Psalm 20

1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; 
3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah. 
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. 
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners : the LORD fulfil all thy petitions. 
6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 
8 They are brought down and fallen : but we are risen , and stand upright . 
9 Save , LORD: let the king hear us when we call .

Joy in the middle

So, somewhere in the middle of trying to deal with the flood of emotion mentioned in the previous post, there is still much joy and fun.

Tabitha and Becca are starting piano lessons up again for the school year.  Mike enjoys piano, but not enough to think about practicing during the summer months.  Hannah has made no equivocations about how much she hates piano.  (Though part of it, I think, is that Tabitha is so good that Hannah feels it's a competition and isn't enjoying it.)  She would like to try another instrument, though.

Rod had Mike fix my van today.  A bit of my blower fan went out, and Rod put Mike to work fixing it.

The crazy, spoiled, Velcro roadblock we call Sammy is becoming more at ease around here.  She now is frequently found on the sofa when she thinks we won't find out.  She whines more than Sarah does, though, and that's going to have to end.  Oh my.

I am ready for school to start back up, but we won't be starting until next week.  I have everything I need now, and I think the kids will have plenty of good things to keep their interest.

Processing bad news

I received some very sad news today about a fellow I went to college with.  He's gotten himself into huge trouble.  Now, here is a fellow who inflicted a lot of pain (in me) because of his arrogance and deceitfulness.  I should maybe be happy that he's getting his comeuppance.  I certainly should feel vindicated.  Yet, somehow, even after having had to deal with the sorrow from the hurt he caused me, I don't feel that toward him.

I feel--what?  I'm not really sure. 

What I see is the end of a lifetime of arrogance and deceit coming to its end.  Maybe, just maybe,  he will turn to Christ instead of himself.  Maybe this is where it will end and true restoration can begin. Not that I believe he should EVER be given the trust of the ministry of the Gospel as a pastor again; but maybe the realization that God's mercy and compassion are two things his life has lacked. 

Yet, maybe he won't repent.  Maybe he will continue to be who he always was.  That would be a shame.

I wonder, will those he made false accusations about me to come to apologize and finally hear my side of the story now that he has been exposed?  I wonder if it matters yet after all these years.

It was only, really, in the past two years that I was able to (by God's grace alone) put those hurts away and not dredge them up to think about them again.  Now, here they are again.  I need time to process what I am supposed to think and what I need to feel.  I need time to sort through the emotions so that I can rest in God's truth.

I need some time to cry now.

Some children's books we like

We discovered Epossumondas several years ago when the kids were small.  We had forgotten about them until today's trip to the library.  We picked up three more stories of our funny little critter.  Epossumondas is really a lot of fun.  If you can add some Cajun accents to the story you will have more fun.

Along those same lines, we found Gator Gumbo today.  It's very much like The Little Red Hen story where no one will help her plant her garden.  I would say, though, that this twist adds some fun to it.

When things aren't healthy

Let's say you have a very dear friend who calls you one day and tells you she's falling apart.  She's losing weight very rapidly and can't figure out what's wrong.  She then proceeds to tell you that she has decided that the best way to combat feeling so sick is to get a face lift. This face lift will help everyone know that she is perfectly healthy.

You insist that she needs to spend the money on doctors, but she won't listen.  She's convinced that as long as she can fool everyone into thinking she's well then she will be just fine.

She gets the face lift, but things keep getting worse.  You try to tell her that but she insists on a new great idea.  She's going to get a tummy tuck.  (Not that she has any tummy left to tuck now, but she is sure it will work.)  Once again you tell her that she needs to get medical treatment, but she assures you that if she looks good, then she will be good.

How long will you deal with her self-destruction?  How long will you put up with her denial of the facts?

What if it turns out that she is contagious and you have been afflicted too?  When is it time to move on?

Now, read Revelation 3.

The unispired days

Did you ever have one of those days?  You know, those days when you wake up and can't get going. I've been having a lot of those lately.

I sleep all night but I wake up feeling groggy and useless.  My energy doesn't kick in until after lunch.  I am trying to eat well.  By well, I mean healthy.  Yet, that isn't really something I have trouble with.  I like my vegetables.

I started drinking coffee again because the sluggishness was so overwhelming.  I know that isn't doing me much better.  The sudden crash following the caffeine drop means nap time.

So, I spend my mornings in a fog.  I guess it's time for my morning coffee now.  It's almost 10am.

Our summer adventure

About two weeks ago, Rod took me to Lowe's to look at various things we are needing. We need a new shower for the master bath and a new dishwasher. Before we went in, we stopped at the animal shelter. He wanted me to look at a dog. The particular dog was gone, but there was a mixed breed dog there who caught our attention. We took him to the meet and greet area where we fell for him.

We did our browsing at Lowe's and then went home to get Mike. When we got back to the shelter to meet the dog, we were informed that he had not been rated for under 12. We walked out. (This is a kill shelter.)

We began watching Craigslist for dogs. We found a chocolate lab being offered who had to go that night. We went to see her and decided to give her a home.

She needed a lot of grooming. We are still combing out last winter's growth. The more we purge, the more beautiful this dog gets. She has a multitude of neuroses. She is afraid of adults who approach her; she is afraid of sprinklers; she is afraid of water; she is afraid of dogs; she is afraid of being in vehicles. One thing at a time, we will meet these fears and show her she will be okay.

After a week and half at our home, she is beginning to play. She has great potential as an agility dog. She has some fine acrobatics when she is in the mood. The thing is, she is a drama queen. I didn't know how much a dog could overact until this one. Sarah came and told me doggy was on the sofa. I found doggy curled up in a little ball as comfortable as she could possibly be. When I disturbed her, she let out a moany-groany thing that indicated she's as bad as Michael getting out of bed on Sunday morning.

This should prove to be quite the adventure.

Just moved in

I knew that this day would come. I've been over at Spaces for a few years, but the developers there don't have a handle on make things easy. So, here I am.

Tunaphiles...tunalovers.

My three year old has a friend. Tuna used to be an enemy that she was very afraid of. Tuna is a monster, you see. When she was most afraid of monsters, we began to tell her that the monsters in her room only wanted to be her friends. It worked. Tuna is her buddy. She has also introduced us to Tuna's brother, Tuna Boy. Occasionally we hear from Tuna Daddy.

She has other invisible friends but they don't come around very often.

I hope you come by often to read about the odd little things that happen in our little world. I hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy telling them.