random

So many things rolling around in my head tonight... weird job interview this morning (I'm looking for p/t work)... tired of whiny child-talk this afternoon (why I'm looking for p/t work - just kidding!! the reason, is of course, money :-)... humidity-induced sinus pressure evening... sooo thankful & feeling the need to "praise up" my blessings after just reading Especially Heather's blog late tonight. I'll dwell on the latter one, since no one wants to hear about whiny children or headaches! :-)



Ok, now that I've been staring at a blinking cursor for a few minutes, I'll try and form words for my thoughts. What an incredible witness Heather is. I pray that the Lord will use her testimony to bring others to Him. Even though it seems as the past few years have been "Job-like" (check out the book of Job in the Bible) in her life, Heather's blog is filled with the hope that she finds in Jesus. My human/flesh wants to cry out "why?" Why would one family have to endure so much? A daughter with a rare disease, only to be topped with cancer this year for herself. Heather goes on to share that these trials have brought her closer to God - that they have made her cling to Him. How hard it is to praise Him despite the storm, but I lift my hat to Heather for doing just that.

Talking about everyone now; this statement is not about Heather's life, but rather my own and others... it's amazing how we need God so close during the trials and forget Him when He's raised us up out of the valley. I recently have been lifted out of a valley and feel the pull to forget about my Bible and prayer time for the day because life is going "smoothly." What a shame: that idea/thought is exactly what Satan wants and what I so desperately need to resist! The truth is that we NEED God all the time. Without His grace, His wisdom, His mercy, His faithfulness (I could go on and on) life would be full of despair and hopelessness.

I really am quite tired tonight so I'm not sure if this post is coming out clearly, but I want to say thank you to Heather for pointing out my daily need for God, despite life's either "smooth" or "quicksand" circumstances. Let's praise Him when things are good and thank Him for being near when things are bad!

contest

Mrs. U at Making a House a Home is having a contest. She's blogged for one year and is now giving things away to celebrate! How's that for a wonderful-backwards birthday party :-) Check it out!

blog principles

Wow, what a neat idea - check out Katherine at Raising Five. She's got a great list of "blogging principles." Thanks, Katherine, for motivating me to write my list to all my new/one-day readers:

1. Hello – Welcome! Just as I'd love to chat w/ you at my home or on the phone, you're welcome here at my blog. I love hearing comments and also spend a lot of time giving out comments of my own on fellow-blogger sites.

2. Honor – I want to honor God and my family and all new friends/visitors that visit my blog. I ask for you to honor me as I will also try to honor you if I comment on your site.

3. Honesty – I aim to tell you my honest thoughts... sometimes random, sometimes funny, sometimes sobering, sometimes plain-life boring, and sometimes I even hope to step on some toes as a challenge.

teens

My heart just breaks for the youth today. I spent time, after leading a "small group" of seventh grade girls at church tonight, chatting w/ a recent high school grad about the pressures kids face at school today. Pot/marijuana use is so common-place today for teens. I remember the alcohol and relationship pressures, but as an almost-30 year old now, drug use while I was in school was still pretty taboo. It's heartbreaking to think that real life must be so horrible that kids use drugs to escape it. I mean, I too enjoy "escaping reality," but I usually do it in the form of reading a book. Although, I guess my weakness is still a weakness that should be kept under check, for example, if I read to avoid my responsibilities as a mom/wife, then I am sinning just as much as the student taking drugs. However, the addictive powers of drugs and alcohol is scary. Not only does a student have to stand their moral ground and say no to alcohol and sex, they have to make the choice to turn down drugs.
Father God, help these students to walk in Your ways, to be firm in their faith, to trust that You are all they need to be made whole, & to be content w/ Your reality. For those that don't know You, may then find Your arms to be their saving grace.

fellow blogger's contest

Addicted to ribbons like I am? Have a darling daughter that wears bows in her hair? Then head over to "Trust in the Lord" check out this contest! Adorable hair ribbons from Love-Me-Knots!!

power of a thunderstorm

Ever notice how powerful storms can be? You can hear their approach with the distant thunder, eventually see flashing of lightening, then comes the rain. Sometimes we can miss the first two if we aren't paying attention or are distracted by the tv or music in the background. However, when it starts pouring rain, we inevitably notice it's raining! That reminds me of the storms of life, as well. Sometimes we think we've got everything under control, but don't notice the thunder or lightening creeping up on us. It's not till we're totally drenched that we realize, "Man - I'm wet! When did it start raining? I'm not prepared - I don't have an umbrella or jacket." Or, in spiritual/life terms, "When did things start start going downhill? How did I get into trouble?"
I urge you to stand alert - keep ears and eyes open for the storms of life. "Pray unceasingly" for wisdom to avoid the storms. But, when they come, "take heart for He (Jesus) has overcome the world!" (John 16:33)

quotes that make you go hmmm

"Let God be God. Trust God without terms."
"His throne is above the world and outside of time. He is the everlasting God."
-taken from LifeOvers, by Gracie Malone

This last quote goes w/ my verse of the month (see sidebar).

Sometimes it's hard to turn our problems up to God. Sometimes we cling to problems, thinking (foolishly) that we can handle them, that we have the solution. But, this only leads to more "quicksand" thinking. If we don't give our problems or even our day-to-day to God, then we'll be pulled down deeper into selfishness. We'll start relying on ourselves and eventually getting into bigger messes. We'll think ourselves higher than God and that is perhaps the most foolish thought of all. So today, I encourage you to pray, to talk to God about what's going on in your life. Ask for His guidance and wisdom.

farding?

Gotta give a laugh out to Nan, from Life is Like a Lunchbox. She posted a funny post about "farding." I won't ruin it by giving away the definition - go check out her blog, then come back here and post a comment about it.

the "creativity patch"

How fun! If you need to boost your creativity, check out the "Creativity Patch!"

blogging options

There are so many options and things out there for blogger - I am just so not html saavy to understand most of it! I have found a great beginner blogger site.
So, I guess for now, we'll stick w/ this generic looking template and hope to be able to upgrade in the future! Anyone have any tips on blogging sites that are good for beginners? Thanks!

finished book

Well, Desperate Pastor's Wives (the book - see my sidebar) was pretty good - - I think it showed that pastors/families are real just like the rest of the world, having our own share of problems. If anything, Satan's gonna try harder to attack our fams. b/c they have the ability to impact so many lives. The above-all theme is that God is still supreme and by His grace and peace, these pastors wives find the strength to work through their problems. Facing trials today? Pray them up!

in the blogging world

Well, here goes - trying out this blog thing just like the millions of others out there!