Good Times

Have you ever seen the movie "Happily Never After"? It's a cartoon movie that knocks off fairy tales. We got it for the kids recently and they watched it as many times as is humanly possible for 5 days. They've been quoting from it ever since.

Now, I haven't actually seen the movie myself, but just listening to the kids talk about it is funny enough. My favorite thing Buster does is this - he'll be playing airplanes with Man and I'll hear, in his best British voice (which he learned from Charlie's brother), "Mayday! Mayday! We're going down!"

Reflecting

The other day, I picked up the Bible I used in high school and college and even until about 5 years ago. It's a Revised Standard version, which I really like, but when Darlin started school, they had to use an NIV Bible. Plus, around that time I had started doing Beth Moore Bible studies, and as we all know, Sister Beth uses the NIV.

Anyway, it's been cool to go back and look at notes I took and the dates on them, and then remember what I was going through at the time.

One passage I always remember is Second Peter 1:3-4.

3 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! 4 We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

All we will ever need has been GIVEN to us, it's already ours, we have only to know Jesus.

Verses 5-11 go on to say...

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. (emphasis mine.)

If we practice all those things, good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, we will never stumble. Our way is clear to see Jesus, our Master, our Savior, our Friend.

Sounds pretty easy, but knowing God, it's not likely to be easy. It never fails to surprise me that He chooses a different way to do most of the things in my life. I was saved at 12, but still, after 27 years, I expect the road to a lesson to be easy. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I will someday be like Him, and that these experiences on earth are molding me, shaping me more into His image.

Hittin' it on the head

I've had a bit of a dry spell lately spiritually. I know it's pretty normal but it's pretty rough while you're in the middle of it. Today, as I was driving home alone, this song came on and just plain nailed me. You know how once in a while you hear a song and it's like somebody has a secret camera in your life? Well, here it is, More Than That by Monk & Neagle.




No time to spend with You
I wonder if I'm ever gonna change
Here we are
We've grown apart
And I know I'm the only one to blame

My heart is dying
'Cause I've been so wrapped up in myself
I'm crying out
I'm desperate for help
And I need You more than ever, so I

Fall to the ground
'Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
You deserve more than that

New eyes to see You
Better than I ever have before
Ready to be who You made me to be
So with Your loving arms here to catch me, I will

Fall to the ground

'Cause I want to be better

Though You take me as I am

You deserve more than that

I'm no good on my own
I've been here way too long
I'm drawing near
Come meet me here
Save my soul

I fall to the ground
'Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
I want to give You more, give You more

As I fall to the ground
'Cause I want to be better
Though You take me as I am
I want to give You more
'Cause You deserve more than that
More than that
More than that
I want to give You more

Hot as...

At least it was hot as you-know-what at my house on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The air conditioner went out. No, wait...THE AIR CONDITIONER WENT OUT!!

Night time wasn't too bad with fans and windows open and mom crying because it was JUST SO HUMID. (okay, crying might be a slight exaggeration)

But Wednesday morning? Trying to get ready for work? In the heat? Oh, the insanity. I finally just packed up my make up and dropped the kids off at my in-laws so I could put on my make up in the bathroom at work. There are few things I hate worse than putting on my makeup in the heat.

Mr. Disty called my Daddy and had him come take a look-see. He had it fixed and running by noon!! And it only cost $140! Woo hoo!

A day in the life

My boys have been anxious to get the LEGO Indiana Jones game for the Xbox ever since the movie came out. They haven't seen the movie, but they're always up for a new adventure on the Xbox. We've checked with the rental store over and over, to no avail. Until Saturday!

I brought the game home and they met me in the garage to get it. They rushed upstairs and started it. Within about five minutes, they were screaming at each other, "Don't kill ME! Kill the bad guys!" I love to sit back and listen to the commentary.

I asked Man which player was his and he said, "Dead boy." "Dead boy?" I asked. "Yeah, Mom. I'm dead. Darlin killed me."

Expectations

I've been struggling lately with expectations. Not so much expectations others have of me, but those I have of others.

I struggle with how high to place those expectations. I struggle with having any expectations of others at all. I know that just having expectations sets you up for disappointment because the only One who will never disappoint is our Heavenly Father.

I know that we have to set the bar high for our children - unless there is some extenuating circumstance - because, generally, they'll will perform up to, but not above, those expectations.

Recently, I just can't get past the rejection I feel when people choose to attend another church. It's a free country, I know that. And believe me, I know that no church is Utopia. We've had our fair share (maybe MORE than our fair share?) of transition in the last two years. First a choir director who had been here 16 years, then the children's pastor, then the pastor, then the youth pastor, then the choir director again. I'm ready for the revolving door to stop!!!

As you might imagine, we've had quite the exodus of congregants as these leaders have left. One of my dearest friends moved three hours away in all that, and believe it or not, that's been the easiest to handle because she had to move. Most of the others are still in town, just attending other churches. I want to stop them and ask why? I want to know how they can just leave all this behind. I want to know how they think it will effect relationships they've made.

I've never been a church hopper. I've never been one to "worship the man" as my mother-in-law would say. Isn't church about worshiping the Lord? Isn't "being fed" supposed to be our own responsibility, not the pastor's? I thought church was where we had fellowship with other believers.

Pray for our church...and me.

In order to get my 20,000 words in for today

I read the paper every day. Not every single article, but I do read the title of every article to see if I'm interested. I also work (ATTEMPT TO WORK) the crosswords and the jumbles. Mainly because they are on the same page as the cartoons, but who's really keeping track??

The cartoons are my favorite part of the paper and I always read about 5 of them. Baby Blues is one of my favorites because I feel like the author is secretly hiding in my house and writing it about my life. Another favorite is Garfield. Then there's Zits, Luann and Family Circle.

One I'd never read before was Pearls Before Swine. I've heard it was not that funny so I really didn't care to read it. Til one day when I was reading my Baby Blues. Pearls is immediately to the left of Baby in my newspaper, and saw the word DUDE in big letters in the Pearls box. So I read that day's cartoon. It was too funny. I think the characters are a goat, a pig and a rat. Anyway, it went something like this...



"Rat's Dictionary of Phrases" The many meanings of "Dude"

Rat (typing on his laptop...)

"Dude" means "Listen; Check this out."
"Duuuuude" means "Your not gonna believe this!"
"DUUUUuuude" means "What you just said really TICKED me off!"
"Dude, dude, dude" means "Hot chick at nine o'clock."

Goat (crossing his eyes) - "Dude, that makes absolutely NO sense!"

Rat - "DUUUUuuude!"

Pig (nudging Rat as a beautiful girl walks by) - "Dude, dude, dude!"


Can't you just hear this conversation at a high school lunch table somewhere? This just cracks me up. Guys really do use fewer words that us!

It's almost here!!!

Those of you in the Birmingham area, don't forget that BlawgHer 2008 is this Tuesday! Trista at The Pumkin Patch needs to know if you'll be attending. Click on over and let her know!

Prepare yourselves

I'm about to do something I've never done before...post a picture of myself.

A while back, I posted about the Paul Mitchell cosmetology school near here. Well, today was my appointment. Now, for those of you considering the possibility of using their services, let me tell you to plan to spend at least twice the amount of time you usually spend at the salon. I was there for 4 hours. It was a very pleasant experience, at least for me. Maybe not for Reformed Grits who was watching my children, but, hey, she volunteered to do it!

Anyway, it went well, but the final outcome was just a little too dark for my taste. But, guess what, they will fix it for FREE! That's one of my favorite words! So here they are, the before and after shots.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I'm not at all disappointed in the services, they just chose a color that was darker than I like. But here's the best part, instead of it costing $130 for two colors and a toner, it was $53! You can't beat that with a stick!

So, bottom line, I encourage you local gals (and you know who you are) to take advantage of this place. It's well worth the time.