Random Dozen...just for fun...

I haven't done a meme in, like, ages. Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee posts some very interesting questions on her weekly Random Dozen list and I've wanted to play along but...doggone it, I can't figure out how to put that cool button on my post! So, well, I just decided to play this week anyway. I've been SO focused on sewing for the past month that I haven't been able to post my deeper thoughts (those have been there, believe me, and I hope to get some posted sometime soon), but I'm frustrated w/my lack of posting so I thought I'd just take an easy post and answer the questions... ;) Anyway, here goes (and I didn't read them before deciding to play!)

1. What was the last song you listened to?
Um, actively listened to? Or just had playing in the background? I think the last song I actively listened to was playing during staff prayer today. Typically, I can't tell anyone the name, but it was Rita Springer singing it and the chorus has the words 'All I need to do is worship; all I need to do is say Your name out loud'...or something like that...

2. Have you ever had “buyer’s remorse” over anything?
Yup. Most recently over a wallet that I mail ordered from the check printing company in March that developed zipper issues about a month later. The slider would go but nothing connected. Usually a good yank on the zipper would line things back up, but it was very frustrating. Today the zipper tab came off entirely. $34 plus shipping and it's now held together with a rubber band...

3. What is something in your life that you are thankful for now that you didn’t think you would be at the time of the event? (Something that seemed ill-timed, inconvenient or hurtful which turned out to be a good thing)
This will get deep quickly. In 1995 I had a miscarriage; we weren't planning any more kids. In fact, we were probably just on the edge of doing something permanent about no more kids. But we didn't just then, and all my hormones were thrown out of whack so three months later I got pregnant when, according to all calendars and such, I shouldn't have. Now I look at my 13-year old daughter and can't imagine life without her. But without the miscarriage to throw the delay into our plans, she likely wouldn't be here...

4. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade every year? If so, do you have a favorite float or balloon?
That's the One Thing we watch without fail on TV. No sitcoms, reality shows, talk shows or sporting events...just the parade. I can see/hear the TV from the kitchen; it's the soundtrack for the cooking. And I choke up when it starts and when it ends. Gotta say that my favorite parts are the high school bands; I was a clarinet player and *so* identify, even though the farthest we ever went was to a concert band contest in Vincinnes.

5. Share a quote, scripture, poem or lyric which has been an inspiration to you lately.
'Do all things without murmuring or complaining.' That one's still plowing the fallow ground...

6. This is meant to be a fun question, and this is a G-rated blog, but please share a “guilty pleasure,” something that you enjoy that’s probably not the most edifying, time-worthy or healthy thing you could be indulging in. Did I mention this blog is rated G?
I stink at video games. I play Mario party w/the kids, and, um, there's one game that's so bad it's funny, but I can do it. It's a really bad knock off of the Lord of the Rings...a turn based game that doesn't involve any coordination. I keep playing it to see how much higher I can rank the characters so they can cream the bad guys...

7. What Thanksgiving food are you looking forward to?
Turkey and dressing!!!

8. What is your favorite book to read to children, or what was your favorite childhood book?
I love to read aloud any books that need different voices (The Lord of the Rings was great fun), but my favorite childhood book was Heidi. It was the first 'chapter book' I read and I cried when I finished because I didn't want the story to be over.

9. Do you collect anything? (Feel free to post a photo.)
Um, fabric? 'Collection' sounds so much better than 'out of control stash'

10. Gift bags or wrapping paper?
Wrapping paper. Unless the gift is so oddly shaped that wrapping paper is just not feasible and there is no box available to make wrapping paper feasible.

11. Share an after-school memory from when you were younger. What was your routine like on an average day?
Isn't this two questions? I rode the bus for about an hour after school; as soon as we got home we'd get a snack and do homework. At some point I'd have to do my farm chore...making sure all the hog watering troughs were filled. We'd eat dinner and clean it up, then burn the trash. Grab a bath and go to bed.

One after school memory is from about junior high...just when the recipe for hot chocolate mix began to be circulated (Nestle's quick...powdered coffee creamer...I don't remember what else was in it). Swiss Miss hadn't even come out with their product yet...but Mom made up a batch and all we had to do was run the tap till the water got hot, put half a cup of the mix in a mug and add the hot water to get hot chocolate. It was an amazing thing...we had a long walk up the farm lane (really...the lane is over a quarter mile) and on cold days it was a huge treat.

12. True story: Once, in a job interview, I was asked this question and told there would be no clarifying; I simply had to answer the question: “When you’re fishing, do you feel for the fish?” So what about you? Do you feel for the fish??
I've never been fishing. I don't know if I'd feel for the fish or not.

Only ONE Thing...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It is a fight, isn't it? To remember that One Thing that Mary chose...to forget all the other demands on her and to sit at Jesus' feet.

I was brought back to this passage again today, as I struggled to just sit and be still for even a few minutes.

Why can't I focus? I asked, trying to make headway in my reading through the middle of Isaiah.

The answer was in my spirit almost before I'd finished forming the question.
You are bothered by many things...only one thing is needful.

So I turned to Luke 10 and reread the little vignette of Mary and Martha. In the NIV, the tail end of verse 41 going into 42 reads this way:
You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.

I looked up the Greek words for 'worried' (Strong's 3309 - merimao: anxious care) and 'upset' (Strong's 5182 - turbazo: disturbed in the mind, anxious, stirred up) then realized the contrast Jesus was making wasn't in Martha's mind set or attitudes...it was in the numbers: 'Many things' vs. 'One thing'.

Jesus wasn't talking about Martha's fluster, He was talking about her focus. Martha was trying to focus on many things...Mary was focused on one. The Good part.

Over and over again, God teaches me through these sisters...

Lord, you know my heart. The part that really, really wants to please You and that part that really, really wants to please people. And the part that wants to represent You by being a servant that somehow blends the two. But I don't have enough wisdom to balance it all myself. I need your help. Because this battle isn't with any one or any thing or any circumstance...it's in my own head, choosing to stop and focus on You when everything else...many things...are demanding my attention. Resensitize my ears, Lord, that I may hear Your voice amid the clamor, and strengthen my will to turn aside at that moment and focus on You alone.

Heavy Lifting

I wrote on the Actor's facebook page that I was very proud of him for his heavy lifting.

Remember the grades that were abysmally low about 5 weeks ago? He brought everything up to A's and B's by the time the report cards came out.

I'd say that was some major elevation.

Certainly worthy of an 'attaboy!'...and more than a few 'Hallelujah!'s ;)

Taking my own medicine...

Ok, last week I posted the devo for the girls' ministry sleepover...which emphasized having a good attitude and not complaining.

Set myself up, I did.

Had a situation arise during the week that gave me lots and lots of opportunity to grumble and complain and generally not be my most gracious self. And I fear I succumbed to a little grumbling and complaining...carefully worded, of course, but grumbling and complaining just the same.

Even though I repeated 'Do all things without complaining or arguing' to myself till I was blue in the face.

The Princess even asked me, 'So, are you trying to make up for it by quoting the verse?'

No...just owning up to the struggle. The flesh was pitching a fit, and the spirit had to fight. And took a couple of punches.

But the task was finished,I repented of the grumbles in the process, and we move on.

Keep pressin' towards the goal of doing ALL things without complaining or arguing...not there yet, but headed in that direction.

Fall Break

Seems kinda silly to take my regularly scheduled blogging break when I've been blogging just a couple of times a week, but since the break includes all internet activity except email and weather checking (and necessary purchases) I'm gonna stick to the plan. Lord knows I need the time to catch stuff up.

I'll be back next week!

Shine Like Stars

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

Tonight is the annual MPact Sleepover. The theme, sent from the national office, is 'Shine Like Stars'. So, we planned a sleepover themed around stars, galaxies, the vastness of space, the awesomeness of God...then got the planning packet, which focuses on American Idol. 'Disappointed' is a huge understatement. We ditched the recommended materials, and are sticking with our theme. I've got the devotional and decided to share it here...because I don't *think* any of our girls will check here! ;) Of course, I had something entirely different planned in my head, but when I looked up the theme verse for the event, Phil. 2:15, I found the devotional going in another direction entirely...


Where are the stars in the daytime? Do they clock out and go home when the sun comes up?

No, the stars are still where they always are. We can’t see them because the light of the sun is brighter than the stars.

Are the stars upset about that?

If you were a star, would you be upset because the sun was brighter than you?

You shouldn’t be…because the sun is *supposed* to be brighter than the stars.

What makes it possible for us to see the stars?

We only see the stars when the sky is dark; we see them in contrast to the sky around them.

In Philippians chapter 2, the apostle Paul compares Christians living in a world that doesn’t honor God to stars in the night sky…showing for miles and miles and miles because of the contrast.

But, in order to see what makes Christians shine like stars, we have to look at the whole paragraph.

‘Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life’ - Phil 2:14 – 16a

What is the first instruction Paul gives us? (do everything w/o complaining or arguing).

How many of you have complained about something you had to do today? Maybe it was getting out of bed on time! Did you complain about doing your chores, or an assignment a teacher gave you in class? Did you argue with you mom about whether or not you should do something she asked…maybe even saying you didn’t have time to do it because you had to get ready for tonight?

Or maybe there are circumstances that make you unhappy…maybe you didn’t get the teacher you wanted for one of your classes at school, or maybe you don’t have a cell phone yet and all your friends do…do you complain about those things?

But look at what Paul says about complaining and arguing…it’s when you do the things you must do withOUT complaining or arguing that you will be blameless and pure, shining like stars.

In our children’s ministry, kids are taught that they should do what they’re asked to do ‘Right away, all the way, in a cheerful way’…that would be immediately and completely, with a good attitude.

Think about kids you know. How many of them ‘do everything without arguing or complaining?’ Do you think someone who did everything without complaining or arguing about it would stand out in the crowd? Maybe…shine like a star?

And you know why it’s important to shine like a star? Look at the last part of that passage…”As you hold out the word of life”

If you are shining like a star in a dark sky, the message you hold out will be noticed. People will hear the good news about Jesus.

And sharing the good news about Jesus is what we are here for.

So…if we want people to listen to that message, how should we react when someone asks us to do something, or we find ourselves in circumstances that don’t please us?

Do everything without complaining or arguing…so that you may shine like stars.

The Big 'J'

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
(yeah, I'm blogging at midnight...crazy...please forgive the inevitable lack of proper editing. Gotta grab the opportunities when they come.)

Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing. I really believed for a long time that I didn't...wouldn't...indulge in jealousy.

However, the time has come to be honest.

I'm way jealous. Of way too many folks.

I think I have been all along, and just didn't own up to it.

I could go into Big Ugly Details, but there really isn't much point in that. And, actually, there hasn't been any crisis or confrontation to provoke the revelation. In other words, if I kept my mouth shut, no one would know. But that 'ehn' feeling in my gut is keeping me from being real. It's keeping me behind my self-inflicted walls. I'm finally recognizing the 'ehn' feeling as jealousy.

Ok, doctor, we have a diagnosis. What is the treatment?

How can I get past this thing? Get RID of this thing? It's the heart of Cain's problem, you know. I sure don't want to go there.

The thing about a sin like jealousy is that it's not something you just don't *do*. Stealing is an action that has a particular point of temptation. Resist that point, and you won't go home with something that's not yours. Jealousy is always there, always whispering sinister accusations. Ready when I wake up at 2 AM with a scenario from the past...could be from the previous day, or it could be from years ago...to keep the notion that I'm lacking something someone else has, and has easily, alive. Jealousy keeps...me...from walking in love.

That sin is crouching at the door...constantly.

My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time....I've tried everything and nothing helps. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:23 - 25, The Message)

Thank God for His endless reservoirs of grace. That's the only way to get past jealousy and live on the other side...