Joyful Transformation

Still no electricity. However I got up and went to the gym this morning, so I got my hot shower and my BLOW DRYER!! David had purchased a generator for us last week. Living out in the boonies as we do we often lose power for hours or days. Last night we cranked up the generator, hooked up the refrigerator, the TV and the Satellite receiver. So I did get to see Fox News and Andy Roddick lose in the first round of the US Open! We decided the items in the fridge had already been compromised, so we shut the generator down before going to bed. Man it was quiet. I do like that. It was also a little warm, even with the windows open, I don’t like that quite as much.
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This morning I was thinking about the temptation of Jesus in the dessert. I was thinking I wish Satan would be so obvious with us. You know just come out and say behind door #1 is the greatest thing ever, all you have to do is…(fill in the thing that gets you). But as I thought about this I realized two things. First of all we don’t know how long or in what ways Satan played on the weakness of Jesus. We assume a frontal approach, but that could have just been the final confrontation after building up the levels of weakness that a long fast would bring. Second, we usually are aware of what we are being tempted with. We play these little games in our head. “It is just this one time”, “I am not really hurting anybody”. “God, didn’t really mean this, not for me.” Yes the reality is we often make a conscious decision to give in to the temptation of Satan. We fool ourselves into believing that we are still in control and can pull ourselves up and out of any situation we might get into.

I am someone who has had a lifelong struggle with controlling my weight. When my conviction is firm and I know that I am not going to eat the wrong things, the temptation of food (even chocolate) does not affect me. I can easily walk away from it. But when I am not on a program or when I have relaxed my standards a little while on vacation, I then find it hard to resist the food that I know is not good for me. I also find rich, highly fattening foods somewhat repulsive when I am working out.

In the same way, we must keep our spiritual convictions strong. Our mind has to be made up before the “temptation” is ever offered up on a platter. And I think that we will find that when we are busy doing the work of Jesus, those things that once looked so appealing will have lost their luster. But this is not a 40 day program. I must make a life-long, constantly renewable, commitment to walking as Jesus walked and to saying NO to Satan.

In the “chronicles of the apropos”; yesterday I answered a question on JettyBetty’s blog about what I would hate to give up to live in the days of “Little House on the Prairie. My answer included blow-dryers. Well Katrina paid us a little visit and has left me without power for an extended period of time, thus this morning, no blow dryer. Well technically I still had a blow dryer however it was found to be a/c challenged in the absence of electrical current. So today as I let my hair dry naturally I started to understand why the women wore bonnets in those days….

Truly we were spared any major damage from the storm, we had a few inconveniences such as limbs in the road and no power, but compared to what our neighbors to the south are facing this is so very minor. As I stood on my deck and saw the trees bending to the point of breaking and my normally placid lake having white caps I got a small taste of what a storm felt like…a very small taste. My heart goes out to those who have lost so much. I hope to have the opportunity to offer some support and relief.

In other tales of the strange and bizarre (not that I would be overly dramatic today), I was looking for a particular journal this morning while I waited for the power line to be cleared from my road. I wanted to record a “special event” in a special journal. (I will share this special event with you all a little later). When I found the journal I of course had to start reading it from the beginning. This was Valentines day of 2003 (the reason I started blogging, my regular journaling was VERY sporadic). But the strange thing was the last entry in this journal was August 28, 2004. This was mine and Terri’s last day at the beach last year. I just found that to be a little strange.

It is a faith builder to go back and see the struggles you were going through and how God has answered your prayers. His gentle guidance through the storms that life send our way are often overlooked without looking back to see where we have come from. It is humbling to see how he has handled a situation so much better than what you “told” him to do. What a wonderful and awesome God we have!

I had a wonderful weekend. I got to keep sweet Matthew on his 13 month birthday (can you quit counting months now?). I got to play tennis with my son Friday, with a new group Saturday, and with our new team on Sunday. Church was encouraging and uplifting and somewhat exhausting with Matthew “wallowing” all over me, but that is the best part, right? I do love my ladies group; they are the supports that keep me held up when I might otherwise fall.

I am very concerned for my neighbors to the south; Katrina seems to be unaware of Southern hospitality and is coming in very rudely. I pray that God will weaken her and that people have left danger areas. My prayers are with you. I am extremely concerned about JD, but I feel sure he got out of town.

Saturday, as I said, I played tennis with a different group of ladies. I knew they were all much better players than I was so I was playing with a great deal of intensity. I was holding my racquet so tightly that I rubbed a blister on my finger. The thing is, I realized by the end of the day that I could see areas that I was improving in. It’s like that in all that we do. If we associate with people who are better than us it brings us up to their level. Oh, I know that we have to guard against the converse, and it probably was not as much fun for them to play with someone who was not as skilled; but they all took them time and effort to give me some pointers to help me.
Often I find myself playing poorly against a less capable opponent.

We must be careful who we spend our time with. If we are with someone more spiritual is lifts us up, it helps our walk. If we are with someone who may not be as mature as us, but they are trying, it gives us a great opportunity to be an encourager, and maybe even to give some pointers. I sometimes let the weakness of others discourage me and miss an opportunity to teach and encourage. Of course there are some people who do not share our faith and make light of our precious Savior. I think we must keep our distance from people who would make us weaker by belittling our faith.

And just to stick with the tennis analogy, sometimes you are going to associate with people who think they have the only way and have no respect or mercy for anyone who does it any differently. I think of these people in the same way as the tennis “guru’s “ who think they know all the proper techniques, but still find themselves getting beat by a player who hits a lot of “junk” balls. It’s all about heart; we must keep ours open to the needs of others and never let it become hardened against the many people that our Savoir died for.

Have you caught that new show on Discovery Channel called “Myth Busters”? My husband loves this show. They take myths like tomato juice removing the smell of a skunk and they set about to either prove it or bust the myth. One night they tried every conceivable way to split an arrow completely up the shaft as is done in the William Tell movie and could not do it. Last night they were testing the theory that a stick of dynamite placed properly inside a cement truck would remove the loose cement. Now they called that myth busted when the truck blew to smithereens…but in my opinion the concrete was gone….

I was doing some Bible reading while sitting there with my husband, and I wonder if we treat the words of God as myths that have to be proved or “busted”. I am enjoying Fajita’s series on the Word of God and it is opening my eyes to a new way of looking at things. But last night I wondered if we take the written word and analyze, break it down, try it on, cast it off, or just declare that it must have been a custom of the day.

I don’t want to be guilty of treating the Bible or any of the words of God as myths or theories. I want to break free from trying to prove that I am right or that you are wrong. Instead, I want to let God’s word speak to me.

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

Word of God Speak
MercyMe

Last night we took our friend Paula (the one in pink with a boa around her neck) out for her birthday! We had a great time. There is nothing better than getting together with friends and laughing and being silly and even making a little too much noise in a restaurant. Our waitress said we were having a lot of fun for a group of ladies drinking tea and water! Hey, that's the best kind of fun!


Donna is in the back---in black! Terri aka TL is in the front in yellow.







Our waitress took us out to the middle in front of the bar to give Paula her "Big Ye-haw" that they do at Logan's Roadhouse. The stranger from the bar just decided he wanted to be a part of Paula's birthday celebration! I think it made her night! Although when she sees that Tennesse banner hanging over her head she may 'barf'!



We are a strange mixture of friends. I am not sure we would have ever been drawn to each other in life without our common bond of wanting to get to Heaven. I love these girls. They make life here on earth a small taste of Heaven. I am sure we will giggle and sing and cut up when we pass through the Pearly Gates. Won't it be grand!

I lead a very sheltered life. But, I am comfortable here, surely I am not meant to get out in the highways and byways and deal with people who live differently, am I? I mean sure I want to be about living for Jesus and feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and the imprisoned and all that, but I can do that by tossing a few dollars towards people who are actually trained for this….can’t I?

Yesterday on the heels of my post about how I deserved a vacation, I went on a little trip. The trip was to a little place called reality. I have mentioned before that I am on the board for the local Habitat for Humanity. Since I deal with people applying for home loans everyday, the board felt that I should head up the “selection committee”. Me and another committee member went for a “home visit” to one of the finalist in our selection. Here a single mom is raising two pre-teen boys on a daily pay of about what it takes for me to fill up my SUV. She lives in a trailer that I was literally afraid to walk through for fear of my feet going through the floor. There was one spot in the older son’s bedroom where the floor had actually fallen through. Her landlord had told her to put a board over it; he would try to get to it soon. That was at Christmas. The front glass in the door is broken out and one of the bathrooms doesn’t work. She does not have a bedroom, but sleeps on a mattress on the living room floor. This is after working 40 to 50 hours a week on her feet. Poverty, sub-standard housing and lack of training to make the most of what she does have…right under my nose, right under the nose of a town that has a church or two in every square mile of the county; how could this be?

God wouldn’t let me sleep with this last night. I went to bed at 10:30 and woke up at 11:15. At 12:15 I just got up, I lurked on many of your blogs and tried to find the peace to return to sleep. It didn’t happen. I can run, but I can’t hide. My sin is before me; my sin of complacency, my sin of short sightedness, my sin of a hard heart. In the midst of the filth of the living situation I was ashamed of the way I was thinking. “How hard is it to be clean’? “She should at least be doing the best she can with what she has!” You know what? She probably was.

God has blessed my life. Sure I have worked hard, and I have never really been without a job. But I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who shared my dedication to being a “good worker”. I am blessed with a level of intelligence that has helped me make good choices and was blessed with parents who loved me and while they were never very far from poverty themselves they taught us to take pride in our home and our belongings. Not everyone has that. And while it seems natural to you and me it is very possibly a life style that has to be taught to someone who has never lived like that.

Yesterday, even before the sleepless night, I had resolved to be a disciple of Jesus. I am going to quit being the follower who lingers at the edge of the crowd looking for another miracle, another blessing. I am going to be a disciple. I am going to be finding the loaves and fishes and serving them to the crowd. I am going to be there picking up the pieces when the feast is over. I am going to have to get down there with the same people that Jesus associated with. I have a lot of preconceived notions to overcome. But I know that God can fill my heart and change me.

Would you join me? Will you truly follow Jesus?

Rested….relaxed…raring to go??? Not so much, but two out of three ain’t bad!
The beach was great. The weather was perfect. If you were three feet from the ocean it was cool enough to truly enjoy. It was a little hot getting down there and back, but it was worth it. The water was even perfect. God blessed me with a clear view to the bottom in case I was too worried about sharks…. The sky was the most amazing shade of blue, the sand was pristine white….I had a great time! Unfortunately David had hurt his back and was not able to join me on the beach. But he was able to get the rest that he would have avoided had we been at home, and he is nearly proficient in the programming of the military channel. I wish he had felt better but we still had a great time.

I could not help but think of the vacations gone by. From the time my children were preschoolers I made sure that we traveled to the beach at least once a year. Sometimes it was only at Spring Break, but we always made at least one trip. Some years it was so cold that we wore long sleeves the whole time, but we were at the Beach!!! If is funny when I recount some of my favorite memories to them, they sometimes don’t even remember the trip. I thought vacation was something you ALWAYS remembered. Perhaps in my zeal to make sure they had vacations, I made it commonplace; something not really important.

You see, as a child I went on three vacations. The first was in a camper hull on the back of my Dad’s truck. We went to Lookout Mountain and then proceeded to Owensboro Kentucky where some old friends of my Mom & Dad lived. I am thinking I was around 12. They had a son who was the same age as my older brother and I know I had a severe crush! This may have been a new resolve by my own Mom, because I think it was the next year that we went to Ft. Walton Beach. This was my first trip to the beach. It was love at first sight. Even though we stayed in a small room with a kitchenette, we had a great time. When I look at the pictures it is hard to tell we had a great time because I had that smirk that every thirteen year old girl wears in all of the pictures… The most amazing thing is that on the way home Mom and I registered for a free vacation in some service station restroom….We WON!! A trip to Disney World and to Ft Lauderdale Florida where all my parents had to do was go listen to a spill about how they should buy a time-share.

The next year we five, adult size people crammed ourselves into an American Motors Hornet and took off for Disney World. It had not been opened long and frankly the only thing I remember is "It’s a Small World", maybe because that was the life I was living in the backseat of that Hornet. But, on we go to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I am not sure how long this trip took, but 700 hours is what it felt like! However, here we stayed in a real condo. It had separate bedrooms and a kitchen…cool! I recall not being too impressed with the beach, but I did like the little apartment!

I remember the first vacation I went on after 9/11/01. I felt guilty. Here I was leading a normal life and enjoying luxuries of the beach while there were so many still suffering. I have since realized that we need times of silence and solitude in our lives. Many people have to get away from their normal routines to be able to find this. I am one these people. I will always find something to be busy doing if I stay at home. Maybe vacations are luxuries that we take for granted, but in our busy lifestyles it is the one luxury we MUST allow ourselves. If we can take a weekend in a camper and take hot-dogs from home or if we go to a five star resort, we need time away from the day-to-day to refresh and recharge. I know that God talked to me at the beach. He told me some things I really needed to hear. I am grateful I was still long enough to listen.

Today is the birthday of a good friend of mine. We worked together for a couple of years in the early 90’s. (It is hard for me to realize how long ago that is getting to be!) It struck me this morning how some of my best friends in life have been VERY different from me. She was single in her late twenties, very perky and professional. I was in my early 30’s married with two children. I was not so professional and I was extremely laid back (at least in comparison with her). However, we found a strange, quirky friendship that I treasure to this day. I often think that our differences drew us to each other. I mean who wants to spend time with someone who is just like them? I am not sure I would even like myself as a friend!
This seems to be a pattern that I repeat in my life. I become good friends with people who are in a totally different “place” in life than I am. Maybe that is a good thing. Today I just find it a peculiar thing. But I do think I enjoy laughing about the differences between me and my good friends. I am glad everyone is not like me!

Perhaps we should be as willing to accept our differences in our church family. While I may push for change in some areas, I have to remember to be considerate of my brothers and sisters who may not be as ready for change. After all, I am grateful that we have a nursery on Sunday mornings….but I don’t want to work in it! I am glad we have a jail-ministry, but I don’t feel my calling is there either. Can we embrace our differences of opinion on issues that don’t matter realizing that we are all striving to reach the same destination? Perhaps the first change we should make is in our attitudes. Can we all just agree to love and accept each other and accept the fact that we have differences? I am willing…. Are you?

On a side note, in an attempt to get the rest that I believe I truly need, I am going to make a sacrifice and travel to the beach this afternoon to spend the weekend! Therefore, I will not be posting again until Monday. I just realized that I have not been to the beach all summer. Terri and I stopped by, when we returned from our cruise back in April, but I don’t think it counts when you spend less than 3 hours. So I will catch up on my reading and try to get these white rings around my wrists (from wearing sweat-bands) and my feet tanned. Hope you all find a way to relax this weekend as well. (Somebody better call me when Mae has her baby!)

• Why can’t Wal-Mart shoppers walk 5 or 10 more steps to return their buggy to the return stall??? WHY!!
• Why do people who see a large charcoal Tahoe bearing down on their 1965 Chevrolet pickup refuse to signal that they are turning!!! Yes the window was down and I do know hand signals!!!
• Why Vanilla Ice (or anyone for that matter) would tattoo every inch of their forearm?
• Why the Israeli Government is forcing Jewish citizens from their home in the Gaza Strip.
• Why those same citizens did not take the money and run when they knew the evacuation would be forced.
• Why do I find so fascinating about new ink pens.
• Why won’t my home phone ring (any of them) when I get an incoming call?
• Why are their women jogging down the street in the morning?
• Why do I want a Heath Bar Blizzard when I need comfort food?
• Why do I feel the need to “blog” before I get to work?

I am sure there are more, I may add to this list during the day.

Feel free to add your own!

The Lord knew what he was doing when he set the Sabbath aside as a day of rest. We sometimes don’t have enough sense to know when our bodies need rest. Or we think we are invincible and just keep pushing until we HAVE to rest; I should know I am there! After nine straight days of tennis and/or workouts I pulled a muscle, tendon or something behind my knee while playing tennis last night, making running and lifting in target class an impossible mission…..so this morning I slept till almost 7:00!! Slothful, I know, but I NEEDED it!

I think I am realizing that I am not good at anything when I push and push and don’t find time to rest. Even my tennis game suffered last night. On the heels of my “good” play against a formidable opponent, I played “lousy” against an opponent I should have beaten easily. I know you are all sick to death of reading about my tennis exploits, but it is true in life as well. If we face opposition or temptation with our guard down, without the proper rest and refreshing of our spirits, we can be easily defeated by something we usually have no problem overcoming.

Therefore, in the spirit of making resolutions anytime its suits my purpose, I am resolving to take at least one day a week for complete physical rest. Since I don’t usually realize that I have reached my limit until I have pushed past it, I must enforce this rule upon myself. I think this will make me a more pleasant person to be around. I am not a lot of fun when I am exhausted!

Yesterday I was presented an opportunity for a re-match (on the tennis courts) with a guy who had intimidated me badly the first time we played. The first time we played I finally settled into the match during the second set after practically ducking his shots in the first. This time I went on the courts knowing that he was strong, but also knowing that I could handle it. Sure he still hit some winners by me, he aced me a couple of times on his serve, but for the most part I could return what he put out there. Approaching the courts with this attitude made for a fun afternoon. My serve was better, my volleying better and all around I just played better tennis, partly because of playing a strong opponent.

When I think on it, my skills have not really improved dramatically in the month since I played against this guy last, so what has changed? My attitude; I knew what he could bring but refused to cower in fear, but stepped up my game to meet his.

We face a very powerful opponent. While we don’t choose to get into battles against him there are times that we must. Sometimes we must charge in knowing that we are in danger to rescue someone we love or just to win back the ground that has been taken from us. We must respect our enemy (Jude: 9,10) but we should approach him confident that we are armed with the weapons to defeat him. This confidence gives us the ability to use the gifts and abilities we have been given. I hate going home and looking in the mirror when I have given a match away on the tennis courts. In the same way I hate looking in the mirror when I let Satan take me out of my game and gets me to play on his terms.

We will lose some battles to Satan. If his control on this world was so strong that it required the blood of our precious Savior, we should never, ever doubt his power. Perhaps this is why we are admonished over and over to be humble. We can be confident in our salvation and in our weapons, but we must keep our shield up and realize that he will always be looking for the weakness in our armor.

Last week my hair got to me. My bangs were falling in my eyes and driving me crazy. So I did what any time-pressed female does….I got out the scissors. Now to say that I can’t cut straight would be one of the great understatements of all times. My husband would not let me trim the hedges at our old house (that had hedges) because they were so shall we say creative. I gave up on sewing because I couldn’t cut it out! So if you are picturing my bangs looking like the jagged edge of a wrecked car, you are pretty close. But, I didn’t quit. No I continued to trim and cut trying to make them straight the end result being…..they were short, real short and still crooked. In the meantime the back of my hair appeared to have grown about 3 inches….It was beginning to look a lot like a mullet!! Saturday morning I went to the beauty shop and cried “help!” She didn’t laugh (at least out loud), she didn’t scold me, she simply fixed my mess and made my hair look decent once more. She did have only little sly remark about how much I wanted taken off my bangs….but I deserved it.

Today I realized my bangs are growing quickly. They look normal again. Will I leave them alone and go the professional this time when they get out of hand….yes!! But in a couple of months I will forget what a mess I made and I will try again to cut them myself…I know, I have repeated this behavior a little too often.

I do this sometimes in my walk with God. I let something go until it gets the best of me. Then I rush in to fix it, never once realizing that I am just going to make a bigger mess for myself. All the while God looks on, knowing that he has the tools to fix it for me…if only I would ask. When I finally do turn to him in desperation crying “help”, he doesn’t scold me or laugh at me, he just fixes my mess wondering why I take so long to bring it to him. The next time I am faced with this type of situation I will remember and I will carry it to God…. But sooner or later I will forget, I will once again try to fix things myself only to once again find myself in a bigger mess.

Last night I caught myself whining to two of my dear friends. I even heard the words “what are we going to do??” escape my mouth. These are not bad words unless you present them without any suggestions for direction.

I read last night of a family who never condemned or judged each other. They were not perfect people, but they held each other in high regard and refused to condemn or sit in judgment of each other. This is a foreign concept to me.

I want to be that kind of person though. I would love to be able to start that tradition in my own family. It occurs to me that I must begin with me. No not just changing the fact that I condemn and judge others, but the fact that I condemn and criticize myself! Don’t get me wrong, I am not suffering from a lack of self-esteem, but I do get hung up on my short comings at times and focus all my energy on what I am “not doing” or at least what I am “not doing WELL”.

Today I am going to dwell on the good in me. Not in a sense of pride or haughtiness, but just to realize I am a child of God; Special to the point that his son died for me! If I can focus that energy in my own life, surely it will spill over to all of the people I come in contact with.

It seems like a good plan…..I will let you know

I feel somewhat like a small boat without a rudder in the middle of a storm. It is not that I am not moving, I am in perpetual motion, but where am I going? What direction is my life taking? Have I set a course, or am I being tossed about with every change in the wind?

I know about anchors, and I feel like my faith is a solid anchor. So from whence does this uneasiness come (don’t you love to speak in King James-eese.)? I think it goes back to purpose. I read about it, I study about it, I talk about it, but have I defined it in my life? I don’t think so. Or maybe I have, but just don’t feel that I am “living” it. What is it going to take to get me on track?

Any suggestions?

I am usually all about change…but there are some things you should not mess with. When will the guys at Coca-Cola learn, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it?! I love Diet Coke, I know that it is flavored water with fizz, but I LOVE it! I don’t need lime in it, I sure don’t want vanilla in it. Just leave it alone! Nutra-Sweet may be killing my short term memory (I like to have something to blame it on), but I don’t like the taste of the Diet Coke with Splenda. I am not sure what the whole Coke-Zero is. But I probably won’t like it.

Perhaps they are trying to attract a new market, perhaps there are people who will try one of their new concoctions and like it. But for me, I know what I like, PLEASE leave it alone!



Can we return to the original recipe in our churches? Can we just be like Jesus and forget about all of the “added-flavors”? If we lift him up, he will draw all men unto him!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was studying how we should correct a brother. I indicated I was going to post about it, but just never got around to it. This weekend I was working through how I should approach some criticism that seemed a little judgmental to me. As I was stewing and thinking how best to respond, the strangest thing occurred. The Holy Spirit got busy showing me things. I picked up studying in The Divine Conspiracy on this chapter on correction. Dallas Willard says “When we condemn another we really communicate that he or she is, in some deep and just possibly irredeemable way, bad-bad as a whole and to be rejected…..To be fair we rarely intend such total rejection, but that is usually what comes across. To correct another without making this happen requires great spiritual and personal maturity.”

Well I was able to apply this both to my attitude when receiving criticism and to curb my desire to strike back. I DID feel as if the person thought I was bad! I felt the need to lash out, because I felt “attacked”. So would anything I said be received any differently? Probably not. Now I know that this chapter is talking about confronting someone in sin, but truly is that not what we do when we are being judgmental? Are we not just assuming this person is wrong and we are right? But he goes on to give four guidelines for correcting others.

1. Be absolutely sure of the sin. If there is any doubt assume it did not happen!
2. Correction is reserved for those who are “spiritual”, my interpretation; leaders.
3. Correction should only be done for the purpose of restoration, not straightening someone out.
4. Those who restore must be aware that they could do the same things this person has done or worse. This removes any sense of self-righteousness or superiority.
   

The book is rich, but then yesterday Terri and I went to worship with Greg Miles and our friends at Crossbridge. Gary Brantley had a wonderful sermon on the prodigal son, or as he called it the Lost Sons! I think that the attitude of the older brother is also key to our learning to love and accept each other. Jesus paints a picture of open armed love and forgiveness and yet demonstrates to us that sometimes that is not how WE feel. I don’t want to be that way. Even when someone has hurt me or my feelings I want to be able to see good, to respond in love.

Last night I got the final nudge in the book store. I would tell you the title of the book I saw, but that would almost be my “retribution”. So let me suffice it to say, I felt justified. But with my new found understanding of correction, I will just enjoy it “on the inside” and try to remain humble.

The new graphic "photo" of me is in honor of my journey into the 40 days of Fat- Reloaded.

From now until September 9th I will be exercising, playing tennis, and eating smarter in an effort to lose weight and raise money for the Jimmie Hale Mission.

My totals will be in my side-bar but I have not explained my "giving" this time..

For every lb lost I will donate $10.00
For every minute working out $.01
For every tennis match won $1.00
For every tennis set played $.25


Would like to join us? Click here for more information.

Update: OK, I couldn't take that picture for 40 days!!! Maybe after 40 days I will put a "real" picture of me out here!

I did it! Finished Harry Potter! Started reading Sunday night around 7:00, but had tennis Monday and Tuesday. Was able to read some Wednesday and Thursday nights, but I had to get in bed at a reasonable time to get up at 4:45! I finished today while sitting in the waiting room with my daughter at the Doctor’s office. I am not sure why I felt so pressured to get this book finished, but I did. I guess I just felt behind because it took me so long to get started…just can’t quite tame that ole’ competitive spirit!

Last night I read the first chapter of Psalms before going to bed.
1)How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2)But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

I think that last part of verse came back to me in my sleep. I was making spiritual applications to the Harry Potter Book. Is that meditating on the law day and night? Or is that just Donna trying to justify the amount of time (that word again) she has spent trying to finish that book! To be honest when I first read that verse I thought to myself…here I am trying to squeeze in a little Bible reading before going to bed when I have spent the last two hours devouring a novel…Not a very proud moment for me.

I caught myself timing an elevator today….It only goes one floor and it takes 15 seconds…I truly have “time” disease.

That’s it folks, my brain is not churning out anything meaningful today. I think I will work hard this weekend at getting re-focused!! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

This morning while I was taking a shower, I realized that I had left my watch on. I quickly took it off and tossed it out of the shower. I realized that there are very few places I go without my watch on; bed, shower, boat/Sea-Doo, and the tennis courts. So I started thinking about “time”. Of course the Rolling Stones song “Time is on my Side” was the first song I thought of. How untrue that statement is. Time is never really on anybody’s side. I think possibly it defeats us more than any other enemy.

There are the things we would have done but we didn’t have time. We wish we had more time to spend with my parents/kids/grandparents/spouse, or so we say. Not having time is one of the great excuses of all times. There are times when your Bible school teacher or minister will speak of being out of time, and you are not ready to stop. (On the flip side there are times when time seems to stand still, if you know what I mean…) Is the pursuit of time and rigid schedules just one more way we try to be in control? Do we fear giving up the “time-keeping”? What are we afraid of?

Yes, I am not too sure that this little bracelet around my arm is not more of a handcuff. I realize that there must be structure for our society to function. But shouldn’t we be able to occasionally enjoy being with each other without checking our watch? Maybe the reason we don’t know each other better is because we are always rushing off to the next “great” thing. I think that the older I get the more protective I become of my “time”. But, I must ask myself what am I spending my time doing.

Do you have any time issues?

I had a lot of fun playing tennis last night. I realized that sometimes I play and don’t have fun…what is up with that?? My resolve for this month is: If you are going to play- HAVE FUN!!

Today things are good. I am enjoying tennis, my spin instructor is back (yay!), we have a new target (interval training) instructor who worked our butts off, but was fun. Work has been a little more relaxed (well at least as far as inner-office turmoil). July was my best (income wise) month of this year. DH is getting to play some golf (though not enough) so he is more patient with my tennis playing. The kids are doing great. My daughter is still trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, but her attitude is better about it all.

While I sit here and count my blessings, I wonder why others are going through such tough times. I feel guilty that things are so good for me right now while there are many who are close to me that are struggling, I mean really struggling. I lift them up in prayer and try to be the kind of friend who is really there for them. But I am sure I fail at doing all that I should do. I know that like Job, I could be without any of the blessings in my life in the blink of an eye. I pray that I would still trust God and draw even closer to his love. I also pray that I am not so self-absorbed in doing the things that I love to do that I neglect the more important things.

Dear Lord, I know that your ways are not my ways and often times I confess that I don’t understand your ways. I love you and trust you and I know that you see so many things that I can never see or even fathom. Help me to be your hands, your heart to those who are hurting. Humble my heart that while I praise you for the blessings you have showered into my life I am also aware of those who are struggling. Give me the courage and the willingness to do the right thing. Please ease the cloud of trials that MFC is going through right now. You know of whom I speak. Thank you for your love and your grace and your mercy. In Jesus I pray, Amen.

Are there any Princess Bride fans out there? Do you remember the scene after Westley (AKA the “Dread Pirate Roberts”) has bested the Giant and is now involved in a duel of wits with Vizzini (the guy who kept saying “inconceivable”). Vizzini is so sure of his superior intellect that he enters this duel uttering one of the many classic lines from the movie; “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia." But only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line." He laughs and then falls over dead from Iocane poison.

Have you ever entered a duel of wits? Have you ever been so busy “not liking” someone and the way that they do things that you unwittingly allow them to manipulate you by over-thinking and questioning yourself? Suddenly you forget all the things you know to do that are right, that are proper form, etiquette, whatever and you become involved in besting this person with your superior intellect, wit or skills…? Or is that just me? Sometimes the more I think the other person is wrong or detestable the more I am affected, the more I become what I am trying to defeat.

I think that perhaps that is why God so hates the sin of pride. He wants us to lean on him. He is the answer to defeating what is wrong, what is bad, what is ugly. Turning the other cheek is not always the easy thing to do. Many times for me I would say that it is down-right impossible. But I believe that we are told to do that for a reason. I believe it may be the only way we can defeat pride in our lives.

Ours is such a society of competitiveness (I know, I know, I have talked about this before!). Satan and his minions are well aware of how competitive we are. They know that we have an incredible sense of “fair-play” that becomes outraged when others don’t play that way. Anger, resentment and pride will quickly rot any fruit of the Spirit that is trying to live in us. Sometimes the stakes are high and the anger is justified, but we cannot allow Satan to take us out of our game. We have to continue to use the armor that we have been outfitted with. Some people are sadly overtaken by evil and we will never, ever be able to change that, but we can keep them from taking our hope, our light, our goodness away from us.

Maybe by writing this down today it will sink in! I sure need to learn this lesson!

Don’t you love the first day of a new month? The calendar is crisp and new, I have not scribbled phone #’s and appointments all over it yet. I write my blog in Word and then copy it to blogger, so I have a clean new document for each month as well. The pressure is off for a couple of days on having a “good” month. It takes a few days to add up last month and see how well we did. And this month I am beginning the 40 Days of Fat- Reloaded, or as Fajita calls it; The Samaritan Run. I got a bit of a head start and my total forward this morning is $25.00. This time he is encouraging donating to your favorite charity. My donation this time will go to the Jimmie Hale Mission in Birmingham Alabama. If you would like to join us click here for the details.

A score and a half (and then some) years ago, I truly made a “new start” on this day. Today is my spiritual birthday. Now at almost 10 years old I am not sure how many sins I had to repent of, but I knew that I could not stand to here that song “Oh Why Not Tonight” one more time. I shook in my penny-loafers during the verse that said “Tomorrow’s sun may never rise, to bless my long deluded sight”. I wasn’t real sure what deluded sight was, but I knew I had to be baptized or I would burn in Hell for eternity. I realize that sounds so incredibly cynical and I debated deleting that part, but you know what? It is the truth. I have since learned to love God, to marvel that he would send his son to this earth to die for me. I have felt love and grace and comfort more than words can ever explain. But that little girl, she was just plain scared! Maybe it is something like the first time you hang-glide; there is only fear when you jump off the side of the mountain, but then you learn to fly; before you know it you are soaring! Yeah, I like to think of my Christian walk as soaring. Truth is sometimes I am soaring, and sometimes I am just trying to drag myself back up out of the ditch. Praise God, he is with me when I soar and when I sink. He even cleans me up when I stink! Yes, I wasn’t all together sure what I was doing all those years ago, but I have never regretted giving my life to God. I only wish I had been a better child. I am grateful that he always stands at the road looking for me when I have strayed. I am glad that I now realize that on that August 1st, I became equipped with the great eraser: the only real way to a New Start!