Hahaha...and/or...Ow!

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.


The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. While in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him."

"I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

This is Getting Dangerous!

I wonder if anyone has truly considered the full implications of an overly mild winter. Do we all understand that air-borne viruses are going to breed and mutate - making illnesses much worse than necessary? And how about the little bugs hibernating in the ground? Any eggs that were laid - ants, fleas, the like - will not die over a mild winter. Oh no my friends. They will hatch right on schedule and infest our lives with their foul, evil existence.

Do you not see? Do you not comprehend? We need at least 10 days of bitterly cold weather. We need SNOW!

Copy Cat

I saw this somewhere else and thought it was funny, so I thought I'd post it here. Yeah, I'm a copy cat!

It's All Good

Given the haphazard nature of my posts lately, one could correctly assume that I am picking up perceptions from all over the place! To use "Christianese" (which I try to avoid most of the time), God is talking to me from a lot of different sources all at the same time. The book You, my everso slow reading of Job using The Message's translation, the Joyce Meyer devotional I picked up in January, dreams, prayers, my writing, and people both here and in other cities who include but are not limited to Christians. Of those who are Christ-followers, some attend my church and some do not.

Being able to see a bigger picture is new to me. I'm typically a "here and now" person. I told someone that I feel as though I'm seeing a panoramic shot of my life and other things for the first time. Some of it has been a little scary. Some of it has been painful, but mostly it has been seriously cool.


I just hope when the time comes I'll be able to put all of the pieces together in the right order.

Lyrics

Just a singin’ a gospel song today
Get ready to send the years
Of guilt and shame away
The years of failing
The years of nailing up yourself
To a cross you can’t bear
That’s why He was there


What a beautiful day
When He washed all our sins away
What a beautiful day



By grace you have been saved
By grace you have been saved
By grace you have been saved
By grace through faith




Even the faith I have to sing
Halle, halle, hallelujah to my King
It’s freely given
That I might not boast in myself but Him



Can’t sing it enough
Say it enough
Play it enough
When will I get it
I can’t earn it
And no I don’t deserve
Can’t say it enough

Wishy - Washy

Talk about an up-and-down 24 hours! Good grief. Somebody stop the world, I wanna get off! I was feeling fine a few moments ago...and now another small 'crash'. Maybe I should go into detail...as if you really want to read it all! lol...

Andy and I watched "The Notebook" last night. Yeah, silly sentimental movies...I had seen it before but he hadn't. There were some things I forgot about the movie that hit me very hard with this viewing. I can't believe I almost let us go. It may be hard for some of you to understand, but deep in my heart of hearts, I know the type of love Andy & I share is the one depicted between Allie and Noah. Amazing how a work of fiction can have such profound truths. The movie did inspire conversation between Andy and me - good conversation that created warm fuzzies.

And so I woke up this morning very much in love and at peace with my little corner of the world. We lingered a little because we woke up early. Then, wardrobe & hair issues threatened to crowd and cloud my morning with negativity as I got ready for church, but I was successful in my attempts to brush those silly things aside - as they are very small in the grand scheme of things. And then....

my phone rang. The news on the other end was not good. In and of itself it really wasn't all that bad, but when one takes a panoramic view...of which I seem to have the ability lately...it was just a bit much for me. I didn't waste any time. I sought prayer today during the ministry time at church and experienced peace about the decisions that have to be made and even what those decisions need to be. Good, huh? I was able to shake it off by the time 2nd service rolled around - so yeah...God was good to me. Did you expect less?

After church I put on tonight's chili and then Andy and I went to Blockbuster, where we rented five movies. (Hey, I had a coupon!) Then it was off to Panera Bread to get some asiago cheese bagels for my breakfasts this week, and then...Coldstone for some decadently rich chocolate ice cream. (You can thank Beth for that!) The afternoon has been quiet to the point of napping. Nice, huh?

Until a few moments ago when I stumbled upon a comment that really hurt. The comment was not intended to hurt anyone. It was not even intended for me. But I saw it nonetheless and it stung. I hold no hard feelings toward the person who made the comment. Unintentionally painful stuff like that is part of life. I just need to learn how to process it more quickly.


And lest we forget, we have yet to see even a flake of snow this "winter." There is something seriously wrong with that!

*Whew* I feel better now. Don't you??? lol...

And the Peace Finally Arrives

I'm happy today. It is not an effervescent, energetic type of joy. Rather, I am content and at peace. I prefer this type of happiness to the other, as it is deep-seated and longer lasting.

The day started wonderfully. Usually when we wake up Andy and I hop up and start our day. Today, I asked him to linger with me. We cuddled and had some conversation. It was only 20 minutes but the fact that he would stay with me touched my heart.


We've done our typical Saturday thing: breakfast at Bojangles and then grocery shopping. The sun (please note the snow picture) is shining beautifully today. I've been out in it, tending to my pansies and talking with Andy about his latest project. Oh - the pansies that did a face plant due to windy conditions have miraculously survived!


(I did not take the picture on the right.) The squirrels - sometimes 4 of them at once - and the birds have been at the feeders and I've spent some time this afternoon with a kitty on my lap.

It is the simple things that make it seem like all is right with the world.

You Might be a Redneck if...

..you are driving around in your bright blue Dodge Ram truck with a full-sized Pittsburgh Steeler football helmet as a hood ornament.

Yes, I actually witnessed that very thing today. I quickly told Andy, "I want Pittsburgh to win, but I'm not going to be obnoxious about it....at least, not until SuperBowl Sunday."

*blush*

This Morning Andy Saw...

..a big fat robin on my pansies. I don't know about anyone else, but I remember being taught that catching sight of a robin meant spring is on its way. Now wait just a cotton pickin minute! Phil hasn't been drug out of his ground hog hole, yet! What could a silly bird know that Phil doesn't?? Personally, I think the robin was confused.

However, I am starting to lose heart. My optimism is fading. My hope is all but gone. It is just a good thing I am very stubborn. I still want snow!

I understand the picture at the left is of ice, not snow. Do you see the stupid birds? Well, maybe I am as intelligence challenged as they are - I go out in that weather and feed them!

My practical-minded Andy brought up a very good point: With fuel and energy costs being so high, it is a good thing we've had a mild winter. I agreed with him, mentioning that it could be considered merciful. So some good has come of this overly warm season.

Aw...who'm I trying to kid? I WANT SNOW!!

Out of the Abundance of the Heart...

...the mouth speaks.

No, this isn't about the use of colorful metaphors. This is another one of those 'teachable thoughts' that has been popping into my head. I am looking forward to working this one out. And seeing as it is rare that I can keep my thoughts to myself, I will probably post them here.

Oh happy day, lucky you!

It is Cold...

but of course it is also DRY.

Desperately Seeking

This is a call for help. It has been over 24 hours since my counseling session and I still cannot shake the after effects. Yesterday's talk with the therapist led to that wonderful thing - guilt - and its partner in crime, self-blame.

Most of the feelings are over things that I see as failures in my past that I cannot do anything about. There's no fixing, redoing, or rebooting. I just have to deal with what I believe to be wrongdoings and get over them, as do the people I think I've wronged...whether I've really wronged them or not.

And then there is the guilt and self-blame over things in the present and my feelings about things that are looming in my future. I feel as though my emotions are selfish to the extreme. That makes me a failure. That makes me less than perfect. It makes me wrong. Therefore, I should feel guilty.

The mind is a terrible thing. . .and it must be stopped. . .in our lifetime. . .before it kills somebody. I am desperately seeking peace. Please pray that I will experience a release of this pain of unnecessary guilt. Please pray that I will receive an infusion of the peace that only He can give. Please pray. Thanks.

You: The Next Chapter

Remember, direct quotes are in italics. And for ease of reading & deciphering which are Young's words and which are mine, I'll change the color when I interject my own thought.


We saw in chapter 3 that we can derive our self-esteem from one of three sources: from God, from others, or from ourselves. It is our choice [but]if we choose to build our self-esteem from others or from ourselves, we're choosing a very limited, narrow perspective. Let's see what God says about us - how He feels about His children:

What is man that you are mindful of him,
The son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned him with glory and honor
And put everything under his feet?
In putting everything under him,
God left nothing that is not subject to him. Heb 2:6b-8a NIV

If we could look through God's eyes into our heart of hearts, many of us would see a huge pile of cheap, flimsy paper crowns representing the worldly things that have failed to give our lives meaning and purpose. We waste our lives trying on these paper crowns trying to look good for others, elevating ourselves in the corporate world, or obtaining as much stuff as we possibly can, thinking those crowns will give us the confidence we so desperately crave.


The truth of the matter is this: If we opt to take our self-esteem cues from God amazing things will start to happen in our lives. Too many of us miss out on the real deal - the crown of dignity, beauty, and significance [that] God has tailor-made for each person.

God's process for rebuiling a damaged self-esteem is not instantaneous or easy. It takes work on our part. Achieving supreme self-esteem is a three-step process: (1) opening up to the truth, (2)asking for help, and (3) diving into God's best. Opening ourselves up to God and allowing Him to speak the truth into our lives is scary! Things are often revealed that are painful to face. But by doing it, the pain will eventually go away - not just be dulled or numbed.


We need to close the fictional books that are full of the words of others, status seeking, and other stuff. We've been relying on them for our self-worth rather than turning to the one book of reality; the Bible. It is time to open up & subject ourselves to and rely on the evidence found in God's Word concerning who we are and how much we matter.

The idea is to review the overwhelming evidence of God's love so that we will be able to reject the harmful myths from our past and believe the truth; that we matter more to God than we could ever fathom. Consider the parables in Luke 15, where Jesus speaks about a lost object and the owner's joy once the object is found: the shepard who loses and then finds one of his 100 sheep, a woman who loses one of 10 coins and rejoices when the coin is back in her possession, and the story of The Prodigal Son.

Through these stories, Jesus is saying that we are like the sheep, coin, and the son. We matter to Him. We are lost, but what rejoicing takes place in heaven when we're found! It is up to us to believe the truth of God's Word which tells us so many different ways that we matter to Him. The other option is to believe the lies we've heard. Receiving and believing the truth about ourselves is the foundation for the next level of the building process, which is help.

It is my hope that I will soon be ready to dive into the truth, leaving the lies I've believed about myself far behind me.

Would There be Any Harm...

..in a sprinkling, a slight covering, a mere dusting of snow??

I didn't think so.

Job - The Introduction Part II

Then there are Job's friends. The moment we find ourselves in trouble of any kind people start showing up telling us exactly what is wrong with us and what we must do to get better. At first we are impressed that they bother with us and amazed at their facility with answers. They know so much! These people use the Word of God frequently and loosely. They are full of spiritual diagnosis and prescriptions. It all sounds so hopeful. But then we begin to wonder, "Why is it that for all their apparent compassion we feel worse instead of better after they've said their piece?"

The book of Job is also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or "answers" [Boy, do I like that statement!]. Many of the answers that Job's so-called friends give him are technically true. But is it the "technical" part that ruins them. They are answers without personal relationships, intellect without intimacy. The answers are slapped onto Job's ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle.

In every generation there are men and women who pretend to be able to instruct us in a way of life that uarantees that we will be "healthy, wealthy, and wise." According to the propaganda of these people, anyone who lives intelligently and morally is exempt from suffering.

On behalf of all of us who have been misled by the platitudes of the nice people who show up to tell us everything is going to be just all right if we simply think such-and-such and do such-and-such, Job issues an anguished rejoinder. He rejects the kind of advice and teaching that has God all figured out, that provides glib explanations for every circumstance [I like that, too!]. Job's honest defiance continues to be the best defense against the cliche's of positive thinkers and the prattle of religious small talk.

The honest, innocent Job is placed in a setting of immense suffering and then surrounded by the conventional religious wisdom of the day in the form of speaches by his friends. The counselors methodically and pedanticaly recite thier bookish precepts to Job. At first Job rages in pain and roars out his protests, but he then becomes silent in awestruck faith before God, who speaks from out of a storm of Deity. Real faith cannot be reduced to spiritual bromides and merchandised in success sotries. It is refined in the fires and storms of pain [Darn Tootin!].

There is content to biblical religion. It is the secularization of answers that is rejected-answers severed from their Source, the living God, the Word that both batters us and heals us. We cannot have truth about God divorced from the mind and heart of God.

[More to come!]

Just a Taste...

All I want is a taste. Just a little taste...of snow. Is that too much to ask?

Counseling

There are times when I really hate going to counseling. Sometimes the sessions are so difficult I walk out of there feeling like I've been sucked into a black hole of denied emotion and guilt feelings never to return to the land of the "normal." I'm so drained I want to cry, but don't have the energy. These sessions leave me totally weary and tired of life.

So as I was driving home, trying to concentrate on that task rather than giving in to being a quivery lump of emotion with hands that tremble so hard that it is difficult to grasp the steering wheel, I prayed for myself. I don't do that often, but I was in desperate need. The only word I remember in that prayer is the word, "Mercy."

And then this song came over my stereo:

She hides her face, it seems too good. For Your embrace to find her and say my dove, "your voice is sweet, show me your form..your form is lovely." No ear has heard a melody as sweet as Yours for her. It seems too good, so undeserved. My heart faints now, for we are her...Your mercy reigns, Your mercy comes. Your mercy falls, it rises with the sun. It's new every morning..It's good enough for me.

His mercy is good enough for me...and will sustain me until the pain of the past few hours subsides.
I am waiting for hope to spring up again. While I do, this song is playing:

He will allure her; He will pursue her, And call her out to wilderness with flowers in His hand. She is responding, beat up and hurting, deserving death but offerings of life are found instead.

Here in the valley, walk close beside me. Don't look back. For love is growing vineyards up ahead. You have called me Master and though you're in the dark here, Call me Friend. And call me lover and marry me for good.

How the story ends is love and tenderness in Him. Not safe, but worth it. So in the valley's up ahead or the ones we live, We'll sing together; we'll sing together

We will sing
We will sing
Oh, to You.
We will sing as in the days of youth.
As You lead us away to valleys low
To acres of hope;
Acres of hope