Thankfulness

I'm feelin pretty upbeat this week...despite all the reasons of the past couple of weeks to feel otherwise...you know if you just look around a bit you can always find someone having a more difficult time than yourself....and often you don't have to look very far.
I met a lovely woman at Chicos this week...she was in town on business and forgot all her nice hanging clothes...so she had to buy a weeks worth of stuff from Chicos....Now I can't even imagine having hundreds to spend on clothes...just off the cuff and spurr of the moment, completely unexpected and unbudgeted...but that was apparently not a problem for her...she seemed to have dollars to blow and diamonds the size of marbles on her fingers...during the course of the evening (and it took all evening...) I learned of a few things she does not have...
1)a mother in law (she died this past year)
2)a father(he died this past year)
3)a healthy mother (she had a serious car accident this year)
4)a sister with security (she lost everything in Katrina)
5)a healthy child (her 11 yr old is autistic)
6)her health (surgery on both feet coming up in a couple of weeks)
7)a home or possessions(hers burned in this past year)

It really helps to put things into perspective...after all it really is just the normal course of mankind....

Job 14:1 Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble.

Thankfully He also included this in scripture so that we wouldn't jump off bridges or anything....

Psa 34:19 Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all

.

Lord I have SO much to be thankful for! Your deliverance surounds me again and again!

At Last!!

Its coming......

Bailing continued....

Nothing deep on my mind today....its been a crazy week...as you may be able to tell from my last post...just a side note to say that several "events" have occurred... since I posted...that have required even more bailing....you know "when it rains...."
Anyway...we are surviving....
Here are some reasons I keep bailing...:)


I love this skinny man!


my son and his girl....aren't they sweet?


my mom...I am very blessed to have her....she's still bailing me out often too...


my daughters and SIL...aren't they cute?



and my fiesty little Jadabear...in her piggy tails....lol









May God grant loved ones around you, either natural or spiritual, who help you bail or bail for you when you can't...and may you find joy in the bailing when someone else is going under. Happy Weekend!!

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done unto me...

Bailing

Ever have those days/weeks/months...when the money just doesn't stretch far enough...and no matter how much you re-arrange the budget(and I can squeeze blood from turnips) things keep happening to mess it up again?...Yep, having one....
Ever think "what else could go wrong?"...(now that's a bad idea, you should know better...and NEVER say that outloud...)

Ever wonder when it was that you were bored?

Ever feel like life is getting somewhat settled? ...no? ...me neither.

I am 48 years old...I have been married for 30 yrs...I have grown children and 2 jobs and a mortgage...and still I can't seem to get it together...

I've decided that there is no such thing as "getting ahead". That, my dear friend is the real American dream...and that is all it is too...there is no getting ahead....there is mostly falling behind and a little bit of keeping up....

It is endless...yet somehow...we have managed...by the grace of God...to have a decent house(in need of a bit of repair)...2 cars(in need of maintenance and tires)...insurance(that only pays 80/20, of course)....food on the table(at least we eat pretty well)...get 3 kids through college(well almost thru) and take an occasional vacation(even if it is only for a long weekend)....

We have...so far...(thank you, Lord)...been bailed out of...or otherwise survived, the many crisees of life that have come our way ...and nothing surpasses the feeling of relief that accompanies being bailed out(it is the epitomy of grace..being saved, just in the nick of time)...
On occasion, we have even been able to do some of the bailing when the waves of life have threatened to overwhelm our loved ones...
The feeling of well being that comes with offering that relief to someone else along the way...well that is priceless and possibly what we are being bailed out and helped to survive for in the first place.....

Six Weird Things About Me

(THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the "six weird things about you" blog post. People who get tagged need to write their own six weird things post and state the rules clearly. At the end of the post tag six more people and don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog to tell them they have been tagged and tell them to read your blog.)

Ok

I'm not much on Memes but Hattigrace is such a dear and she did ask ever so nicely...so here goes...

1) I am addicted to iced Southern tea...I carry around a glass with me everywhere(except work) and that means in the car, in the laundry romm...where ever...I am continually losing my glass and calling through the house.."has anyone seen my tea?"

2) I get a wee bit testy when I discover that someone has drunk the last of the afore said Iced Tea and no more has been made....to the point that all my children are afraid to get in that predicament...:) Cause you know what they say.."when momma's not happy ...nobody's happy" ...:)

3) I have 2 toenails on each of my piggy toes...of course I keep the 2nds trimmed down where they cannot be seen...

4)I am sort of ambidextrious...I know..how can I be "sort of"...not sure but I have never been certain of which foot to run off of or which hand to bat with in softball...it took years for me to settle on right handed teethbrushing...it's just always been a decision to make per need....these days I seem to prefer my right side but it has taken a very long time to get there....my sis is truly ambidextrious and can do lots of things both handed...

5) I bought my very first car at the age of 46...yep...its a blue G35 Infinity...gorgeous...but truly my very first car....

6)I like to taste the greasy salty giblets in the bottom of the pan after cooking something like fries or fried chicken...my family thinks this is the weirdest thing about me...it grosses them out...lol..but then I like hot red eye gravy on a lettuce and onion salad...

So there you have it...6 weird things about me....
now who to tag....

How about
pat
Bek
zalaine
kimber
tammy
deb

Misc. morning

OMGosh! It has been SO warm here this past few days...weeks...I know many of you are having ice storms...and we are supposed to get some colder weather with sleet and such later in the week...BUT...we have cherry trees and daffodils blooming!! This is not right! :) Its gonna screw up all the bulbs and fruit trees! I prefer my spring in the spring please.

...the girls..as in Ms Jada and her mom, have been in our house officially for 1 week....mommy has gotten a job(that girl gets every job she interviews for!)...now to get Ms Jada in school and get her mommy in school too! The quarter starts in April with application deadline by Feb 16th. Yikes! Lots to do! We've gotta get on it!

Can anyone say 24?!?! Wow...4 hours invested in the premier ...worth it you ask?? Well, if you didn't see last nites episodes...all I can say is...its gonna be a wild season...:)

Been shopping at Chicos...my current place of 2nd job employment(I am not spending my entire paycheck...yet:)).......am I having fun yet?? you bet!

God is so good...we got through my hubby's testing..for now and he is feeling somewhat better and a little relieved at the results....thank you all for praying!

Should?

Shoulda, coulda, mighta, oughta....
No you don't have to be Southern to interpret these words....we have all heard them or their implication....
I pass a church every day whose billboard currently reads...

"The Lord should be your first priority"

I don't like it....not at all...

Why don't they just say..."Make the Lord your first priority"
Or...."The Lord is our first priority" or "Why don't you make the Lord your first priority?" All those comments are encouraging...not condemning....

Throwing in the "should" just ruins it for me...
Cause along with that word comes all sorts of baggage and yes, bondage...
I immediately feel the chains of condemnation, guilt, dismay and even despair....

you know why?
because suddenly He has been relagated to a chore...an obligation...something to go at the top of my lists... and I fail...I fall prey to the failure of the human that I am...
I feel the ugly fingers pointing at me...I feel judgement
because no matter how much I try to put Him first...it just isn't going to happen all the time...I am human...I screw up...
...but wait...
I am human...but not only human...I am spirit as well....truthfully I am not any creature this world recognizes because I have been born of man and born from above...I am a new creature...a creature enabled to live and function in two realms...it is in my spiritual DNA to be...
...ta da...spiritual...
and in my spirit He is always First...He is always Last...He is everything! ....this is the part of me that is born of God...that always holds Him in the highest place.
Yes, my humanity loses sight of Him occasionally and gets distracted by bills and care and children and the stress of life...but my humanity is not all that I am, it is only a small part actually...my spirit is alive and given opportunity, grows to surpass even my humanness...my spirit never loses sight of Him....so it doens't matter if I get distracted or forget to pray or lose track of my scripture reading....because my spirit...which makes me a creature who can stand and function in two realms...always recognizes Him as First, as the Lord on High that He is...He is always the Priority!

No need for shoulda, coulda, wouldas....

Catching up....

Ack! We've been without internet all week....hence no blogging for me...
I'm missed you all SO much! I think I had withdrawals!

Lots has happened since last I posted...

my daughter and granddaughter, Ms Jadabear..have moved into my house...my daughter is going back to school so they plan to be with us for about 3 yrs. Its a BIG thing, ya'll...

my Christmas decor is down and gone to storage...which I might add, I re-arranged all my closets and storage places (to make room for Jada and company) and am quite proud of myself!

the GATORS won the National Championship in college football!! GO GATORS!!

my son-in-law started his first week at his new Navy assignment...MUCH closer to us!

I think we have almost chosen a mountain cabin and dates for a huge family vaca....check one off my TO DO list...almost...:)

I paid my last Christmas bill...Starting over fresh for 07 with 07 bills...lol

I've spent 10 minutes with the Lord every morning for a week without asking for anything...just being

And...I've been tagged by hattigrace to list 6 wierd things about me....I can't seem to think of any, guess I think all my weirdnesses are normal...I'm gonna ask around....maybe I should take suggestions from ya'll....:) got any? :)



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My hubby is not well...going in for tests next week but having a hard time getting through day to day right now. please pray...

Quote of the week...

I'm not posting Lyrics I Feel this week...the lyrics I feel are being made up as I go along this week and no, I'm not prepared to share....:)

However..there is one outstanding quote by Miss Jadabear this past week...while riding in the car with myself, my mom and her mom...out of the blue...she says...

"Mommy, I'm sorry I doubted at you"

......LOL.....hmmmm....

Time...

I don't make New Year's resolutions...not really...
I actually have a "To Do" list instead....:)
I can't help it, I'm a list person...
Little things, big things, my things, my husband and kids' things...all go on my list....because if I am not actively involved in the doing, I am actively involved in the reminding....lol
(commonly known as nagging...)
I remake this list through the year as necessary...sometimes it is just running through my head...but most of the time it gets written down...sometimes I find old lists and think "hey...I forgot about that...or hey, that really still needs to get done"... then I re-shuffle, re-prioritize and giddy up...I'm off again....:)

Here are some bits of my current list for 2007

Remind daughter about doc's appt and to ask for allergy script...
Hubby's doctor appt....keep it
Refinance questions...should we?...shouldn't we? when, how much cost, and with whom?
Household stuff...
gutters,
trees,
chimney repair
garage door
Cabin vacation with the fam....find huge cabin or several smaller ones for rental cause about 18 of us are interested in going....
get in shape for the 10 mile round-trip hike during said cabin vacation
Foot doc, physical theraphy and new shoes for moi
furniture shop

See what I mean...there is more but you get the gist...

Almost all require research, budgeting and lots of work to make them happen...translate that to TIME....
and of course I have the personal stuff...like time with the Lord and time with my hubby and time with my Jada...etc. etc.

right now that commodity, time, is in pretty short supply but hoping that will calm down as the year progresses....
Anyone have a time machine I can borrow??