not your average joe...er, dog!

Today I came in from work to find Bethany telling Bright goodbye. She was on her way back to work after eating lunch. He seemed rather forlorn so I commented to her that maybe when I took Daniel to work that he could (at this point I began spelling) G-O. Bright immediately got up and started smiling and wagging his tail. Bethany told me that he can spell.

Why not? He really doesn't know he's a dog!

pictures will come later...maybe

I am now the proud owner of my very own digital camera. I finally bought a Sony yesterday. I have been looking and surfing and comparing prices for weeks now. I had a couple of brands in mind and one of them I was thinking about went on sale at Office Max. It was marked $179.00 with a $50 instant rebate; that's $129.00 for those who don't like to do the math. Then I got a $20 off $100 coupon in the mail this week from Max Perks. I also had a $12.00 credit from selling my printer cartridges there. So I got a deal that even I can be proud of . Now if I can figure out how to use it I'll be doing great. I couldn't even get the memory card in and Ben had to show me how to take it out of the little thing. At least I got that part right; it was too big to fit if you left it in the computer thingie. As you can see I'm very good at this stuff. Reading the manual was no help at all except for getting the battery and memory card in and turning it on. There is just too much stuff that it can do.

I've been out raking leaves this afternoon. It was so wonderful to be outdoors again. I am so ready for spring! I am going to have to buy a leaf blower to get the leaves out of the rest of my yard. I will pull my Asian Jasmine and other things up if I try to rake it. At least it looks better than it did. And I've really been enjoying my pansies and their color this winter. Quite lovely.

I have to figure out what to fix for dinner now. How about popcorn or cereal?? Nah, that probably won't work. Maybe it will be a "fend for yourself" night. My kids really love those!

found

Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. Job 22:26

Has the commonplace ever become just that to you? Commonplace. I'm afraid that's what happened to me over the course of time. I stopped seeing God in everything and experiencing Him in everything. How it happened, I'm not sure, but it did.

Then today God found me...once again.

Donald had downloaded some music on my iPod shuffle. I was listening today and found this song. I had no idea who it was other than she sounded a bit like Leah Nash. Ben came in and I pulled the earplug out and asked, "WHO is this?" He told me her name is Kari Jobe; she is awesome~! I played this one song again and again and am still playing it. Once again God has used His gift of music to draw me to experience His love for me.




Sanctuary / Kari Jobe


People, places
names and faces
they come and they go, leaving traces
sometimes my world gets filled with so much noise
that my heart gets pulled away
but i find my peace in you

and if i seek, i will find.
a treasure in you that time can't take away

(chorus)
sanctuary
pure and holy
in a secret place i'll find you there
sanctuary
pure and holy
in a secret place i'll find you there.
i'll find you there

oh to be washed in the water of your holy words
and oh to be healed by the touch of your hands

in your sanctuary
pure and holy
in a secret room i'll find you there.
sanctuary
pure and holy
in the secret room i'll find you there
i'll find you there

addicted

I went with Rebekah and Bethany to see Twilight Sunday afternoon. We went to Sherman where they have nice, comfortable stadium seating. It was well worth the money, even if I didn't pay for it. Thanks, Bethany! They have been wanting me to see it for quite some time. I kept making excuses, but finally I took them up on it. It was wonderful! I totally enjoyed it; it fact I enjoyed it so much that I started reading the book last night!

I never dreamed I would get into a vampire movie, but this one is good! Heck, I may even join the Edward Cullen fan club on Facebook!

If you don't hear from me for a while it will be because I'm spending all my free time reading. Er, honestly it will be because I'm neglecting my responsibilities to read Twilight. Catch you later.

wordless

God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge - a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (The Message)

I guess you can tell from my posts (or lack thereof) lately that I haven't had much to say. It seems I'm in transition in coming down from the mountaintop so to speak. It's really okay. That's the amazing part: it's really okay. I don't have to continually shout from the mountaintops or dance in the streets. I'm okay in Christ and He loves me with an eternal love. The lack of emotional high has been a good thing for me. I've always lived for the highs and despaired in the lows. God is showing me that I don't have to be high to experience Him. If you aren't an emotional person that may not make sense to you. It doesn't have to. He is with me and I know whom I've believed and am sure that He is able. That's enough.

contradictions

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. Isaiah 40:28

I'm tired and tired of being tired. I'm blaming it on the weather and these stupid allergies. One day it will be hot and the next freezing. I worked outdoors Saturday afternoon cleaning out the fence row. We have a chain link fence and our neighbors put up a wooden fence so there was dead flowers and grass and weeds between the two. It took a lot of work and patience, but it is clean and pretty now...well, as pretty as a chain link fence can be. Donald stopped by and helped and I really appreciated it. I just realized I made that sound as if he no longer lives here and that is not the case. He just came out after he took the jeep to have the oil changed. Now that that is clarified I can continue with my diatribe.

I guess all the dust and fuzzy little things flying around my head stirred up these allergies. I don't want to call them "my allergies" because that sounds like I want them or they belong to me. Neither is the case. We are in a continual battle over their residence. After coughing and having trouble breathing (which usually happens after I cough a lot) I went to sleep and slept until 10:10 Sunday morning. Church starts at 10:30 and I had already slept through Sunday School so I knew I wasn't going to make it. Last night at Celebrate Recovery I started coughing once again and the process started over. So today I am feeling the after effects of my coughing and am whining about it on my blog. I just need to suck it up and get on with my day. However if you have suffered with asthma or bronchitis you already know that is hard to do when you can't breathe easily.

I warned you about this post you know.

new and old

Happy New Year to all! In keeping with my traditions I have made no New Year's resolutions and will not serve black eyed peas. I love what Pastor Joseph used to say...that he'd eat black eyed peas any day except the first of January. My friend, Donna, said that her kids' could wear new clothes to church any day except Easter. I guess I'm a rebel at heart because these things thrill me!

My cousin's son found us on Facebook. I'm having so much fun with it; if you haven't joined you should. Will sent me an invite to Geni and in looking around I found these pictures of my grandparents. I had helped Daniel do some family research when he took a genealogy class in our home school enrichment classes. I found that my great-great-great-great-great (I think I've gotten them all) was born in Ireland in the 1700s. His name was Peter Patrick McCormack and now I know where I get my stubbornness.

Btw, the lady above is my grandmother, Clara Wallace Fry, and the gentleman on the right is my grandfather, Tom Fry. I wish I could find a picture of Peter Patrick McCormack. Maybe I better get interested in this genealogy stuff again.