candy, cokes and a movie. Last year we gave them "Facing the Giants" and next year (assuming it doesn't come out on DVD before Christmas this year) we will be giving the gift of Fireproof.

Tonight at AWANA it was "tin can line up" night. The kids bring cans of food to give to our local food bank and they line them up in rows to see which team brought the most cans. When Kaden asked me why we were taking food to church, I told him that we were taking it to give to people who are hungry. When we got to church, I noticed that he kept looking around and finally he said to me "Mommy, how do we know which ones are hungry?" It dawned on me that he was trying to figure out who to give his food to. He is hilarious.

So, the bailout bill passed. I should call my bank and see if they deposited any of it into my account.

The following is a list of things I am quite sick of: hearing about gay celebrities (ie. their names rhyme with Gay Bacon and Windsay Wohan), the senate bailout bill, television evangelists who knock people to the floor in order to "heal" them, television evangelists that show too much teeth and too little Jesus, Viagra commercials, anything that has to do with acai berry or hoodia, preachy self-righteous people, not having a microwave, Nancy 'I have come from the planet Nutso Freakazoid' Pelosi, $4 per gallon gas and everything pertaining thereto, my ample hips, building a house, people who are lazy, hearing about that guy who had a baby - don't even get me started, I could go on and on.......

Speaking of Nancy Pelosi, is it me, or does she always look like something is crawling up her pants leg while she is speaking? It is like someone/something has her scared half to death. Something about that woman makes me very ~~queasy~~ uneasy.

Did you hear that the woman who is going to moderate the VP debate is writing a pro-Obama book? Yeah, so much for fair and balanced, huh? I have to say that I hope Sarah Palin holds her own against Biden who is full of hot air ---AND LOUD!! VERY LOUD!!!!

Have I menitoned (today) that I would rather scrape every inch of skin off my body with a potato peeler than watch an episode of The View???

I have had 2 cups of coffee and 4 cups of green tea today........would have eaten some Ramen noodles (chicken flavor) if I had had time.......it is cold here in East TN. We are not used to these temps in the low 60's/high 50's. I actually saw people wearing winter coats this evening. I know you Michigan and Colorado girls are laughing, but we TN people don't do well in sub-60's weather. You know we don't even own snow shovels down here, right?

I am working at our school book fair tomorrow. They shouldn't really call them book fairs. They should be called "Spend Your Hard Earned Money on Junk You Don't Need" Fairs, because while there ARE a lot of books, the kids could care less about them. Most kids just want to buy the outrageously priced toys that are played with once and then end up in yard sales or the garbage.

Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone that was impossible to talk to? Yeah, I hate that. Not that I have experience or anything...........

So, Saturday we are going to the Land of Oz (dont laugh). We live near Beech Mountain, NC and every year they have what they call Autumn at Oz. There used to be a Wizard of Oz theme park there, but it closed and now they have a festival every year (I guess you could call it Ozfest --- some of you will get that and some will not). The actual characters from the original movie are there (are there any still alive?). Thousands and thousands of people come from all over the country to this thing....huh? No, really they apparently have nothing better to do. Anyway, when the hubs was little, he went to this theme park and has fond memories so he has begged me to take the boys since Lake was 2. I tried to keep from reminding hubs that it was coming up, but several people mentioned it to him, so we are going.......I like Beech Mnt --- when there is snow --- not sure about it in October. My boys have never even watched the Wizard of Oz - I always thought it was too scary for them (tornadoes, wicked witches, munchkins, poppy fields, not to mention the Wizard himself). I suppose I should rent the movie for them or they will have no idea what on earth we are doing. It is not our usual type Saturday outing.........Our neighbor went last year and he said it was really neat --- I am more than a little cynical, but willing to go since it means a day away from building a house and running errands. I will be sure to take lots of pictures as I know you will be waiting anxiously to see my children with the tin man.

Well, I suppose I have bored you enough (the two of you left reading - you had too much coffee today, huh?) It is now time for me to go fall asleep while watching the 11:00 news..........have I mentioned that I am not my best at 6 am ---- why cant school start around 10 am ????

Overwhelmed

2008-09-30T21:36:00.000-04:00

First of all, if you will notice, many of my favorite blogs have been inadvertently deleted from my sidebar. If you were on my sidebar and now you arent, do not take it personally....I will work on restoring the "I heart these blogs" section back to its original state ASAP (I might need a reminder if your blog isnt on the sidebar ;-).

*****Warning****This post is somewhat a stream of consciousness type post. Spelling and grammar have not been checked. Hopefully, a more lighthearted post will follow tomorrow assuming I have time and my attitude toward life is less stinky. Read at your own risk.

Today has been overwhelming. Nothing has gone the way I thought it would or should. Nothing has been convenient for me today. Nothing. If I told you all that has gone wrong, you would probably feel a measure of sympathy for me--maybe. Today was 'one of those days' and since around lunchtime, I have been frustrated beyond words--felt sorry for myself. I won't bore you with all the details, but let me just say that the BEST part of the day was when a delivery truck visiting the place next door ran into our utility pole and knocked out our cable/internet and telephone reception. I spent the whole afternoon trying to get service restored (which is much like banging one's head up against a brick wall or peeing into the wind). Cable is back in service, but telephone? Yeah, not so much. And that was the least irritating of the minor catastrophes.

I guess because my outlook on life is usually pretty good, days like today (when my outlook is stinking rotten) really bother me. I am not good at feeling defeated. Funny thing is that so many times today, I have said, "Lord, why me?". Oh, I haven't been diagnosed with some fatal illness and my kids are healthy - my troubles today have not been life altering, but they have been annoying and a huge a test of my patience.

I have thrown several pity parties today -- as with most of my pity parties, I was the only one in attendance --- well, me and satan. All pity parties are thrown in honor of satan whether we like to admit it or not. When self-pity takes over, so does the enemy. Remember how satan used my fear to keep me from worship on Sunday morning? Well, he used my frustration to take my eyes off Jesus and place them on my ugly circumstances today. Don't misunderstand me, I did not lose my temper today at all, but I did lose sight of Jesus---and I gave up some of my joy as an offering to the deceiver. I was almost in tears tonight because I felt so helpless and hopeless--- I rarely get to that point!!!

This evening during the pity party, the "Lord, why me's?" turned into "Lord, why not me's?". Do you know the 'Why not me's' of which I speak? They are the thoughts that say "Lord, why is she getting to serve you in such a huge way?" or "Lord, why is this sinful person so all-fired happy and successful?" OR "Lord, why does her life seem so easy and perfect?" or "Lord, why isn't it me who is making a big difference in Your Kingdom?"..........(insert your own "Lord, why not me? here). See, that's how satan works. He loves it when our minds wander and our hearts long for more (of anything besides Jesus). He sees your weaknesses and he plays on them --- then he twists and molds those weaknesses in our minds so that we see our problems as being bigger than our God.

I guess half the battle is knowing how the enemy works --- the other half is remembering that God wins.........no matter what happens, God is mightier than satan.......in EVERY circumstance.......time for bedtime prayers - What's on my prayer list? A new attitude, for satan to get behind me, getting rid of the "why me's?", getting rid of the "why NOT me's", and miraculous restoration of phone service...............

Not in This House, satan!!!!

2008-09-29T08:57:00.000-04:00

So, you guys remember that last week my microwave went up in burning flames, right? And I am sure you have heard the saying (or the rock song), "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone". True, so true. Sniff. You just don't realize how much you actually depend on a microwave until it is rendered completely useless by a blazing fire (that continues to make your kitchen stink to high heaven and our home smell like the Marlboro man lives here). How does one make popcorn or microwave meals without an actual microwave? Anyway, since the "Great Microwave Debacle of 2008", I have been somewhat paranoid of another fire occurring in our home. Don't know why, but apparently seeing the huge flames coming from my microwave has caused permanent and major trauma to my psyche (ie. that microwave fire really freaked me out).

Yesterday, on the way to church, I had a sinking feeling that I did not hit the 'off' button on my flat iron before I left (for my 3 men readers - that is a contraption that makes my frizzy hair not so frizzy anymore). We were almost to church when it occurred to me, so I didn't mention it to the hubs, because my flat iron has a handy dandy automatic shut-off that turns the iron off after 60 minutes......and that makes it safe, right? Maybe. During church I could not get my mind of the possibility of my house burning down while I was sitting in that pew. I actually got kind of nervous and anxious. When a person is nervous and anxious, she/he cannot truly worship or concentrate on what God is saying. The devil knows that, which is why he loved the fact that I was focusing my attention toward worry rather than focusing on Jesus.

John 10:10 tells us "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". Satan used fear (and a microwave fire) to steal my worship, kill my concentration, and destroy my peace yesterday. I allowed him to do it. He knows our weaknesses and you better bet that he will pounce on them. This is not the first time something like this has happened......At other times, I have allowed him to steal my joy, my confidence, my humility.................my witness. Sadly, I gave him free reign over my mind yesterday morning instead of giving Jesus freedom to rule and reign where He already resides. It is like I asked satan to come into Jesus' house and rule for the morning --- and of course he did so with great pleasure. The devil is a weasel like that - he loves to worm his way into your weak spots so that he can use fear to control your actions. He is the master of manipulation and all too often we are his best helper.

I wonder if there is some area of your life that you have allowed satan to come in and takeover. Is there some place in your life or your heart that you have let the devil de-throne Jesus and crown himself king ? It's an easy thing to do, but thankfully, it is also easy to undo, because while satan is the master of deceit, Jesus is the Master of forgiveness. It's time to show satan who is the ruler of your spiritual house.

Tonight, we are going with our church to see Fireproof....kind of ironic, huh?

Bully Thugs and a Meme

2008-09-26T08:12:00.000-04:00

So, I feel compelled to tell you about something that happened to me yesterday. Remember I told you that my Bible Study last week was about Patience? And remember I told you that satan must have known about it because he made sure my patience was tested every day in every possible way??? Yeah, well this week is about kindness/goodness. After last week, when I looked ahead at the subject matter, my first thought was 'this could get ugly'. And so it did.

I spent most of yesterday working at the new house loading trash and scraps of lumber to be hauled off (seriously, we could build a house with the waste leftover from this one!! What up wit dat?). Fortunately, I had to quit at 2:15 to go pick Lake up from school - saved by the bell literally. After picking Lake up, I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and to ~~give big oil execs every dime I had~~ get gas. I paid for my items and pointed my gas-guzzler toward the pumps. I pulled into pump #6 then waited for about 10 minutes until I finally realized that the person in the car in front of me was not coming back. So, I back up and pull behind the car at pump #4 . When I put my car in park to wait for the woman to finish pumping her gas, I noticed a car full of high school age ~~thugs~~ boys turning their car around to get into the same line as me (only they were in facing the front of her car and I was in line behind).

I noticed that they did not look like upstanding young men (there were cigarettes, tattoos, and just a general look of not niceness about them - I bet they have not been to Sunday School in years). So, when the lady in front of me moved out, I pulled up because I was next in line. The problem was that so did the ~~punks~~ boys in the other car - their beat up and dented Cavalier was heading right for the front of my car. I had to make a command decision - stop and give up my rightful place in the gas line OR keep going and stand up to the bullies. Well, not being one to back down (and it HAS gotten me into more than a little trouble at times) I kept going all the while hoping my airbag would not deploy when we hit (those airbags can cause you to have black eyes or worse -who needs that kind of trauma? Paying $100 for a tank of gas is trauma enough for anyone!)

When I finally came to a stop, I realized the boys had backed up, but the confrontation was far from over because driver boy was getting out and quickly stomping toward me . He was yelling every curse word, throwing his hands around like a nut, and calling me every name in the book (where are the real men who are willing to defend a lady when something like this happens -- I assume the real men must buy their gas elsewhere because there were none around while this boy threatened to kill me and everyone around watched). While he is railing at me, I continue to pump my gas and I politely tell him that I was there first. He got in my face and told me he was going to ram my ____ ____ ______car. The he said I will kill you _______. Lake was in the car listening to words he had never heard before (remember? 'fat', 'hate', 'stupid' and 'butt' are bad words at our house).

I have to admit that I was afraid that thug boy WOULD make good on his promise to ram my car with Lake in it - so there was more than a little anxiety on my part. But, he made me mad, and I threw my Bible study notes out the window --- I looked him in the eye and I said, "Are you threatening me? Are YOU THREATENING ME?????? I certainly hope you ARE threatening me, because I am calling the police" (as many of you know I have a THP Lieutenant on voice command speed dial ;-). I proceeded to get my cell phone out and the ~~blowhard bully coward~~ boy left (all the while yelling "I will get you ____"). Sure hope I don't meet up with him again, because I think he really would like to hurt me.

I was relaying the message to hubs when I got home and it occurred to me that I made a huge mistake (I mean a mistake other than replying to him with goodness and kindness). If I had it to do over again, when he came toward me cursing, I would have opened my eyes as wide as saucers, rushed toward him and said "I rebuke you satan, in the name of JESUS" --- I think that might have stumped him......maybe next time.

So Heidi has tagged me for a meme where I have to tell 6 random things about myself........Which isn't easy since I have told ya'll everything about me here , here, and here not to mention the complete randomness that is a day in the life of this blog, but I will try to come up with some new material....here goes:

#1. One time I paid $80 to have a lady wrap my whole body in wet rags that were supposed to make you lose inches in an hour. I went there in good faith that I would come out skinny, but I only came out wet and poor. The funny part is that after she got all the miracle rags pinned on my body, she told my I had to keep moving the whole hour or it wouldn't work. She turned on a TV and told me to keep moving. I stood in that room in front of a TV flailing my arms and legs around for an hour. I expected Alan Funt to come out and announce that I was on Candid Camera, but he never came -- a television appearance would have made the experience worthwhile, unfortunately, no Alan and no weight loss - and I was extremely tired from all the movement while being laden with heavy wet cloths.........yeah, fun times.

#2. When I visited the Statue of Liberty, I was coming down the steps from the very top of the torch and the very large man in front of me got stuck. His hips were too wide for the small staircase - I will never understand how he got up there in the first place! Anyway, I started getting claustrophobic because the people behind me were freaking out, so after about 30 minutes of being trapped behind him, I asked if he could sit down and let me climb over him...........he did and I am sure he finally made it out --- we would have heard about him on the news if he didn't. He was a very nice man - you get to know people when you are in a crisis together.

#3. When I was little and people would ask what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would always say "Cocktail Waitress".

#4. I never take a bath. I always take a shower. There is something kind of gross to me about soaking in a tub of my own filth. I prefer to stand and have my body dirt go directly down the drain rather than laying in a pool of it.......and for those of you who were wondering....No, I would never get into a public hot tub (float in a pool of other people's sweat - are you kidding me?) and I actually do have a slight problem with public pools. If I don't like to swim in my own filth, you can only imagine how much I despise swimming in the filth/possible disease of others.

#5. Yesterday I had to use the "Jobsite Johnny" that we have at our new house......or as I like to call it, "The $80 per Month Outhouse". I have a fear of Porta-Johns. I am always afraid of a snake being down in the bottom. I only use them when it is a complete necessity. So, yesterday, after drinking a large sweet tea from Pal's, I walked into it, opened the lid, held my breath - (see next random thing for explanation) and looked into the dark hole. I would rather die than sit on the seat of a portable/public toilet, so I tried to stand up and do what needed to be done. Sadly, a minute and a half later, as I walked out of that scary lavatory, I noticed that my socks were wet. The moral of this story? Go ahead and sit on the seat of a porta potty or you will end up peeing in your own socks..............hey!! the meme asks for random things about yourself -- it doesn't get any more random (or real) than that!!!! I should at least get some points for honesty.

#6. When I smell something bad I hold my nose and blow air out my mouth for fear that the bad smell will enter my body through one orifice or another. I have done it since I was little and cannot seem to stop this odd behavior even in my old age.........speaking of old age, one of the young guys (he's 22) that is working on our house paid me a compliment the other day (kinda). I met he and his girlfriend while I was working at our car wash and a few days later he told me that his girlfriend said that she hoped she looks as good as me when she is up in her thirties........(ie. She thinks I look good for an elderly woman) .....My husband is 42 and I am 35, so I always joke with him about being old.....when he heard what she said, I thought he would fall over laughing ----- and he will not let me live it down -- EVER!

Okay, I'm off to work on being Good and Kind!!! Hopefully I will be a quick learner on this one - I can't take many more "life lessons" like I have had lately ;-)~

Okay Heidi, are you happy, you have made me scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with 6 random things about myself and now I have completely embarrassed myself and ruined my good/kind reputation in the blogging community.....if my readership declines, it will be all your fault!!! hhahahahahaa

Lunch, Fire, Gas, Etc.

2008-09-23T09:35:00.000-04:00

***UPDATED - We ran in to my sister at Cheddar's where we were eating today and had her take a couple of pictures - Cassie is really not that short (well, actually we both are short) - I had some "elevated shoes" on. We had a fun time catching up and talking about our families and such -- hope we can do it again! (Next time we really should color coordinate our outfits though, cause we clash terribly in these pictures).

Today I am going to lunch with my fellow blogger and friend Cassie. She and I went to high school together (I went to middle school and high school with her husband). I remember in high school (yes, I can remember back that far, yet I have a hard time remembering what happened yesterday) all James ever talked about was Cassie. He told everyone that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world and that he was going to marry her someday. She is beautiful and he did marry her. Go check out her blog and see their beautiful family. Cassie is also a part-time photographer. She takes great pictures and has a website for her photography business - check it out too.

When we made our plans to have lunch, Cassie said that we need to bring our cameras and take pictures to post on our blogs. If it were anyone else, I would be excited about that, but the problem is that Cassie has one of those fancy cameras with all the bells, whistles and long things sticking out of it. I, on the other hand, still have the Easy Share (aka. photography for Dummies). We'll see how it goes, I might take the old Kodak and give her fancy Nikon a run for its money (or I might just keep it in my purse out of embarrassment ;-). Either way, I hope I will have some pictures to post later this evening.

Speaking of Dummies, I almost burned our house down on Monday night. The hubs was refereeing a ballgame and I was home with the kids (that, by the way, is the story of our lives from August to November). It was almost 9 pm so I knew he would be home soon, so I figured I better go ahead and fix his dinner. I had made steak, salad, and baked potatoes for lunch on Sunday, so he was going to have the leftovers. I placed the baked potato in plastic wrap and put it on a "Microwave Safe" plate (yeah right) and punched the handy dandy button that says "Baked Potato" --- doesn't take a rocket scientist to do that, right? Wrong. I had promised the boys I would watch the Nickelodeon hit show "My Family Has Guts" with them (don't really know if it is a 'hit show', but I thought I would add that part for emphasis and importance), so I left the potato ~~burning to a crisp~~ baking and went into the den to sit with them for a few minutes.

When hubs came to the door about 4 minutes later, I heard the smoke alarm going off. I would love to say it is very unusual for him to come home and hear the smoke alarm, but the truth is that it happens quite often at our house (what am I Sara Lee?). Anyway, this time there was black smoke (that IS unusual - well kinda) and huge blue flames coming out of our microwave. I just stood there and screamed while hubs (the quick thinker of the family) doused the flames with water. After the fire was out, the smoke detector continued to go off for about 20 minutes. At first, our house smelled like a combination of hot ashes and burnt popcorn, but, now it simply smells like a chain smoker lives here and apparently no amount of Lysol or Oust can change that. The microwave is a Kenmore product, so I called Sears to see if there is a recall (ie. can you please give us a new microwave because the one you sold us is whack?). Apparently, since it is almost 9 years old, there is nothing they can do.........there goes $300+ out the window and until I get a new one, I will cooking like the pioneer women of old (well on the actual stove and in the actual oven - ugh) - Double Dern! This event will go down in family history as "The Great Potato Debacle of 2008" or "The Night the Lights Went Out in the Microwave".

Did I mention that my Bible study this week is on "Patience"???? Yeah, well satan must have heard what I was studying because he has tried to test me like Job this week in EVERY area of my life (including the area of microwave cooking). And, sadly, I have to admit that there have been times he has gotten the best of me and sent my patience out the window (and ya'll, I didn't have much patience to start with). Have you ever noticed that when satan seeks to tear you down, he enlists other people to help him? Yeah, the microwave ain't the only thing I have lost my patience with this week. I figured since I was confessing, I might as well give you the whole ugly truth (don't want to add being a liar to my list of sins this week - the list is long enough already).

Did you know that Wal-Mart does price matching? For instance, if I see cantaloupes at another grocery store for a $1, then I can go to my friendly Wal-Mart cashier and tell her then she will give me that same price. All I have to do is say "I read that Food City has cantaloupes for a dollar" and poof! that is what I pay for them at Wal Mart too. I was wondering if I went to the Wal-Mart gas pump and said, "I read that Iraq has gas for 39 cents a gallon", do you think they would give me that price as well? Just a thought.

For you parents, I strongly suggest that you DO NOT play soccer with your man child while wearing flip flops. Just thought I would throw that out there. Consider it a Public Service Announcement brought to you by mom's with band-aids on their toes.

Lindsay Lohan and Clay Aiken both say they are gay --- sadly I am not surprised by either. I predict she will head back into the closet and turn from her choice of gayness in a couple of years. (Kaden calls her Windsay Wohan - he saw her on Herbie Fully Loaded). Have you guys heard that song on Christian radio named "Britney"? I like it. Maybe we should write to Bebo Norman and see if he has a song named "Lindsay" in the works.

Today was See You At The Pole Day, where students all over the country meet at their school's flag pole to pray. I was glad to see at least a third of the students and many parents from Lake's school at their flag pole this morning. The Bible tells us in Samuel how God chose to speak to a boy instead of the priest. We know that Jesus used a boy's lunch to feed thousands. 1 Timothy 4:12 tells us not to look down on those who are young, but to encourage them.......The Bible is full of references to children, yet we downplay their role in the Kingdom. God has a special place in His heart for kids. We get so caught up in our own lives and ministries that we sometimes forget that kids have a ministry too and it's our job to help them grow in their ministry. Lake's kindergarten teacher always says that kids learn best from other kids. If that is true, then who better to tell a child about Jesus than another child.....peer pressure is not always bad.

Last night, Steve and I saw a man on TV who looked just like a kid off the cartoon Fat Albert. Do you all remember him? Do you remember this song----" You'll have a good time with me and all the gang, learnin' from each other why we do our thang.....Lalala gonna have a good time ---HeyHeyHey". I wonder why you never see that in reruns? That was a fun show - guess it isnt too politically correct to have a show with the word "Fat" in the title. We dont even allow our kids to say the word 'Fat' because I am afraid that they will see an overweight person (maybe me) and say the f-word out loud. My kids know 'fat' as a 'bad word'.......we are gonna keep it like that for as long as possible.

I suppose that is enough random boredom for you for one day......I might update with some pictures later --I might even get Cassie to take a new profile picture of me so I can get rid of that joke on the top left hand side of my sidebar----I know you will be waiting on the edge of your seat for that to happen.

Not So Short But Sweet (Real Sweet)

2008-09-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

So, this past Friday and Saturday, the hubs and I worked at our new house from what we in the South call "from can to can't" (only it sounds more like 'cain to cain't' when we say it). While hubs spent most of the day on the tractor (yes, we have a tractor - it is TN, what did you expect?), yours truly spent my time loading 2x4's, blocks (cinder, not lego), rocks (think Gibraltar), raking gravel and spreading mulch. Does anything sound amiss to you? Yeah, he got the sweet end of the deal. I have to say that my lower back protests every time I stand up or sit down and is in definite need of a trip to the chiropractor. Needless to say, I am walking with a little hitch in my 'git along'. A girl shouldn't lift 80 lb bags of mulch (18 bags to be exact) all by herself even if she IS trying to make hay while the sun shines. We did make a lot of progress even though I might be crippled for life. Sometimes ya gotta take it in the chin (back) for the greater good of the family (IE. we did all this stuff to keep from having to pay someone else to do it - we're cheap like that, but hard workers nonetheless).

The weather in East TN this weekend has been absolutely beautiful (the football? not so pretty, but that is another post entirely). Even with all the hard, back-breaking work we did, we were not miserably hot, because there was a constant breeze and the Lord saw fit to clear away the humidity. Saturday evening, while I was waiting on hubs to put his tractor away and lock the house up, I sat in the garage and prayed over the house. Probably not the prayers you would expect, but I prayed for everything concerning that house. One thing I said during the prayer was "God, let everything we do in this house or associated with this house bring you glory". When I said that, it was as if God turned on a light for me. It was as if He highlighted those words for me and I kept saying "Bring You Glory" over and over again and each time I said it, I had a new understanding of what they meant. I have asked many, many times for my actions or words to bring Him glory, but this time He really made it clear to me that bringing Him glory is my one true calling.

As I prayed there in that garage, an old idea became a new realization. When I do everything to bring Him glory, the pressure is lifted from me. If I am living, breathing, acting, doing, speaking, and loving for God's glory, then every heavy load I carry is placed on His shoulders (and they are the only shoulders that can bear up under all the weight). When I live for His glory, the focus is placed on Him -- I have done my part and the rest is up to Him. My goal in everything I do should be to place Him in the spotlight. Oh, I may fail by the world's standards, but my purpose in Him is to bring Him glory. Even in the small, everyday, mundane things of life, my calling is to bring Him glory....it's the purest purpose of every Christ-follower.....His glory.

Some of you are reading this and thinking, is she just figuring this out? Maybe. It is something that I have known in my head for years, but I think I might have really gotten it this time...sitting in an unfinished garage of all places. It is one thing to know something in your head, and a completely different thing to know it in your heart. Some things are learned with our human understanding and some things are simply God-taught. This is a God-teaching moment for me.

The phrase "for His glory" keeps running through my mind and I keep saying it and praying it over and over. Have I failed at bringing Him glory before? Yes. Will I fail at it in the future? Yes, but at least now I have a firm grasp on the concept and hopefully, I have reminded you today of what you already knew.....your purpose in everything you do or say is to bring Him glory. Take a few minutes and say to the Lord, "For Your glory" over and over and see if it impacts your day today......I bet it will ;-).

1 Chronicles 16:29
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

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