Award

My friend, Nina, from Raising Butterflies has given me this award. Thank you Nina! It was so sweet of her to think of me in this way. I have so enjoyed reading her funny stories about her children and getting to know her through blogging.

I would like to pass this award on to my friends 74WIXYgrad and Amel.

Dreams

Do you have a particular subject that you dream about frequently? For about the past year or more, it seems like I have a lot of dreams about babies. I have no idea why I dream about babies because I sure don't want to have one at this point in life. There was a time in my life when I was in my 20's and I always wanted to have babies. Now, I would like to have grandchildren babies, after my own children get married. But I just can't figure out why I dream about babies. In my dreams, I'm always the one taking care of the baby and I always feel so much love toward it. Maybe I'm having these dreams because my young co-worker who sits next to me is pregnant and I hear her talking about baby stuff a lot. (By the way, she started a blog yesterday, so visit Holly and leave her some comments.) Or maybe it is because my kids have grown up and moved out and my mothering duties have changed. Or maybe it is because my second son, Michael, was born at only 18 weeks, not far enough along to survive so I never got to find out what it would be like to have him as my son. In the Bible, dreams had meanings but I don't know if they mean anything today. They probably don't have any significant meanings today since we have the Bible as a means of learning what God wants us to know. It just makes me wonder why I keep having these baby dreams.

The Bible has many stories where dreams were used to inform or to warn people of things. One important time was when an angel came to Joseph in a dream. Joseph and Mary were pledged to be married to each other when he found out that she was pregnant. He was a good man and didn't want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to just divorce her quietly. That's when he had the dream and an angel from God told him that he was to marry her because the son Mary was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit and he would be called Jesus and he would save his people from their sins. This was a very important message that Joseph received in a dream. There were others dreams for Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus that were used by God to carry out his purposes.

Biblical dreams were very important and very necessary to carry out the work of God. What are your thoughts on dreams today? Do our dreams have meanings? Does God use dreams today to warn us or to tell us something?

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:20-21

Christmas Gift Idea

A couple of years ago, a boy from my church came to work at my office right after he graduated from high school. Wes was hired as a temporary employee for the summer, but he actually stayed for a few more months after summer ended. I knew of Wes because he was a leader in the youth area of our church and he led the Wednesday night youth praise services. My kids both already knew him, but this was my chance to become better aquainted with him. One day I noticed he was wearing a ring that looked like a wedding ring, but it was on his right hand. I knew he hadn't gotten married but was dating a sweet Christian girl from our church. So I asked him about the ring. He told me that it was a purity ring -- he and his girlfriend had made a commitment to God and to each other to stay pure until they were married. I thought that was so amazing and it really made me think so highly of Wes and his girlfriend for making this commitment. I knew right then that God would greatly bless this couple.

After Wes's temporary job ended, he left town to go to school. I don't remember the sequence of events after that, but within the next year some great things happened to Wes and the band he was playing in. After recording a demo CD in Tennessee (produced by my son at his recording studio) they entered a battle of the bands contest, won, got a recording contract with a major label and became the group Rush of Fools. They recorded a full length CD with Midas Records which is in stores everywhere. They have had a number one song on the Christian charts and now have a second song out that is getting radio play. And recently Wes and the same girl have gotten engaged.

With the Christmas shopping season in full swing now, I know everyone is trying to decide what Christmas presents to buy for the people on your lists. If you have anyone who likes to listen to Christian music, they might really enjoy the Rush of Fools CD. I really support this group because I know that they are sincere and their lives reflect the God they sing about. That's why I wanted to tell you some things that I knew personally about Wes. If you'd like to hear Wes sing "O Come All Ye Faithful" go to their myspace page and click on the name of the song.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27
Click here to read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Rainy Days and Mondays

Back in the day, there was a song by the Carpenters that said, "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down..." The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. This Monday morning I heard an unfamiliar sound on my roof as I was getting ready for work. It was rain! I can remember a time when a Monday morning topped off with rain would have been a cause for depression. But not now! I am right in the part of the country that has been under an extreme drought for quite some time. To be able to wake up this morning and hear an abundance of rain on my roof, then to be able to walk from my car to my office wearing a raincoat, holding an umbrella and stepping over big puddles of water -- these were wonderful blessings that I thank God for today.

If you are a believer and you've felt a little blue this Monday morning after the long holiday weekend, just remember that believers have a reason to be optimistic about life. Live expectantly; expect the best from God; look for the best in others; turn your thoughts toward the Lord; trust Him to direct your life.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 KJV

Iron Bowl and Movie Review

This day in Alabama is the day we wait for all through football season. It's the day of the Iron Bowl. The Iron Bowl is the last regular college football game of the season and is between The University of Alabama and Auburn University, instate rivals. I guess you would have to live in Alabama to fully understand how big this game is. Every Alabama resident is defined by whether they are for Alabama or Auburn. I think every baby born in this state is required to list on their birth certificate whether they will scream Roll Tide! or War Eagle! It's just part of living in Alabama -- you HAVE to choose your allegiance. My parents apparently listed "Roll Tide" on my birth cerficate, so I have been a die-hard Alabama fan for as long as I can remember. I am writing this post as I'm watching the game because I'm a little nervous and I can't sit still. My team has not had a good year and we are behind in the game right now -- in fact, my hubby just got so frustrated with it that he left the room. I have no idea why I care so much about a silly football game. Whether we win or lose is not going to affect my life in any way.

Earlier this afternoon, we went to see a movie, "August Rush". I had read some reviews about it on the internet and most of them seemed to mention something about it being like a modern day Cinderella fairy tale type story. I don't know about that, but I absolutely loved the movie! It was about music and a boy who was separated from his mother at birth and always feeling like the music inside him would bring them back together. It's also about the mother and the father of the child finding each other again. Of course, being a musician and a mother, the movie touched me and I would recommend it to anyone who likes love stories and happy endings.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music...
Psalm 98:4

Random stuff

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We went to my parent's house which is only about a 5 minute drive from my house. My daughter was home from college and got to go with us along with her boyfriend; and also there were two of my sisters, one sister's boyfriend, a nephew and his wife and baby. My son called us to wish a happy Thanksgiving and we passed the phone around so everyone could say hello to him. We ate turkey, dressing, corn, squash casserole, peas, cornbread, butterbeans, broccoli casserole, 7-layer salad, homemade macaroni-and-cheese ,and there were several desserts which I wasn't even able to touch. We had way too much food but we're going back later today to eat leftovers. After leaving my parents house, our family went for a slightly longer drive to visit my husband's mother. We have so many blessings to be thankful for!

Today I was mean to my husband. I didn't mean to be mean, but he had already taken my car in to have the tires rotated and balanced (or something like that) and then he wanted to take our daughter's car in to have some work done. That meant I would have to go pick him up so he wouldn't have to wait around while they worked on the car. I complained to him about it and said I didn't want to spend my holiday from work getting out in the "black Friday" traffic taking cars to the shop. It was really very selfish of me and later on I realized that's how he shows his love to us, by keeping our cars in good working order so we'll be safe when we drive. I felt really bad and went back and told him I would help him out with the cars. But he said no, he wanted me to enjoy my holiday from work.

I don't care to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I know I'll eventually get my shopping done and it's not worth it to me to deal with all the traffic and people out today. Around here, the stores open at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., but I am not willing to get up that early to go shopping.

Today, I have a fire going in our fireplace and I'm just hanging around the house. Our house was 66 degrees this morning because I won't turn the heat on. But this fire has brought the temperature up to 73. I usually keep our heater set to come on at about 66 degrees. I am interested in knowing what people in colder climates keep their heat set at?

I can't remember the last time I went to see a movie. But there are two out now that I'd like to see, "August Rush" is one, and "Bella" is the other. If you have seen either of these, please let me know if they were good.

I am Thankful for My Anniversary

On November 21, 1980 Eddie and I got married. Today is our 27th wedding anniversary and for that, I am very thankful! There have been good times and difficult times but God has been with us every step of the way. We committed our lives to Him and to each other and it's only with the Lord's strength that we've been able to make it this far. I love my sweet and precious husband!
Here are a couple of pictures from our wedding day, for you to get a good laugh. Just keep in mind, it was 1980!

The wedding party included my three sisters, Eddie's dad and two of his brothers.

The preacher was our own pastor. This is an intersting fact about the pastor -- his daughter became a good friend of mine and still is to this day -- we ate lunch together after church this past Sunday. Her oldest son was best friends with my son and they roomed together in college. Now her second son is about to get married and he has asked me to play the piano in his wedding.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I Am Thankful for THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving seems to get pushed aside a little more each year in America. I refuse to forget this great and important holiday -- it is one of my two favorite holidays of the year. I don't even start thinking about Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving; I would like to say that it's because I put so much emphasis on Thanksgiving, but that wouldn't be completely true. It's mainly because I'm a procrastinator and shopping is not my favorite thing in the world. But I do like to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and with much thankfulness to God who gives us all things.

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, I was listening to Christian radio, Focus on the Family. They were talking about the origins of Thanksgiving. They mentioned that in public schools today, children are being taught that the Pilgrims came to this new land and after surviving the harsh conditions of a brutal winter, the Indians came and befriended them and helped them; because of this they had Thanksgiving as a way of thanking the Indians. The truth is, they had this feast of Thanksgiving to thank God, not the Indians, for that first harvest in 1621. A Captain Christopher Jones decided he wanted to leave the new land and go back home. He offered for any of the Pilgrims to go with him but they wouldn't leave because they felt called by God to stay in the new land where they would have religious freedom. They said they would rather die here and remain true to what God called them to do than to turn their backs on God. Despite all the hardships they suffered, the Pilgrims had the feast of Thanksgiving to give thanks to God Almighty.

In 1789, our first president, George Washington, signed a proclamation of General Thanksgiving. It is amazing to read this proclamation today, knowing how much our government has changed since then. It starts out like this..."WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour..." Isn't that great? This proclamation was signed by the President of the United States! Read the original document, or the full text version.

I hope that every person who reads this blog will take some time this week to think about the blessings that have been given to you by God, and thank Him for them. I hope that you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

I'm Thankful for Yesterday

Thanksgiving will be here soon and I'm looking forward to spending time with my family and relatives, and eating the best meal of the year. But there is one down side this year, and it's that my son won't get to be home. The band will be in Arkansas so they will spend the holiday with Blake's (guitar player) family. But yesterday the band was playing in a town just outside Atlanta so we decided to drive over and see them. My husband invited three of his former students who love A Plea for Purging's music to go with us. I had so much fun hanging out with young people. I have progressed so much with this band being in my life that I've gone from not even realizing this kind of music existed to absolutely enjoying it. It's true -- I love watching and listening to Aaron's band play. The live concerts are the best, and very entertaining. I think these teenage boys we took with us had a great time and felt really special getting to hang out with a band. I know when I was 15 years old, that would have been so much fun. Here are some pictures from last night.

Aaron playing during the concert

These are the boys we took with us.

This was right after we got there and met up with Aaron. He's so silly -- always having to make faces in pictures.

This was during the concert when they were doing one of the favorite songs.

This is Lyle, one of the guitar players.



In the next two pictures, the three boys got to pose with the whole band, and their favorite teacher, my husband!





Here, they got to pose with some of the girlfriends of the band members. Don't you know they can't wait to show this off to their friends!


Here I am hanging out with the young people at the merch table.

Now, to end this, here are a couple of videos I took during the concert. See the cute drummer? That's my boy!

I've Got a Friend in You

My sweet friends, Amel and Sindi, have both honored me today with this special award. Thank you both for being such great friends in my blog world.

I would like to share this award with some people I've met through blogging who have become like real friends to me.

Strawberry

Frasypoo

Nina

Turn Negatives into Positives

I have been really busy lately, at work and outside of work, so I haven't had a lot of time to visit and comment on blogs, or to write much in my own. But I woke up really early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. While I was trying to get back to sleep I had this blog post rolling around in my head so I finally just gave in and got up so I could start writing it. I'm definitely a morning person so that's when my mind works the best.

When I got up and went to the bathroom, I noticed the toilet seat had been left up by my husband, so I had to put it down. When I did that I started thinking about how I'm always hearing women complain about men who leave the toilet seat up. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is about it. All you have to do is put it down. It doesn't take a lot of effort or strength. Is it really worth spending your time and energy to complain about it? It's really not worth complaining about to me. If that is something that annoys you or makes you complain, why not turn it into something positive. Every time you come to a toilet seat that your husband or son has left up, why not thank God that you HAVE a husband or son. Wouldn't it be a lot worse to always have the toilet seat exactly the way you want it, but not have that husband who loves you and takes care of you and your family? I would imagine there are some mothers whose sons are in Iraq who would love to find a toilet seat left up by that son.

After this, when I was trying to get back to sleep, I was trying to think of other negative things that can be turned into positives. Here are some that I thought of....

When you are at your job and your work seems to be piling up, instead of complaining about it, thank God that you have a job and that He is providing for your needs through this job. Look at all the extra work as job security.

When co-workers start to get on your nerves, thank God that you have co-workers and you don't have to do it all by yourself.

When you encounter a rude person out in public, in stores or on the road driving, rather than letting them get your temper flared up, thank God for showing you what it looks like to be rude and ask Him to help you to be the opposite.

If you go to brush your teeth and find the toothpaste cap was left off, or someone squeezed the tube in the middle, thank God that you have teeth to brush (and then go buy your own tube and hide it.)

How about your email inbox being full of spam? Complaining won't change this. Just be thankful that you have the internet at your fingertips and think about all the good things that the internet provides.

So, your challenge for today is to turn something negative into a positive. If you are able to do it, let me know what the negative was and how you turned it into a positive. My own personal challenge came as I was leaving for work. I went to the fence to tell the dogs good-bye and to give them a pat on the head, and Emperor jumped up and put her dirty paws on my white sweater. I didn't have time to go in and change, so today I am wearing Empy's paw print. Hmmm....how can I turn that into a positive thought?

**Note to readers** My interest in having a positive attitude has come about from being around people who are very negative. It made me more aware of negative attitudes and has made me not want to be that way. I do my share of complaining, but it is something I try not to do if I can help it. However, I want to make sure anyone who reads my blog knows where my heart is. I do like positive thinking and I believe that our attitude affects every aspect of our lives, but for me it goes so much deeper than just positive thinking. For me, a positive attitude comes as a result of my relationship with Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yes, I do believe that I still have a choice about what kind of attitude I will have each day, but when my ability to be positive is at its weak points, I have a supernatural power to draw from and that is the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Having the knowledge and believing in my heart that God is ultimately in control and that He doesn't make mistakes gives me the strength to handle difficult situations that come about as a part of life. I have never read a self-help book or anything by Norman Vincent Peale. I'm sure those books have great advice and I might read one some day. But for now, I want to saturate my mind with the Word of God, the greatest self-help book on the market for all time.

Love is in the Air

Today I have heard from both of my children, one by email and one by phone. I do talk to my daughter every day which is great. I'm not sure if that is because she's my baby or if it's because she's a girl -- I think it's a girl thing. But the main topic of her conversations these days is her current love interest. She thinks she's in love, and I'm happy to see her so happy. We have met the nice young man and my husband sure gave him the "this is my daughter and you better treat her right" talk, but I think he did it in a very nice way. I guess if that doesn't turn the guy away, he must really care for my daughter.

Communication with my son is a different story. He doesn't call very often and he doesn't email unless I do it first or unless he needs something. But when we do talk, he's very open and tells me everything that's going on. He sent me an email today with his Christmas plans and apparently, he's also in love. He had already told me that he and this girl were dating, though I don't know how they can date when she lives in one place and he is in a different city every day. He's going to have some time off around Christmas so he's going to fly out and spend time with her then come home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then she's going to fly here to spend some time with us. This should be interesting. Guess I better get ready for some possible big changes in our family in the next year or two.

Time will tell whether or not these relationships are made of true love.

Break the Mold

The Bible amazes me. My whole life, I have been exposed to church, Sunday school and Bible teachings. Yet, the older I get and the more I read it, the more amazing it becomes. I can read something I've read a hundred times, and it will be like brand new and the Holy Spirit will reveal new truths that I've never seen before. I love reading the Psalms -- they are so uplifting and help me to praise and worship. Proverbs teach about wisdom and give so much practical advice for every day life. Other Old Testament books have all the great stories, and the Epistles in the New Testament teach us how to live the Christian life. As much as I love all those parts of the Bible, lately I've had a desire to read more about Jesus and his life. I have started to see him in new ways that I haven't thought about before. Almost everything about Jesus is so different from the "mold" that we as Christians seem to think we are supposed to fit into.

1. Jesus was born to an unwed mother, or maybe I should say he was conceived by an unwed woman. We (Christians) sometimes look down upon a teenage girl who gets pregnant before being married. We know that Mary was a virgin, but I wonder what all her neighbors thought about her and how they treated her. They probably didn't understand the circumstances and maybe just saw her the way we see an unwed, pregnant teenager.

2. Jesus was born in a stable. This blows my mind -- our Savior, Messiah and King, God who created the universe humbled himself so much as to be born in a place meant for animals. Can you imagine your own baby being born outside, in a barn, with animals around?

3. Jesus was homeless. I mean, I guess he was homeless. The Bible says he had "no place to lay his head." I think we as Christians sometimes look down on homeless people. Sometimes we are very judgemental toward them. We try to avoid them because they might not smell so good or they might ask us for money.

4. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman. In that day, the Jewish people hated the Samaritans and would avoid them at all cost, even taking a longer journey to keep from passing through Samaria. Jesus not only went through Samaria, but stopped and asked a woman for water -- a woman who'd been married five times and was then living with a man who was not her husband. This woman who was even shunned by the other women because of her lifestyle, was the first person to whom Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah.

These are just a few examples of how Jesus broke the mold of our way of thinking. While I love the traditions of the church, there are times we need to break the mold of what our traditions have taught us that Christianity is. Christianity is so much more than just going to church on Sunday. The best examples we have of breaking out of the "Christian mold" are the examples from our own Lord.

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:32

5 Most Annoying Things

I've been tagged by Amel to do this meme. I had to think about it a little while but I think I've come up with five things.

1. It really annoys me when people stay on personal phone calls while they're at work and being paid to do a job. We all have to deal with personal things at work once in a while, but I'm talking about people who do this on a regular basis and it causes their co-workers to have to pick up their slack.

2. It annoys me when my favorite football team, Alabama Crimson Tide, lets another team like, Miss. State, beat them. Yes, I was very annoyed Saturday, but congrats to your school Matt!

3. I do not like for anyone to wake me up after I've fallen asleep at night, even if I fell asleep on the couch or in the recliner. Just leave me alone and I'll wake up eventually.

4. I find a lot of things at work that annoy me, but I can't mention some of them because I really need my job. But one thing that bothers me is people who have reserved parking spots not using them but using the metered parking spaces because they are near the building. By doing this, they are taking up places that visitors need, or places that newer employees need while no one is using their reserved spot. It is so selfish.

5. A "sue-happy" society. Some people want to sue for every little thing that goes wrong in their life. They found a fly in their hamburger at a restaurant so they want to sue the restaurant. Why don't they just go out and get a job if they need money?

Friends

I just realized something. I miss my blogger friends posts when they take a day or two off from blogging! I enjoy reading about your lives, your families, your adventures, your struggles, and I love reading your thoughts and meditations on our Savior. This blogging journey has been such an unexpected blessing to my life! I've always been a little bit wary of meeting people online, but I feel like I know some of you so well that I would love to get to meet you in person one day. When I started this blog, I thought no one would ever read it and I thought that after a couple of weeks I would be out of things to say. I've surprised myself by being able to write over 100 posts already!

So, to all my blogger friends, please keep writing. You encourage and entertain me. You teach me and touch my heart. You help me and humble me. You inform and intrigue me. I look forward to reading your blogs for many months to come.

Now, just so I can learn what things are like in different parts of the country, and even different countries, please tell me if you have ever eaten grits. Grits are a typical part of a southern breakfast, but it seems like some people from the north haven't eaten grits. A good hearty breakfast in Alabama would be eggs, grits, bacon or sausage and toast or biscuits. I don't eat that much because I prefer a light breakfast and something that's easy and quick like a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese spread. What is a typical breakfast in your area?

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3

Favorite Things and Contentment

I think I have writers block, or is it called bloggers block for people like me who aren't really writers. So, I'll just write whatever pops into my head and see how it turns out.

These are a few of my favorite things: sunsets, ocean breezes, mountains, mountain streams, the beach, fires in my fireplace on a cold night, rainy days, my family singing around the piano, old farmhouses, hugs from my hubby, seeing my children smile, 4:30 on weekday afternoons, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. I'm pretty much content with the things I have. Yes, I would love having a bigger, newer house out in the country, but I'm fine if I don't get one. I'm just thankful to have a place to live that keeps me warm in the winter, cool in the summer and dry when it rains -- it's big enough for our family plus the visitors who don't mind sleeping on a couch or the carpet. I would love having all the latest fashions in clothes and shoes and purses, but I don't mind wearing last year's clothes or even the clothes from five years ago. I'm just thankful to have decent things to wear. Of course I would love to have a beautifully decorated house, but when I really stop to think about it, I probably couldn't relax when 15 young men are staying at our house if I had a lot of really nice things in it. The way it is now, I don't worry about them messing up anything, because there's really nothing they can mess up.

I don't really know what the secret of being content is, but I think it has something to do with having a relationship with Christ and being secure in Him. The more I get to know the Lord by reading His Word, the more content I become. The more I am grateful for the things I do have, and the less I think about what I don't have, the more content I seem to be. I will leave you with a couple of quotes that I like and a Bible verse.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
Frederick Keonig

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."
Epicurus quotes

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12

In My Arms

I heard this song on the Christian radio station and I'd like to share it with you. It is especially meaningful to mothers and fathers, but I think anyone would enjoy it. It wasn't around when my kids were little, but it expresses so many feelings that I have experienced as a mother. It's by a singer called Plumb and the song is "In My Arms". Please take a minute to click on this link and enjoy this beautiful, contemporary song.
In My Arms -- This brings back so many beautiful memories of my precious children as they were born and growing up.

I have another post today, just below this one, so keep reading.

Time Change

This morning my phone rang around 8:15 and it was my daughter calling. In her "just woke up" voice she said, "Pumpkin (she calls me Pumpkin -- don't know why), I'm so confused....what time is it really?" I told her it was 8:15 and asked if her cell phone didn't automatically change times, and she said no, it didn't. But the other clocks in her house were right because she set them last night. So I told her to try turning it off and back on to see if it would change then. Next, in her "just woke up / whiney" voice she said, "I don't know what to wear to church....my legs aren't shaved and they are so hairy." I wish all the problems my kids brought to my attention were as easy to solve as that one!

I think what she was really doing was calling to let me know that she was up and planning to go to church and she just wanted to make sure I knew it.

Since technology has made its way into the church, my pastor has started loving to use short video clips at the end of his sermons sometimes. This morning he did one about what if our Bible was as important to us as our cell phone. It really brought out some good points and I wish I had the video he used but I don't. I found one on You Tube with the same message though. Think about it...

Stressed

I wish I knew how to spell that big **sigh** of relief you let out when things finally get resolved after a long day of stress, stress, and more stress. Since I don't know how to write it in a blog, just believe me that right now I am deeply breathing a great big sigh of relief. I'm not even going into the details, but I guess yesterday when I didn't feel the peace I was hoping for, it must have been because I had a feeling things weren't going to go as smoothly today as we hoped. But to make a long story very short, the business matters Aaron had to handle here in town today took up most of the day, so they got a late start heading to Little Rock. Oh well, I've decided that it's not the end of the world if they miss their show tonight -- the business matters were much more important and are now resolved.

I would like to say a little bit about stress. First of all, I don't like it! I am not stressed very often, so it is not a familiar feeling to me. I'm normally very laid back, calm, and unstressed. But now I can understand how people who work stressful jobs or live stressful lives on a regular basis could be at a greater risk for heart attacks. I could physically feel the stress today. I felt like it was squeezing my heart, and it even affected my appetite. I had some wonderful food for lunch but I couldn't even eat it or enjoy the little bit I did eat. If I was under stress very often, I'm sure I would weigh a lot less! But not even for weight loss would I be willing to live that way all the time. I am ready to go back to my calm, peaceful, stress-free existence.

To all my blogger friends, thank you for your sweet and encouraging comments. I hope you each have a wonderful, peaceful, stress-free weekend!

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Pray Without Ceasing

I like to pray. The Bible says to "pray without ceasing" or in another translation it says "pray continually." My interpretation of this verse is to just talk to God throughout the day. Of course we need that quiet, uninterrupted time that is dedicated to praise, thanksgiving, confession, and requests to God. That is very important to Christian spiritual growth. But I have realized that all through the day, I am constantly finding myself asking God to take care of my kids, or to help me with a certain situation, or just thanking Him for little things. I believe that's what it means to "pray continually."

When I have something that is weighing heavily on my mind, communicating with God about it usually gives me peace and helps me to be able to handle the situation better. The last couple of days, I keep praying to God to please take care of Aaron and the other guys while they are traveling. But I wasn't getting the peace that I usually feel after praying. I don't know why sometimes I feel God's peace and others times I don't. It's probably just my own fears getting in the way. Here is what my concern is about....tonight, the band is playing in Arlington, Texas. They are leaving as soon as they finish playing to drive all night to Alabama because they have to take care of some business matters here first thing tomorrow morning. After taking care of the business, they are leaving here to drive to Little Rock, Arkansas to try and make it to the show there tomorrow night. That's a lot of traveling in a very short amount of time!

So, I'm sure that all through today, I'll be asking God to keep them safe and protect them. He is God; He knows where they are; God is in control; He will work things out for His purpose to prevail. What do you think -- why do we feel God's peace sometimes but not at others times?

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18