Sharin' a Good Day

Good weather and a day off equal a good time had by yours truly today...and after I gathered up my brothers last batch of mail before he returns from his winter home in Orlando, I headed down the street to my favorite thrift store. Didn't find any fantastic bargains today...so that visit was a dud. Leaving there...I went to buy the hounds some dog food at Hy-Vee...hesitated going there because I don't care to be at the workplace when I am not working..but, since they have the lowest price for the brand I buy..I went there, got the dog food and split...
The thought entered my mind that my friend Carolyn might want to go out for a while, since it was such a nice day..so I went to her apartment to see if she wanted to go out for a late lunch...I was starving, since it was well after noon and I hadn't ate since breakfast. She was all for the idea, so we headed downtown to The Cellar..She had a slice of veggie and I had pepperoni, tomato and bacon...a combo that I make at the store..wanted to see if theirs was as good as mine..it wasn't, but it was pretty good and Carolyn surprised me by eating most of her slice...she eats like a bird..but I think the reason she did so good this time is that I struck up a conversation with the waitress and while we were talking..she was eating, whereas, before when we have dined together..she talks and doesn't eat!
I asked if she wanted to go anywhere else and she said she wanted to go to Cornucopia. Nosey me, I asked what she wanted to get there and she told me celery seed...of all things! When I asked her what she was going to do with it..she didn't respond. Mysterious lady! Ha! Anyway, we went to Cornucopia and and she got a whole 12 cents worth of the stuff and I had no further questions...just like the golf clubs and the golf bag...her business, not mine!
The Sav-a-Lot grocery store being our last stop..my cell phone rang and it was my hubby wanting to know who, what and where. We were all done with our ventures anyway, so, I took her home and proceeded to take myself home...all's well that ends well...and the day ended well and tonight we are having storm warnings and power outages so I daresay, I will have to cut this entry short or face the possibility of losing it completely! So, Adios ..and hope you'll be back for another episode of a day in the life of......

At Your Convience ?

A light went off in my head tonight as our Pastor mentioned something about people using church for their convenience and although they are on the membership roll...appear there occasionally and perhaps only when they feel the need to be "churched". I'm thinking to myself, "I sure don't want to be classified as that type of Christian!" Have I been? I don't think so now..but there was a time when I would have fallen into that category. I know better now. I have come to realize that when I thought that church was there just for me, when I thought I needed a touch, or when I was looking for what God had to offer me...on my terms....that I was going for the wrong reason! Church is not for what we can get from God...although His gifts are abundant and He is generous in His giving...I see Church as being a place where we can give to Him...in terms of honor and praise and respecting Him for all that He has done for us!
All that we have we owe to Him. So when you think about why you are going to church and you check off all the things that you think are important..the music...the sermon...the friends you get to see...the potlucks and all the other things we have come to associate with "going to church"...stop and think...what if? What if all you saw when you entered there was a crude, rather archaic, bloodstained cross........no music...no banners...no fanfare..just silence and that cross...a reminder of what church should be about..a reminder of the sacrifice that happened over two thousand years ago..perhaps not a pleasant sight to envision, but in reality...That is why we have church, folks..to celebrate a King, a Redeemer, and if there were nothing there but that cross as a reminder...would it be enough to bring you back? I know that we all like to sing, dance and enjoy all that church has to offer us..but church is not for our convenience...it is not a spiritual 7-eleven! So, remember, when you go to your church next Sunday......take a mental picture of it without all the pretty stuff and in your mind's eye...see the scene that will never be erased from history...or from the thoughts of every believer...and think again about what you can do to serve your church!

Hello, Spring! Goodbye Blahs!

Today, being a nice day, or at least part of it was....I got to see my neighbors and actually speak with them for the first time in quite a while...Winter can put a damper on the art of neighboring and in the case of us and our neighbors, we hardly saw each other for several months other than in passing occasionally..so when I saw them out on their back porch today, I thought to myself..now there is a sure sign of Spring! So, we had our first neighborly chat in quite some time..and as I called it..we came out of hibernation! It was a good feeling and even though the weather turned kind of sour today, I felt the spirit of Spring in the air today and even saw a couple robins! We took our two canine buddies for a walk this morning and even Josie was anxious to get out and about and was quite the spunky girl as she wobbled down the street! I think we are all ready to enjoy some nice warm sunshine and be able to go outdoors with a lot less apparel to bog us down! There is something about the coming of Spring that perks us up...the newness of everything...the grayness of winter and all the gloominess it takes on will not be missed by me, that's for sure! Just to be able to turn off the furnace and throw open the windows and get some fresh air is a blessing in itself!

Another Sunday Lesson

Our Pastor delivered a sermon this morning entitled "What if?" It was one of his better ones, I must say! He gave us all something to really think about. What if we got as excited and enthusiastic over worshiping God as we got over a baseball game or you could plug in any sports event, car race, rock concert! He gave an example of some famous person strolling into the room and everyone whooping and hollering at that person's very presence...but when we go to church and we know for sure that God is right there amongst us...we can barely eek out an Amen when the preacher says something we are all in agreement of! What if we could get as excited about the most important Being in the whole universe as we do over our favorite celebrity, baseball team or singer! That's something to think about folks! We should be aware of His presence every single day and should be praising Him all the time! As our Pastor spoke of all the what ifs, I could only think of how ashamed we should all be of ourselves for being so ungrateful of the One who provides us with all our needs and puts up with our selfish attitudes everyday, when we can hardly tolerate each other a lot of the time! He has so much more patience with us than we have with each other!
Another topic that was brought up by our Pastor was commitment. Yep, the Big C word that everyone steers clear of and cowers at the mere mention of! Well, the truth of the matter is that God requires commitment of us! We cannot be true followers of Christ without making a commitment to obey and trust Him and completely forfeit our will to let His will rule in our lives!
Some find that hard to swallow and undoubtedly will rebel.....and that is only human nature..because it is our nature to want to "run the show"...but God has a different plan for us and we would be wise to follow His directions...because history is proof that when man runs the show....things go haywire and pardon the expression, but,.....all hell breaks loose!
So, in closing, I got to hand it to our Pastor for giving a sermon that hit home with yours truly and, most likely, to a few others in the congregation this morning. Now, see what you can learn from going to church! Seriously, folks, what Pastor had to tell us this morning is for our own good and the most important thing he told us...was that church is not just about going and occupying a seat, singing a song, dancing or waving a flag.........church is merely a small part of developing a loving relationship with the God of our universe...our Father, our Creator....and is not just about one day of the week...everyday we must worship Him....be thankful and carry His message, His Gospel...as Pastor put it...Good News, to everyone in our daily lives...that's what this thing called Christianity is all about.....not something that we keep to ourselves, but something we share.........He is a Gift and gifts are to be given, not hoarded up.....so, share your knowledge of the Gospel with someone...you will be honoring God and doing what He means for you to do in the process!

Systems Down

In this day and age of computerized technology, we find ourselves so dependent upon the touch of a key to take us anywhere we want to go....to find out anything we need to know and we communicate with anyone we desire to! Now don't you think we have become just a little spoiled by the resources we have become accustomed to tapping into! The computer is probably the best thing ever to come along as far as communication and access to knowledge goes! But, what if it isn't working properly or, heaven forbid...Malfunctioning to the point it isn't working at all!!!!
This morning I ran into a small problem with MySpace and couldn't read my messages or send any! It was a bit irritating, but not exactly devastating! I resorted to sending out a bulletin for everyone! Now if that hadn't worked, I may have had to just throw a big tantrum! Just kidding, folks, I haven't thrown a tantrum in quite some time!
I don't know where the above paragraph is leading to...but as I was attempting to access my messages this morning and couldn't, I felt temporarily disconnected! When you have something to say to someone and they aren't accessible, what do you do? How do you think God feels when He tries to reach us and we are not listening to Him? I'll bet He gets just as exasperated as I did this morning when MySpace was down! Like me, I'll bet he will resort to a different strategy to reach us if the first one doesn't work.....One thing for sure, is, He is not about to give up on us....stubborn and bullheaded as we are.....He keeps knocking at the door....just waiting for an answer! Even though communication systems may be temporarily down in our earthly realm..........His system never malfunctions....we just have receiving problems!

Who Has All the Answers?

Here I am on this page, after several attempts to get here! I thought I had my password problems ironed out yesterday....and finally came to the destination I had originally desired...after much exasperation! And today when I thought I had everything worked out..I got that nasty little message...."password and username do not match!" But, due to my new found brilliance and pure determination..here I am...without the slightest notion as to why I am here!
But isn't that the way our lives are to a certain extent? Sometimes I wonder why I am here and how did I get this far and where am I going? I have learned that it is not by our own design to answer these questions. One Who is far greater in might and wisdom has already taken care of all those questions for me and for you to! Who, might you ask? Our Creator........who has numerous titles but most everyone just knows Him as God....He has your story and my story from beginning to end.....and we can be rest assured that we are in good Hands! Not a big long, drawn out message today, folks, ...short and sweet.....I just felt the need to connect with all your heads today and hope you give a little thought to my words!

I Just Want to Tell You About.........

Today was the first work day after my vacation and went rather smooth..surprisingly!
Usually the first day back after vacation is kind of rocky...guess that vacation was just what I needed to set me back in sync..because before the vacation I was ready to literally "take out" a few of my co-workers! This is normal for me...and when I get to that point, I know, for everyone's sake..it's time to put in for a vacation!
This was the first of three vacations I will take this year..after eight years of service at my job..we are allowed three whole weeks of vacation time throughout the year..and this was my first year to get that extra week.
This vacation involved a trip to Powder Springs, Georgia. The event was The Eagle's Wings Conference at Trinity Chapel. It lasted for three days and each day was different. The first day we got to hear Joseph Garlington. He is a very entertaining pastor of a big church in Pittsburgh..his message was simplistic in nature and his stories and humorous antecdotes kept everyones attention....one of which was..."Tomorrow, about this time, things are gonna change"! I am still singing this little phrase! He also told us not to question God...don't ask how God is going to do anything! His motto is "Get the "how" outta here! " I love that one!
Bob Stearns was top billing at the conference...I cannot say enough about this guy..he is truly dynamic and faithful to his cause...the protection of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. He can sing too! He had that church rocking now...people were waving flags...dancing.......it was worshiping the Lord at it's finest! It was great to see so many people united for one reason!
The three days spent at Trinity were informative, inspiring, motivating........and most of all, thought provoking...everyone I heard, everyone I saw..made me think about how great our God is and what my part is in being a part of His plan for all of us. And you know what...Things are gonna change...they have to!