Psalm 62

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.