JODY'S BIG NEWS!

CHARLIE IS A HEALTHY BOY!

I've Got Writer's Block!

I seem to be having writer's--perhaps I should say BLOGGER'S--block tonight. I hate that, because I've got some new readers as a result of the friends test.

Aleah, come back tomorrow night, ok? (BTW, I knew you were witty and lots of fun, and the test proved it!)

I'm going to bed with a good book tonight. Tomorrow night I'll announce if my New Grandchild #1 is going to be a boy or a girl!

Here's the scoop on the test!

I liked the test, but the names were goofy, so I changed them.

A (Soul Sister) is now Prayerful/Faith-filled
B (Playmate) is now Playful/Funny
C (Midwife) is now Nurturer/Giver
D (Hostess) is now Creative/Hostess
E (Therapist) is now Reflective/Intuitive

If you've read the other posts on this subject, I thought that Annette, my best friend of 21 years, would be Playful/Funny and Creative/Hostess, but she turned out to be Prayerful/Faith-filled and Reflective/Intuitive. The thing is, she moved away, and she has changed a lot in the last few years. She still knows how to have fun, but she's much deeper now!

And dear Spring, what can I say about you? You were all over the place! I've decided that you're extremely well-rounded or schizophrenic! Ha! Actually, it's not fair. It reminds me of how you have more than your share of creative gifts (songwriting, singing, painting, you name it.)

I now know who to turn to when I need faith-filled prayers--Tonja, Annette, or my California friend Sue! (I knew I wouldn't score well on that because I'm going through a phase where I'm not happy with my prayer life.)

I didn't know that Ashley Morgan is the life of the party sort (Playful/Funny AND Creative/Hostess)! I can see that she needs to room with Lisa, Spring, Stephanie and Laura at the Worship Institute, which I've been thinking she should anyway so that the whole praise team can be together. I know that makes 5 and you'll need a rollaway bed or something, but you young ones will have soooo much fun together! Laura has a lot of Ashley's Creative/Hostess in her, too, so I bet you two will come back fast friends!

Let's talk about Nurturers/Givers! Laura, Stephanie Marshall, Sandy Burkett, my friend in California, and I were high in that. I think all mommies are, but some of us overdo it and nurture the whole world. Ha! Actually, the adjectives "giver" and "servant" are two of my favorite words! Wasn't Jesus a servant/giver, after all?

Then there are the Reflective/Intuitive ones. That's me, Spring, Annette and Tonja. Let's face it, girls, we are just DEEP! Admittedly, we may OVERTHINK sometimes, but we're deep!

I hope to hear from others, but this is it for tonight! Thanks for playing, girlfriends!

SHAMELESS APPEAL FOR RESPONSES

OK, I’ve gotten responses to my "friends test" (see below) from Annette, Spring, Sandy, and my friend Sue in California. I need to hear from 4 more people before I continue!

If you are reading this and you AREN’T one of those four people, THIS MEANS YOU! If you don’t want to post it, just email it to me, ok? Thanks!

WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?

To find the unique ways you relate as a friend, choose one answer for each question. I'm not gonna blog anymore until I hear from everyone!

Do you tend to be more:
a. prayerful and faith-filled
b. hilarious and playful
c. loyal and compassionate
d. creative and inviting
e. wise and perceptive

What television show are you most likely to watch?
a. Touched by an Angel
b. Last Comic Standing
c. A Hallmark made-for-TV movie
d. The Art of French Cooking with Julia Child
e. Dr. Phil

What holiday-related activity would you most enjoy?
a. encouraging your family to thank God on Thanksgiving
b. spraying Silly String everywhere for someone's birthday
c. delivering homemade cards to the senior center on Valentine's Day
d. baking 10 varieties of Christmas cookies for friends and family
e. reflecting on the past year and setting new goals for the new

At a party, do you:
a. gently redirect gossipy conversations
b. show up in costume
c. help remove a punch stain from a friend's dress
d. bring hand-dipped candles as a hostess gift
e. break out the minibook "If … ": Questions for the Game of Life

How might you spend a Saturday afternoon?
a. calling your prayer chain
b. doing a high-ropes course with a friend
c. serving at a soup kitchen
d. planning the neighborhood block party
e. writing in your journal

What might your friends say about you?
a. "She sees me through God's eyes."
b. "She makes me laugh so hard I pee my pants."
c. "When I feel bad, she cries too."
d. "I'm at home when I'm with her."
e. "She knows me better than I know myself."

What might you be overheard saying?
a. "How can I pray for you?"
b. "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
c. "You go, girl!"
d. "Can I borrow your bundt pan?"
e. "Now, the tornado in your dream means … "

If you were a children's book, what would your title be?
a. The Velveteen Rabbit
b. Cat in the Hat
c. The Giving Tree
d. Little House on the Prairie
e. The Secret Garden

Which famous person is most like you?
a. Beth Moore
b. Lucille Ball
c. Lady Di
d. Martha Stewart
e. Ann Landers

What's your motto?
a. It is well with my soul.
b. Laughter is the best medicine.
c. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
d. Home is where the heart is.
e. Those who seek will find.

TALLY YOUR ANSWERS (how many a, b, c, d, e answers you marked). YOUR FRIENDSHIP STYLE IS BASED ON YOUR TWO HIGHEST SCORES. I came out as a midwife therapist! What are YOU?

a. Soul Sister. You're prayerful and faith-filled. You avoid coming off as "holier than thou" because you're transparent about your life. Friends come to you for spiritual guidance and prayer, knowing your concern for them is rooted in God's love. At times you may grow weary of always being the anchor in your circle of friends. They're blessed by your spirit of strength.

b. Playmate. You spark up any gathering with your witty comments and prankster personality. Because you're sensitive, it may be hard for you to trust others with deep feelings. The way you help others play is a gift. You truly understand laughter is the best medicine.

c. Midwife. (I marked 4 "C"answers, so this is one of mine.) Others feel comfortable coming to you when they need a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. Patience and understanding come naturally to you. You're sentimental and sincere. At times you may feel depleted because you give so freely. You have the heart of a servant and nurture those in need.

d. Hostess. You know how to celebrate your friends and create new traditions with them. You have a gift for seeing how ordinary things can reflect spiritual realities. It can be easy for you to get stuck in high gear, unable to find some solitude. Friends appreciate your creativity, and often look to you to coordinate the next meaningful party.

e. Therapist. (I marked 5 "E" answers, so this is my highest.) People cherish your perspective on life and love, and often come to you for advice. Friends may need to remind you of your tendency to overanalyze. Journaling, reading, and reflecting help strengthen your gifts of wisdom and intuition. Your friends benefit because you often know them better than they know themselves.

Credit for this test goes to Today's Christian Woman online magazine.

I really wanna know everybody's scores!

Please pray!

I really DID mean it when I said in the previous post that I didn't have anything to say tonight. However, Sandy Burkett's car quit running today, and the guy at the car repair place said it might cost hundreds of dollars to fix it, worse-case scenario (he hadn't diagnosed the problem yet). She's freaking out because she has NO MONEY, and she asked me to tell my "internet friends" to pray! Please do! Thank you!

Honesty

To be honest, I have nothing to say tonight. Honestly!

Love times six!

Samantha made me a Valentine that says:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

You love us,

And we love you.

Isn't that GREAT?!

You know, there's an amazing thing about love--it expands! I'm quite sure I'll have PLENTY of love for ALL of my grandkids--my grandkids by blood, my grandkids by Jody's marriage and my grandkids by God's gift/my choice!

I'm babysitting Emily as I write this, I'm going to Denver on March 1 to spend several days with Taegan and Shea, and I'm beside myself with impatience waiting for the two babies to be born! Very soon (the 31st) I'll even know if Charlie is a boy or girl!

Love is truly a many-splendored thing, and I KNOW I have enough love for many splendid grandkids!

LOVE

The answer to yesterday's post was LOVE! Hey, I bet you guessed that! I'm not going to try to write about it, after all, because I've decided it was one of those "Guess you had to be there" things. In fact, even the person who WAS there didn't experience what I did.
So moving on, the most fun I had today was playing Chutes and Ladders! Emily won the first game and Samantha won the second game, so we quit while both were happy! I get to put them to bed tonight, too! It is such a delight to have sweet little girls in my life again!! I hope at least one of my grandbabies is a girl!

Speechless

I'm speechless tonight. Maybe I can talk about it later. Meanwhile, this image symbolizes how God revealed himelf to me today.

Romans 8:28

I'm so glad I joined BSF in time to hear the teaching on Romans 8:28--"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Julie, our teaching leader, used the analogy of a CAKE to explain it. She said that while the ingredients (raw eggs, baking powder, etc.) may not be good ALONE, when you put them all TOGETHER, they make something delicious!

One thing I always liked about BSF was their emphasis on God's sovereignty. The notes on the term "all things" say that "Absolutely all things that can possibly happen to us are so ordered and controlled by God that the end result is inevitably and utterly our good."

The notes also say, "There are many things that can defeat OUR plans--our sins and failures, others' opposition or jealousy, circumstances or indifference--but they cannot defeat GOD'S plans. He is the sovereign God. His will is forever being done." That is very comforting to me.

However, on the verse that says "We are more than conquerors," I still prefer what I heard Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel say many years ago. He said that after we have come out on the other side of a trial, if we have a testimony of praise to God for his faithfulness, we are conquerors. BUT if we can praise God while still IN the trial, THEN we are MORE THAN conquerors!

I want to be a MORE THAN conqueror in my trials!

On Being a Drama Queen

A friend of Philip Yancey's said that for much of her life she tried to suppress negative emotions but realized that any false attempt to change negative emotions into more positive ones would mean pretending not to feel things that she was actually feeling. She concluded,

"And to do that before God is a waste of time. So I'm trying, instead of shaming or pretending, to come to terms with my emotions, and bring them before God honestly. I have come to realize that I'm never going to stop having emotions, and probably strong emotions, because that is the way I'm wired. I'm emotionally rich. I have a large emotional bank account from which to make withdrawals. I must, however, learn to live rightly in the midst of my fluctuating emotions, and I believe that God can teach me to do this."

That's me! I have a large emotional bank account, too, and while I don't want to pretend to be happy when I'm going through something painful, I don't want to be a Drama Queen either!

5 Values Sports Can Teach Us

Joe is watching the Hogs game, which is good background as I post this by Katie Brazelton, who writes for Purpose-Driven Life. She says: Is there anything good about sports anymore? Yes! In fact, sports can exemplify and teach biblical principles. Let's look at a few examples.

Be prepared. Athletes learn quickly that physical and mental preparation is critical to their success. Memorizing the playbook, practicing plays, lifting weights, and studying films are all part of a player's training. Likewise, preparation in spiritual disciplines is important to the unique impact we make for Christ and the level of joy we find on the journey. "... be prepared in season and out of season." (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV) This instruction from Paul refers to our readiness to share God's Word. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (NIV) Based on these two verses alone, we can see that preparation is essential to the game plan God has for us. Everyday you suit up to play the game of life. You have a role to fulfill and lives to touch. How do you prepare? Do you pray, fast, keep a journal, confess sin, meet with an accountability partner, or enjoy a Bible study? How would you answer if you asked yourself each morning, "Am I prepared to respond in obedience when God calls on me to make a play?"

Persevere. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1 NIV) Watch a great running back carry the ball. He twists and turns, ducks and dives. Often he is thrown off course and tackled. Other times he strips free from the attempts to stop him and scores. Before each play, he huddles with his captain to find out what he is expected to do next. That is perseverance. Twisting, turning, ducking, falling, does this sound like your life? Ann Platz says that she perseveres by viewing roadblocks as times of refreshment and joy. "I finally figured out that roadblocks are often God's test of our character; other times they are just life or the enemy's plan to use discouragement to halt our journey of spiritual growth. I am convinced that obstacles can become incredible doors of opportunities to those who choose to pray their way through them." When there are roadblocks in your life - circumstances or people who bring you down - how do you respond? Do you stop, turn around, and run the other way? Or do you press on, gain wise counsel, and stay focused on God and the path he has just for you?

Practice self-control. A professional athlete's workout regimen requires discipline and self-control in order for him/her to stay in the game. All of them know that regular training and practice is essential to success. Their incentive to live disciplined lives is found in the pay-off of victory. As Christians, we have incentives, too. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV) The words 'strict training' in this verse imply self-control. Galatians 5:22 tells us that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. It is fundamental to Christian life. As we respond to the challenges set before us in a spirit of self-control, Jesus is revealed. Football players win games through self-control, and Christians win the delight of our Lord - decidedly, the more preferable of the two.

Use your talent. John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins, says this about talent, "No matter how you total success in the coaching profession, it all comes down to a single factor - talent." In the book, First, Break All the Rules, the authors, in an effort to dispel a major fallacy among managers, declare that one cannot teach talent; one can only hire those with talent. From a Christian perspective, this makes perfect sense. What these authors seem to imply, knowingly or not, is that talents are predetermined within us. They cannot be taught because talents are given. "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." (Romans 12:6 NIV) The Great Giver of Grace has blessed each of us with the specific gifts and talents we need to live out his plan for our lives. Just as a coach knows his players and their talents, God is aware of every single one of your talents and skills. The question is this: Are you aware of your talents, and are you using them?

Focus. In sports, focus is placed on the outcome, the excitement, and often on a "player of the game" - a hero. The joy the athletes and fans feel as they focus on these things is temporary, lasting only until the next challenge, the next big game. In Christian life, focus is also placed on the outcome, which is life everlasting; it is on the excitement of the purposes God has given us; it is on our hero and savior (our Lord God Almighty). True joy is not based on our circumstances. It is based on our acknowledgment of what Jesus has done for us. Unlike the temporary joy of winning a game, the Christian life reaps everlasting benefits.

Preparation, perseverance, self-control, using our talents, and focusing on God are all important pieces of our Christian life. If we look closely, we may find these practices exemplified in our favorite athletes as they compete. Then, when asked if there is anything good about sports anymore, we may answer with a resounding, "Yes!"

What's Your Worship Style?

I took an interesting test at blog.worship.com! Provided by NorthPoint Ministries, it's adapted from Sacred Pathway by Gary Thomas. I remember reading these terms in Purpose-Driven Life.
Anyway, it's supposed to identify whether your preferred worship style that of a Naturalist, Sensate, Traditionalist, Ascetic, Activist, Caregiver, Enthusiast, Contemplative, or Intellectual.

Here are my scores with their descriptions:

14 Naturalist: Naturalists Draw near to God through nature.

17 Sensate: Sensates draw near to God through the senses.

12 Traditionalist: Traditionalists draw near to God through ritual and symbol.

18 Ascetics: Ascetics draw near to God through solitude and simplicity.

12 Activists: Activists draw near to God through bringing about social change.

13 Caregiver: Caregivers draw near to God through caring for and serving others.

22 Enthusiast: Enthusiasts draw near to God through celebration and mystery.

22 Contemplative: Contemplatives draw near to God through personal adoration and heartfelt devotion.

15 Intellectual: Intellectuals draw near to God through their minds.

So now I know! I'm a CONTEMPLATIVE ENTHUSIAST!

What are you? Take the test at blog.worship.com (Jan. 16 entry) and let me know!

Google Homepage

I love my Google homepage! I've got Google Reader, which automatically shows me each new blog entry from my blogging friends so I don't have to go check everyone's blog.

Ginger also set it up with daily quotes. Here's an example from today's: "I wanna hang a map of the world in my house. Then I'm gonna put pins into all the locations that I've traveled to. But first, I'm gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map so it won't fall down."

Another pearly gates joke

Three men were standing in line to get into heaven one day. Apparently it had been a pretty busy day, though, and Patrick had to tell the first one, “Heaven’s getting pretty close to full today, and I’ve been asked to admit only people who have had particularly horrible deaths. So what’s your story?”

The first man replies: “Well, for a while I’ve suspected my wife has been cheating on me, so today I came home early to try to catch her red-handed. As I came into my 25th floor apartment, I could tell something was wrong, but all my searching around didn’t reveal where this other guy could have been hiding. Finally, I went out to the balcony, and sure enough, there was this man hanging off the railing, 25 floors above ground! By now I was really mad, so I started beating on him and kicking him, but wouldn’t you know it, he wouldn’t fall off.

So I went back into my apartment and got a hammer and started hammering on his fingers. Of course, he couldn’t stand that for long, so he let go and fell—but even after 25 stories, he fell into the bushes, stunned but okay. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the fridge and threw it over the edge where it landed on him, killing him instantly. But all the stress and anger got to me, and I had a heart attack and died there on the balcony.”

“That sounds like a pretty bad day to me,” said Patrick, and he let the man in.

The second man comes up and Patrick explains to him about heaven being full, and again asks for his story. “It’s been a very strange day. You see, I live on the 26th floor of my apartment building, and every morning I do my exercises out on my balcony. Well, this morning I must have slipped or something, because I fell over the edge. But I got lucky, and caught the railing of the balcony on the floor below me. I knew I couldn’t hang on for very long, when suddenly this man burst out onto the balcony. I thought for sure I was saved! But then he started beating on me and kicking me. I managed to hold on until he ran into the apartment and grabbed a hammer and started pounding on my hands. Finally I just let go, but again I got lucky and fell into the bushes below, stunned but okay. Just when I was thinking I was going to be all right, this refrigerator comes falling out of the sky and crushes me, killing me instantly. And, now I’m here.”

Once again, Patrick had to concede that that sounded like a pretty horrible death.

The third man came to the front of the line, and again the whole process was repeated. Patrick explained that heaven was full and asked for his story.

“OK, picture this,” says the third man, “I’m hiding naked inside a refrigerator....”

Just A Joke

Joke I heard yesterday--

A man arrives at the Pearly Gates, waiting to be admitted. St. Peter is reading through the Big Book to see if the fellow's name is written in it. After several minutes, St. Peter closes the book, furrows his brow, and says,

"I'm sorry, I don't see your name written in the Book."

"How current is your copy?" he asks.

"I get a download every ten minutes," St. Peter replies, "why do you ask?"

"I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was always the stubborn type. It was not until my death was imminent that I cried out to God, so my name probably hasn't arrived to your copy yet."

"I'm glad to hear that," St. Peter says, "but while we're waiting for the update to come through, can tell me about a really good deed that you did in your life?"

The guys thinks for a moment and says, "Hmm, well there was this one time when I was driving down a road and I saw a big gang harassing this poor girl. I slowed down, and sure enough, there they were, about 20 of 'em torturing this poor woman. Infuriated, I got out my car, grabbed a tire iron out of my trunk, and walked up to the leader of the gang. He was a huge guy; 6-foot-6, 280 pounds, with a studded leather jacket and a chain running from his nose to his ears. As I walked up to the leader, they formed a circle around me and told me to get lost or I'd be next."

"So I ripped the leader's chain out of his face and smashed him over the head with the tire iron. Then I turned around and yelled to the rest of them, "Leave this poor innocent girl alone! You're all a bunch of SICK, deranged animals! Go home before I really teach you a lesson in PAIN!"

St. Peter, duly impressed, says "Wow! When did this happen?"

"About three minutes ago."

Having more computer problems, so don't be surprised if I can't blog much for awhile, friends.

Speaking of fire...

I loved the responses to yesterday's cell phone fire post. They were so typical and cute. Spring said..."I wonder if his phone just combusted or he just didn't feel the burning sensation in his pocket." Annette said, "Yikes--what should we do?"
Spring is analyzing the problem, and Annette is reacting emotionally. (Annette, I think maybe the answer is "Avoid polyester.") LOVE YA BOTH!!
I heard a good story about fire today. A gunman is going to execute three guys. When the gun is pointed at the first guy, he points behind the gunman and yells "Tornado" and the gunman turns around to look, and the guy jumps over the wall and escapes. When it's the second one's turn, he yells "Flood" and the gunman turns around to look, and he jumps over the wall. The third guy decides he'd better think up some natural disaster, too, so he yells "Fire," and the gunman does.

Another quirky news item

This one's from California--

A cell phone apparently ignited in a man's pocket and started a fire that burned his hotel room and caused severe burns over half his body, fire department officials said.
Luis Picaso, 59, was in stable condition Monday with second- and third-degree burns to his upper body, back, right arm and right leg, Vallejo Fire Department assistant chief Kurt Henke said.
Firefighters arrived at the residential hotel Saturday night to find Picaso lying on the bathroom floor after a malfunctioning cell phone in his pants pocket set fire to his nylon and polyester clothes, Henke said.
No comment.

My DH and Too Much Wee (Unrelated)

I couldn't open my email this morning, but then my DH (as they say in internet lingo) came home from Hardees and spent about 3 hours defragging my computer (whatever that means) and it works now!

I'm glad, because two of my sweet mentees had emailed me for special prayer. I'm late, girlfriends, but I'm all over it now!

Here's a sad but interesting news story. I guess God made sure the admonition to "practice moderation in all things" was in the Bible for a good reason, not that he was thinking about not weeing for a WII at the time. Then again, he IS God, so who knows...

A 28-year-old mother of three died from water intoxication after taking part in a water-drinking contest for KDND (The End)/Sacramento on Friday. The contest, Hold Your Wee for a Wii, involved drinking as much water as you could without going to the bathroom in order to win the much-coveted Nintendo Wii video game console. Contestant Jennifer Lea Strange died after drinking well over a half gallon of water during the Morning Rave program, said the Sacramento Bee.

As part of the contest, participants were each given eight-ounce bottles of water. They had two minutes to drink a bottle, waited 10 minutes, then drank another bottle. Some of them kept drinking for up to three hours.

The CBS television affiliate in Sacramento reported that Strange called a co-worker shortly after bowing out of the contest. She was in tears and said that she felt ill and could not make it to work. Family members later found her unresponsive at home.

Some of the comments on the web today:

flashfyre
158.
January 15th,20072:42 pm
It’s sad that this woman died. However, this goes to a deeper problem in our society — materialism. The mother obviously had a problem telling her children the truth that she cannot afford the Wii; however, I am sure that she did not receive any support from her husband and did not want to anger her children so instead of holding her ground and stating the obvious that she cannot afford it she killed herself trying to make her family happy. I also bet that this game was for her husband as well as her children. It’s a shame that parents cannot hold their ground and act like adults and say NO! If she did, she would not have participated in such a dumb stunt. Now saying that, I believe that the station should provide some monetary relief, but not much because in my opinion it was everyone’s fault in this case: the radio station, the family and the mothers’.
— Posted by poster
159.

January 15th,20072:44 pm
I think that on top of any lawsuit, the Radio Station should give her family a Wii as a symbolic gesture. It’s a silly thing to give your life for, but that’s what she ended up doing–it would be sad to see one of her last wishes not held up.
— Posted by AirwalkerY2K
160.

January 15th,20072:45 pm
What’s the matter with you people, was NASSCAR held responsible when Earnhardt crashed?? No, because he knew of the risks and dangers of his choices. Why are other people being held accountable for the choices of those who choose to be so naïve? Each person is responsible for their own actions. Including educating ones self about the consequences of their choices. Wake up world and be accountable for your own life instead blaming everyone and everything else.
— Posted by Utopian Synergy
161.

January 15th,20072:46 pm
QUICK! Everyone call your Congressman and Senator and flood President Bush with emails! We need a new government program to protect us all from Big Water because some people do stupid things and do not understand that consuming too much of ANY substance from water to oxygen is unhealthy.
It is time to bring Big Water to its knees and demand warning labels and obscene taxes on every gallon of water sold to help fund new programs to educate people about the danger!
— Posted by J.J. Jackson

A Rainy But Nice Sunday

On rainy days I try to stay at home in front of my light box as much as possible, but I'm glad I went to church this morning because it was incredible! The music was strongly anointed (thanks, team!) and Darrell's sermon was great both times (Joe and I went to the second service and then I stayed for the third).

Darrell said we need to get out of ownership and into management. He was talking about money, but I think it applies to TIME, too. Time management is a big thing in the working world, but I didn't expect it to be an issue in retirement. I'm working through it, though.

Speaking of time, I think my computer has decided it's only going to work half of the time, and I'm not sure if it's a spiritual issue or if I dropped food in it! (Ha!) A guy in Mark's small group said he had to quit playing Mind Sweeper. Hope I don't have to quit blogging...

Welcome Home, Shawn

Have you been following the discovery of the kid in Missouri who was kidnapped at age 11? He's 15 now, and looks happy to be home, doesn't he? I know this will give new hope to Colleen Nick, who has never given up hope of finding Morgan. It's hard to imagine why the kid STAYED, but Joe said all the kidnapper would have to do was threaten to kill his family, which makes sense. Anyway, I'm so happy for his mother!!

Except for the rain...

I feel much better today! Thanks to everyone who emailed me your sympathy! It helps a lot to have great friends like you!

BLOG CLOSED TONIGHT

I am sick. Really sick. I would consider it a kindness if somebody would come over with a blunt object and put me out of my misery. Seriously.

Retirement

I'd always heard that retirement was a big adjustment, but I never understood that until now. It's wonderful but weird to have so much free time!

This afternoon I was reading a book in the church library called "The Compass," and it quoted A.W. Tozer as saying that the choices that Christians must make from day to day fall into one of 4 categories:

1. Those for which God has said an emphatic "No"

2. Those for which God has said an emphatic "Yes"

3. Those he leaves to your own sanctified preferences

4. Those that require special guidance from the Lord

I figure the Bible tells me #1 and #2.

Substitute teaching turned out to be #3, and I prefer not to, even though Mike Shaw keeps trying to hire me. The use of my afternoons seems to fall under #3 also, as best as I can discern.

The use of my mornings was #4. It never would have occurred to me that I should stay home three mornings a week, so God had to really speak to me about that. I'm very glad he did. Walking in what I receive about #4 should help me know #1 and #2 (because I'll be in the Word so much), and also #3, because otherwise I could very easily get #3 and #4 mixed up, which in fact, I did temporarily!

Retirement is not as simple as I thought it would be!

Baby News

Ginger went to her OB/GYN today, and her due date is now officially Aug. 24! I can't wait!

Light at the end of the tunnel

That cartoon cracks me up! I found it when I was thinking about the light at the end of MY tunnel!

I whined yesterday for nothing! As it turns out, I can still do the things I want to do if I'll do them in the afternoons instead of the mornings unless I have a clear word from God about it. Mornings are prime time, and prime time is God's time!

I DID go back to BSF today, and it was wonderful! I felt like I was HOME again! I didn't expect to feel that way because it has been many years since I attended it. Oddly enough, the lecture was mostly about suffering, and I didn't relate to it at all! Usually suffering is my favorite teaching, but now that I'm the happiest I've been in YEARS, it didn't apply to me!

I repent of my whining yesterday. Life is very, very good! Gotta get the T-shirt!

Today I got schooled!

Today I enrolled in a new school, "The School of the Feet." I've known for some time that one of the primary reasons I was retiring was in order to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him. I knew God was calling me to do more intercessory prayer than I've ever done in my life, and that will require more time worshiping and listening and learning from him than I've ever done in my life.

The problem was, I had plans today. GOOD plans, not bad plans. But MY plans. He said "no" and I was crushed. I was exactly like a spoiled child who whines about having to go to school.

Of course, the day turned out to be wonderful. I'm still a little sad I missed out on the other plan, but God blessed THIS, and he would not have blessed a plan that wasn't his perfect will.

It's funny how I've always understood that my money wasn't my own, but somehow I thought my time WAS. That's my big lesson for the day. My time is no more mine than my money is. It seems harder to give him my time than my money, but that's one of the things I'll learn in my new school. Today was a pop test and I almost failed it, but I'm new in school and I'll learn!

Skipping to #1

Last in the creepiest fast-food mascots from fanpop.com:

#1: The King

The only thing scarier than Ronald or Mister Softee is Burger King's 'King'. As if to underscore the King's inherent creep-factor, Burger King even sells King masks online for Halloween. Do you really want to wake up to this guy? DO YOU!?!?

Some of the comments:

dave said:
Yeah that big headed King totally gives me the heeby-jeebies. And I seriously had weird dreams after seeing that Quizno's rat-thing.

karl said:
What a terrible post...pretty sure the 'King' is the most rockin' mascot ever invented. A figure of royalty, wearing a BK Crown and shades who has his own video game. You can't get much cooler than that

JAB said:
The first time I saw the "Waking up with the King" spot I flashbacked to some of Norm MacDonald's stand-up. I just thought to myself, "The King is going to rape this guy!"

Rhilly said:
I thought Burger King's french fry ads were creepy when Mr Potato Head was the character involved.

sirloinj said:
have you seen any of the spoofs on the net with the king?? long live the king....and the quisnos things....those are what we call, a sponge monkey. this is classic stuff here....i hate the noid...i dont' want to avoid him, i want him dead

xoxoxox said:
these guys are so so creepy, i swear if i ever saw that burger king guy outside of my window, i would cry. he is just so SCARY!!!

Hugh said:
The creepy part is Old King would twist his ring and reveal a secret room in the back of the BK that only children and himself could enter.....

shope said:
Grimace is a tastebud! And he's named that because you'd grimace when he stole your milkshake. Definitely bizarre.

beckletts said:
Clearly many of you don't appreciate the utter brilliance of the King... while his constant sneaking around can be seen as rather creepy, there isn't a person around that wouldn't know who you were talking about if you mentioned "the king"... Great commercials Burger King!!!!

SlimRuleS said:
speaking for myself i like the king

desertdragon said:
I'm not touching any food whose producers think they need a freaking (literally) mascot to try to convince me to eat it. I liked the post - all of the above mentioned entities totally creep me out.

brucegrillmster said:
The "King" is as creepy an icon as I have seen on TV in years! I don't eat much fast food, but I DO NOT go to Burger King since this guy came out.

Can you believe people actually waste their time on such inane subjects as this?

Can you believe I quoted them?

I think retirement is turning my brain to mush.

It won't happen again. I promise.

Spending my time like I want to!

I absolutely LOVE this retirement thing! My "Second Calling" is much more fulfilling than my job was! Thanks, Mark and Lisa and Samantha and Emily for a delightful E Day!

Can't wait until I can start having a B Day, too. (That's babysitting Ginger's baby one day a week!)

BTW, we'll find out if Charlie is a boy or a girl on Jan. 31!

I've GOTTA go get one of those "Life Is Good" T-shirts!!

A Sacrifice of Praise

You may wonder what the image of babies has to do with "a sacrifice of praise." I'm glad you asked!

When Spring led worship this morning, she talked about several things it could mean when the Bible talks about giving a sacrifice of praise. I went away thinking, "Gee, I've never sacrificed anything." She mentioned stuff like giving money and time, but those things aren't sacrifices to me, and I was kinda bummed out wondering if I had ever really made a sacrifice of praise to God.

Then I started thinking and decided that a sacrifice of praise could be when your heart is broken, yet you choose to stand and praise God anyway. When my family and I lit the Advent candle on Christmas Eve 2001, it was a sacrifice of praise to stand and say I trusted God and worshipped him when I was in deep grief over losing Madeline. It was a "Though he slays me, yet will I trust him" moment, a "He gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord" moment.

At that time, I really related to the struggle that most of the book of Job recounted. But now, praise God, I'm moving ahead to the END of the book, the part where God gave him MORE than he had lost!

I have a dream. I know it would have to be a God-thing, because there are a lot of factors involved, so I haven't got my heart set on it or anything. But here it is. It would be so cool if Joe and I could light the candle again next Christmas, each of us holding one of our new grandbabies! OK, I know it sounds like a sappy Hallmark movie ending. But still, wouldn't it be cool?

Number 6 in fanpop.com's list of creepiest fast food mascots is Colonel Sanders. The author says:

It's like Hannibal Lector is sporting the Oompa Loompa hairdo (at least in this pic). I dunno, when I'm eating Chicken out of a bucket I really don't want some old guy with a goatee grinning back at me. Which makes me wonder, why aren't there more female fast food icons? Where's the Colonelette?

I had another nice day! I think I made my last trip to Hobby Lobby! I'll be finished with Mother's apartment as soon as I get Mark and/or Lisa to give me some advice on where to hang the new stuff on the walls. Joe can drive the nails, we just don't know where to PUT them, since neither of us has the decorator gene.

I also walked about an hour at Bona Dea. It was a great day for a nature walk! I made a commitment with my Dr. Nick buddies (the January Zero Tolerance Challenge) to exercise 6 days a week. My weight stayed the same this week, and I probably would have gained without the exercise because my eating was pretty sloppy due to lack of focus. I've exercised the last 6 days in a row, so I get tomorrow off, which is good because I seem to be coming down with some kind of gunky thing.

It has been a great week, and tomorrow is Sunday--yea!

A Fun Friday!

I LOVE being retired! Fun things I did today:

l. Stayed in bed late this morning drinking coffee and reading my new Daily Message Bible. Finished Genesis and got into Mark. Ginger got me a cool wooden lap thing, so I had basically a whole desk in bed with me!

2. Joe took me to Lamar and dropped me off and I wogged (walked and jogged) home (3 miles on back roads). Set my Nano to "Running Music" and thoroughly enjoyed it!

3. Picked up my mother at Heritage and took her with me to pick up Samantha from school. Went to Sonic and got drinks with 4 cherries!

4. Saw a WII (pronounced "Wee") at the E's house for the first time! Watched Emily do boxing and Samantha do bowling. Stayed a loooong time because it's so much fun over there!

5. Joe and I went to a surprise party Ann planned for Ross McCarley's 65th birthday at the Catfish House with Hardees guys and wives (Bob Hurley, Paul Castleman, Dean Pitts, Mo Pitts, Don Cowell).

And tomorrow is Saturday all over again! I LOVE BEING RETIRED!

Still stealing from fanpop.com's list of the 10 creepiest fast food mascots!

#7: Grimace

Dear McDonalds, what exactly is this Grimace creature you have spawned? Is he a mutated prune? A malformed mushroom? Is he an obese American fast food consumer whose skin took on an unearthly hue after consuming one too many Happy Meals? Either way, the last thing I need to think about when I'm eating a 1000 calorie cheeseburger is some overweight muppet. Did you know Grimace originally had 4 arms and a penchant for stealing milkshakes? He also had an equally hideous green uncle, Uncle O'Grimacey (as if one wasn't enough).

Happy Rainy Thursday!

#8 on the list of creepiest fast food mascots--Jack

Most of us think that clowns are creepy. But what about jack-in-the-boxes? Well, they're just glorified clowns, with springs that pop out of boxes. So they're double creepy.

That could be true. I know Emily is terrified of Ronald McDonald!

Annette and I are at the Super 8 motel in NLR, and she is in the bathroom getting ready to go.It takes her an hour and it takes me 5 minutes to get ready, so I'm blogging while I wait. We're going to mall-walk because it's raining, and then eat lunch at Cracker Barrel, and then I'll come home in time to pick my mother up from the beauty shop (LaTanya, the manager at Heritage, will drop her off). It's a dreary day, but sharing it with a friend will improve it a lot.

Happy Wednesday!

I'm so excited that I get to take a girlfriend trip today to meet Annette, my covenant forever friend for exactly 21 years TODAY! We're also going to visit my PREGNANT daughter! Woohoo!
I leave you with the Dominos Noid!

#9 in the list of the 10 creepiest fast food mascots: The Dominos Noid

A fixture of the Dominos Pizza commercials from the 80s and 90s, the Noid was a small goblin-like humanoid with rabbit ears dressed in a tight red latex suit that communicated via a series of chortles and grunts. Tell me that ain't creepy.Need more evidence? The animated Noid in the TV commercials was bad enough. But adults dressing up as the Noid for Halloween and, more recently, 80s parties? Oh the humanity!

Fast Food Mascots

I can't think of anything to blog about, so I'm stealing this from another blog. This is actually only one-tenth of his blog, and I'll credit it eventually.

I don't eat much fast food anymore. Maybe it's because I read Fast Food Nation a few years back and that scared me off the chalupas and whoppers. Or it could be because the doctor told me to watch my fat intake and ease off the fried foods. When I really think about it though, those excuses are kinda lame. I think that the real reason I don't eat fast food is because fast food restaurants are doing their damndest to scare us away from their restaurants. I mean look at the weirdos they have peddling their food. Scary clowns? Creepy old men? Purple blobs? The fast food companies been subjecting us to these creeps for years, but recently the situation has become unbearable. So without further ado, I present to you my list of the 10 creepiest fast food mascots [note: I'm limiting the list to characters peddling goods for fast food outlets - I realize that the Kool Aid Man and Count Chocula are also disturbing, but that's for another list]:

#10: The Quiznos Rat/Hamster ThingWho thought selling fresh, healthy sandwiches alongside a mangy deranged rodent was a good idea? The last thing I want to think about when I'm eating food is some bubonic plague carrying, disease-ridden rat. At least Subway had the decency to saddle us with Jared Fogle.

More to come in days ahead!

BLOG CLOSED TONIGHT

This is how my head feels. I felt bad all day, in fact. Dunno why. Even had to decline an invitation to see Charlotte's Web with the E's tonight. Hope I feel better soon--big plans to see Annette and Ginger Wednesday!