Day 4

Kenny got headgear today. It has brought back many unpleasant memories. I imagine I'll get used to it but today it just bugging me.

I've been reading (yet another) book about Mormonism. This a fictionalized account of Ann Eliza Young one of Brigham Young's many wives. She really did write an expose of the marriage and traveled the US lecturing against polygamy. It also has a murder mystery set in present day in a Fundamentalist compound.

The book is stuck in my head and all I want to do read it. I find the Mormon faith fascinating. I know it's a cult but the question remains why do so many people believe it? Why would anybody not demand proof of golden tablets (that Joseph Smith found) only 150 years ago? How can you trust a God that can change his mind tomorrow? Like he did with Black people and polygamy.

Cult or Different Belief System?

Good Eats

We ate at Lytle Land & Cattle and Company Saturday night and I wanted to write about the most excellent thing.

Vegetable Bobs. They are really kabobs and they were so good. I think I can skip the potato next time and have two of these.

One more thing. When will Drug Emporium join the 21st century and allow me to use my credit card?

Cookies, Anyone?

We're selling Girl Scout cookies now! We went to pick up 10 boxes yesterday - this is the first time they've given boxes and you take orders, too. I knew that I could sell these cookies. I knew that they would be gone but how?

First, I put it on Facebook that I would have them at church. Then I intended to open up the back of my van and sell out it. (My plan did not include counterfeit watches and purses but it did tend that way.)

Yes, I grew up that selling in the church was a no-no. But, if you review the account of the moneychangers in the Bible, the moneychangers were taking advantage of the out-of-towners. We had no intention of making any money - Abbie just wants all the "incentives."

Without too much trouble, we sold 50 boxes!! It has turned into a family affair, for sure! We had a couple of people just giving money! Thanks for that - we'll put that right to our troop.

I hope we didn't offend anybody but we're having fun!

Genetic Quirkiness?

Kenny had a sleepover last night at the church building. A bunch of Tween boys running around the children's wing (classrooms locked) with Nerf guns.

Bless the mom and dad that was there with them while they didn't sleep a wink.

But that meant I had to pick Kenny up at 7:00 am (7 to 7, see how that works.) Of course, my weird son (like his mom) had to shower before going to sleep.

Driving at that hour also meant I saw the moon going down. The moon was super bright and huge! I was amazed by the sight of it.

This is what I found when I got home.

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There has been much said to me about not posting here. I have decided to post every day for the next 21 days. That's until January 31. It may not be alot and it may not be exciting but it will be something!

Enjoy.

Abbie's Christmas Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for letting Santa live so long so he could bring toys to children all over the world for your Son's birthday.

Kinda says it all. Blessings.

Christmas Eve Eve

The sunset is beautiful with my neighbors Christmas lights adding that little extra something.

We are going to meet Mimi and Pop - they have Abbie. For two nights now. She has to remember that she has a bed here, too.

I'm missing one gift for Thursday. Why have I waited this long?!

I'll check in again tomorrow - Christmas Eve!!

Posting :-)

I didn't shop yesterday. I thought I might go for a $59 Guitar Hero at Target but I knew I'd have to be in line a 5:00 am, to get into the store when it opened a 6:00 am, to buy one of the 5 $59 Guitar Heroes that they had.

I'd rather pony up the extra $40. If Santa even buys it, which I'm not sure she (or he) wants to.

I'm not surprised by people who do go at 5:oo am - there are some good deals out there. I've been in the lines, I've gotten all my toys bought by 7:00. I scored my own Christmas gift last year at 6:00 am. It can be hard to pass up a $398 desktop or a $598 40 inch flat-screen TV - those are some bargains.

But are they enough of a bargain to trample someone to death? Yankees.
Or pull a handgun and open fire in a store? CaliforniCrazees.

What is wrong with people?!

Halloween Friday Fun

I think this is scarier than the original.......





see the original here

Political Friday Fun.....

Friday Fun Zone

I hijacked this a little early but it really is funny.......






Okay here's a more Political one.......

Things I've Learned Lately

1. DVRs are cool. I like that I can go back and watch the part I missed. OnDemand is another nifty thing - the kids just discovered Kenny the Shark. It's a cartoon from Discovery Kids.
2. There were 5 break-ins in my neighborhood yesterday. They came in during the day when most people are at work. Well, except for the guy who stepped out of the shower and ran them off. Apparently they didn't "run" either. Brazen!
3. That people who shop at Dittos for Kiddos can be rude. I have to learn this again and again.
4. My social worker friends have taught me that the working poor need to be cut some slack. They have to bring their children with them wherever they go, like Dittos.
5. Kids learning to read is sweet. I'm learning this again with Abbie.
6. I'm used to running things my own way. Sharing responsibility is hard for me.
7. I miss my friends when I have to work all the time.
8. Some women have husbands that don't talk nice to them. I overheard a guy berating his wife because it was Picture Day at school and she forgot to fill out the form. You know I wanted to say, "It's Picture Day - grab your own camera.'
9. Cell phone conversations are not private. (see above)
10. Turn off said cell phone at the dentist - it will ring. That isn't a good time to talk.
11. So many of the kids that go to school with our kids come from a totally different life style. It breaks my heart and scares me at the same time.
12. My hubby both laugh at loud at the TV show Life.
13. It's difficult to maintain a blog and work all the time.

Bringin' Back Friday Fun!!

I've been thinking for awhile of having some Friday Fun.............

Not Here Now......

After you've read Todd's words from the previous post, again, (we need to read them several times......) I'm over at Espresso His Love today.

Sometimes Jesus Does Drive An SUV......

I was going to write about something funny that Abbie said. Or the people and animals that go by my desk window (today a dog was chasing a cat - that's just funny.) But instead I pick up somebody else's words. They are powerful.

I copied this from Todd Thomas's Facebook page but I've linked his blog.


I have been blessed in my short 38 years to have lived in a wondrous variety of places… places like East Africa, North Texas, Central Alabama and Western Maryland. In all these many places I have known an amazing array of Christians from all kinds of backgrounds and with many diverse ideas and viewpoints. I’m continually grateful for this range of experience and what I’ve been allowed to glimpse in their lives as they all struggled to be representatives of Christ in their own times and places.

I’ve seen that sometimes Jesus does drive an SUV.
Sometimes he drives a hybrid or even rides the bus.
He’s also been known to ride her bike to work.

Sometimes Jesus has her hands so full just trying to pay bills and raise a couple of strong-willed kids that she really doesn’t have time to think too much about the big, global questions out there.
And I’ve seen Jesus agonizing over the epidemics of AIDS and poverty that at times can seem to cripple whole continents.
I’ve seen Jesus foster “unwanted” babies in her own home.

Jesus has mortgages, unpaid bills, school loans, and is half-way to an ulcer. Jesus also keeps giving at church and handing bills to folks on the street and wrestling with what response an American suburbanite has to the horrors of Sudan and suicide bombers.

Jesus loves peace, but sometimes she wears a uniform.
Jesus loves peace, but sometimes he marches with signs by the White House.

Jesus has been known to vote pretty liberal, choosing a candidate who promises answers from the government for the woes of poverty. And I’ve seen Jesus vote for the fiscal conservative because she really does believe that lower taxes and helping businesses will create jobs that will help people build lives of dignity and hope.
Of course I’ve also seen Jesus scratching his head as he’s trying to figure out what a candidate just said.

I’ve seen Jesus with tattoos and even a piercing or two, or five.
I’ve seen Jesus in a Sunday-go-to-meeting suit and tie like clockwork each weekend.
Maybe Jesus isn’t a brand.

All those glimpses of Jesus, even in most diverse extremes, don’t cause me too much angst or confusion. But, I have seen and heard some things that bother me.

I don’t like it when Jesus makes fun of Jesus.
Sometimes Jesus doesn’t like Jesus’ accent, or his hair style, or her politics, and thinks that stinging, humiliating jibes might somehow be an appropriate response.

Something is wrong when Jesus hates Jesus.
I worry about it when Jesus hates Jesus, even to point to questioning if she really is Jesus, or maybe just a faker.
In fact, something’s wrong when Jesus hates anybody.

It just doesn’t feel right when Jesus subverts faith and love in favor of candidates and issues.

I’ve heard people who were standing around watching Jesus hate Jesus just chuckle and say things like, “I knew there wasn’t anything to all that Jesus junk.”And so many folks who need to hear the words of hope and peace that Jesus hallmarked in his First Century ministry today just get a belly full of my-way-or-the-highway pride and cultural labeling in our 21st Century scramble for market share and cultural dominance.

*sigh*
I love Jesus.
I enjoy talking to Jesus.
Every time I get a chance to sit and have coffee with him, I’m there.
I love listening to Jesus tell stories of answered prayers and when she got to see God moving in exciting ways on a mission trip or in a relationship.

I pray Jesus keeps doing that “Jesus Thing” all across our globe, and that Jesus is always there to kick me back in line, loving the Jesus trying to live and breath and touch this world through me.

I love Jesus, which means I love you.
And it means that I really hope you love me.
It’s our love, and never our hate, that can change the world.
It’s our love, and not our votes, that can save the dying.
It’s our love, our hands, our feet, our faith, our peace, our joy, our Jesus that can never be lost or won in any election.

Thanks be to God.

A Wise Man

Wow. That's about all I can say about last night at Moody. Ron Hall and Denver Moore spoke about their story and book, Same Kind of Different As Me, and it was wonderful. I was so moved when I read the book and again last night just hearing about Miss Debbie. This woman of faith inspired me again in the re-telling from her husband, Ron. Abbie said her favorite part was when Miss Debbie got up and was tapping Denver on the nose - telling him was a good man! Abbie was able to quote it.....

Denver was funny and powerful. It's hard to believe this man was ever in prison or lived on the streets. His story was one that needed a voice. Praise God that it was told for all of us to be blessed by. I noticed that they had gifts for Ron and Denver and I couldn't imagine what they would give these two men.

ACU sweatshirts. It told Jim that some cold, homeless people in Ft. Worth would be wearing those......

If you haven't read the book, read it. God calls us to love others - even the mean, smelly ones. Just like Miss Debbie.

Lettuce Pray.

Sarah had this and I had to put it up on mine, too. You know it made me laugh out loud but it is so sad..... How many times/days are we doing the same thing? What was Jesus going to say anyway?

A Woman Vice-President? It's Time.

I gotta say - I loved Sarah Palin last night! She was great on stage and her family was so sweet. It's worth having her as a VP candidate to get all those good shots of her baby!

Cindy McCain holding him, Todd Palin (his daddy) holding him, Sarah (his mama) holding him on stage, and especially Piper (his big sister) holding him. When she licked her fingers and smoothed down his hair, I fell in love with the entire family. Her story is one that I can really get behind.

Gov. Palin's speech? Excellent. I thought her delivery was good and her digs on the other candidate were just funny. The fact that she has some knowledge on energy issues and natural resources also gives her a plus in my book.

I respect anybody that chooses to disagree. I respect anybody that will vote for Barack Obama. But I fell in love with Sarah Palin last night.

Time For A Competition

We had an informational meeting (yep, another meeting. Why are there so many meetings?) about Praise Team for the school year. There were alot of college kids there that I didn't recognize and several adult members that having been singing - so that was great! It's one way to use the talents that the LORD has given us!

At the meeting we were told that we would be auditioning again, it made some folks a little nervous, of course. We were also asked to prepare a song to sing alone. Now you know, I sang "Hard Candy Christmas" for the last Christmas audition I had. One of my friends didn't approve. Surprise.

Jim suggested "You Can Eat Crackers In My Bed Anytime" - it's been going around our house for awhile due to Abbie eating...... You get the idea.

I actually heard it on the radio (KEAN - our truck music) and it was much faster than I remember it.

Okay. It's actually supposed to be a Jesus song and I'm looking for suggestions. So why not have a contest!!

Who can come up with the best song for me to sing (solo) at my Praise Team audition? I'll take any suggestions seriously but I may still laugh at them. Anybody can make a suggestion and I'll give out a prize for playing. Or maybe 2 or 3 prizes.

Go for it!! What song can you come up with?

Just One Of Our Stories

In our house if you "toot," you may claim it to be thunder. We don't have a dog to blame it on so we usually wonder aloud if there's a storm coming. Or speculate whether Dan Edwards warned of rain.

A few nights ago Abbie and I were laying in her bed and I thought I had heard thunder. (It had been raining.) I wondered aloud if it was thunder and Abbie said,

"Well, I didn't hear anybody toot."

That was the first one that came to mind - isn't that what you wanted, Sarah?

He Who Hesitates, Loses

This morning I had every intention of reminding everybody to top off your gas tank. I heard on the news that Hurricane Gustuv coming into the Gulf of Mexico would probably raise gas prices next week.

Too late. At 8:30 this morning, when I went to the Farmer's Market, gas was $3.59 at the Shell on Treadway and ES 11th - one of the cheapest places in town.

Good news: Lots of watermelons at the Farmer's Market! I got a yellow-meat one for my hubby. There were also lots of peppers (all kinds,) eggplant, and spaghetti squash.