Where has the time gone??

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last blogged! Wow... Hopefully I can stay up to date now. This time next week, we will be 3 days into 2009! For me, this has been a long and short year, all at the same time. It's the time of year though that we begin to think about the future...the future of what the new year has to hold for us, our hopes, dreams, goals, resolutions and the like...

People look forward to the new year for lots of different reasons. Sometimes, I look at it as just another day--another month, only instead of only remembering to change the month when you write the date you also have to remember to change the year. :-) Some people have already started working on new years resolutions...setting goals and making plans. Me? The new year is definitely going to hold changes, that's for sure. Things that I know will change, and others that I hope to change, but one thing is for sure--God is in control! Not me. I make quite enough of a mess of things and He doesn't need my help. But I don't always remember that as I try to plan things, change things or fix things...I need to remember that He has a plan for me and for everyone and that His plan is perfect, even if it doesn't always seem that way at the moment when you question the purpose or reason for something.

My challenge to myself and to you...make sure that you invite God into this next year. Invite Him into every single day and moment of your life. Call on Him for all things and thank Him for all things. So, as you maybe sit down and think about the approaching new year, consider what God has planned for you, not the other way around.

I hope you had a very blessed and Merry Christmas and I wish you a very safe and happy 2009! May God Bless You!

How fitting!

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is there your heart will also be." Matthew 6:19-21.

These verses are listed today on my blog in the daily verse. How fitting! For several months now all we've heard is how bad the economy is and how doomy and gloomy everything is. Election was this week and while some think the earth will now come to an end since Obama will be president and others think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread and is just what the this country needs...either way, what we have here is not what we should be concerned the most about. The condition of our heart--our personal relationship with Jesus is the main thing to be concerned with. Whether time goes on for another 2000 years or whether Jesus returns tonight, we need to be ready. All of our possessions here on earth are just that--possessions, which can be taken away at any moment for any number of reasons, just as Jesus spoke about.

I know that we all are concerned about the economy while we are still here on planet earth and that's fine, but do not be consumed with it. Consume yourself rather, with Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but thru Me." Do you know Jesus? If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I challenge you to contact me and I would love to share this with you. Contact someone and don't wait. Salvation is free and it is the perfect treasure! I want to see you in Heaven when the time comes for us to be there. I love you--whether I know you or not, I love you. More importantly, God loves you too. "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever (that's you and me) believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23, "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

Unmistakable, undoubtable truth that God loves us and that Jesus has paid the price for our sins. He was perfect and had no sin, yet He died for ours so that we could be saved. That's Amazing Grace!

Food, Food and MORE food!?!

I am stuffed! What a weekend! It all started with 5th quarter Friday night...hot dogs, candy, pop corn balls, cotton candy, sodas, more candy, and raw pumpkin if you dared! (from the carving contest of course!) All was great. Then Saturday, breakfast with friends as we began to plan for the retreat, brisket from a church sale and then this morning... high attendance Sunday and so we had a pancake and sausage breakfast at church. Homemade divinity dropped off from a friend and that's my favorite and a few pieces of chocolate over the weekend too and then tonight--bonfire and LOTS more food for SNAC. You'd think as much food as I will have eaten by the time I go back to work tomorrow, that I wouldn't need to eat again for a week! And need to, I don't, but I will. Food is awesome!!! LOL Seriously though--it's getting to be that time of year where there will be lots of parties, festivities, get togethers, and many occasions to share in food, fellowship and other goodies. I hope that we don't over do it...I hope that I don't over do it! It sure is easy to do.

I think part of this weekend's massive food fest is due to the end of 40 Day Revolution that we've been doing at church and it's a time for celebrating that and coming off of our fasts. I must say that while I gave up beef, chocolate and Google for my fast, I am mostly glad to get back Google. Chocolate 2nd and beef lastly. I think I have some sort of intolerance for beef now, actually. It doesn't set that well with me. I'll test my theory as we go, but I may be in the same boat with my friend, Judy, and have to say no to beef! We'll see. But hooray for chocolate and Google!

For all the youth and parents and leaders who participated in 40 Day Revolution...I'm proud of each of you. It was a great time to reflect on things going on in our schools and around us, praying thru those, praying for change, and fasting to draw nearer to God. I'm glad to have had this opportunity and I'm so proud of each of you who stuck it out with us.

Where did the time go???

As the expression goes..."time flies when you are having fun" ... and I say "and sometimes even when your not!". Either way...whether these are fun times for you or not...can you believe it is almost November?? Only 6 days until Neewollah...(Halloween if you can't read backwards!). Our last 5th quarter of the season at church and the nearing of the end of the year. I just can't believe it. Lots of things have gone on this past year, some good, some not so good, but it is still really hard to believe the year is almost up and then we'll be writing 2009!

I must say,though, I'm REALLY ready for elections to be done. I early voted today, and I hope you have or will do the same. If not, then go on election day...exercise your right! Speak up, America!! I just get so frustrated with all of the political ads and signs -- mostly all of the negativity that goes along with election season. There is way too much mud slinging in every election, not just in the Presidential campaign. Can anyone take a stand for what the believe, their goals, their opinions, and just campaign on their strong points and not dance around, tossing mud and picking apart their oponent? It's ridiculous. It seems as though they spend way too much time slinging mud, and down playing their oponent that they end up not answering the question to defent their stand on things. I think "election season" as I like to refer to it gets worse about this every year.

I think that a lot of people will stick to being "Republican" or "Democrat" just b/c they have always been that way, b/c their family before them were that way. Do you ever think it might be better to not be such a stickler for the party, but more pay attention to the person and what they stand for? I do! I don't think you can just say "I'm Republican" or "I'm Democrat" anymore. I think we are way past that. I'm not a real political person, but I think it is time that we look at people and their values and opinions and their backgrounds and things that are important and not what party they are on! Again--my opinion and you get what you pay for! LOL

I do believe however, that it is our constitutional right to be able to vote and it is a privilege to live in this wonderful country and have this right, privilege and freedom, and I think that it is important for each and every American to register and exercise their right to vote! It's important! If there was an election for the favorite football or baseball team, you'd be sure to vote and that's just sports. This is important, so PLEASE, vote! If you don't vote you don't have the right to gripe when you don't like the outcome!

I believe you have until 10/31 to early vote and if you miss that...go on Election day, November 4!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Are there spies among us?

Normally when we think about a spy, we think about someone gathering intelligence on someone, without their knowledge, possibly even a James Bond movie. But do you ever really get the feeling someone is watching you? Maybe you hear that someone has noticed something about you that you never thought they would? It's pretty weird. I recently found out someone had found out something about me (that I have a facebook account) and that they were assuming I had some crazy thing, as if it was something bad... Whatever! Think what you want about that, but it makes me think about how we act, how people portray us by our actions.

As a Christian we are to live a life resembling Christ. Do we do that? Do I do that? I, of course, would love to answer for myself at least, YES, but sadly on a lot of days in a lot of situations, I'm quite sure that I don't. I do try really hard to let the light of Christ shine through me into this dark world, but I know that many times I am not successful. Are you? Do people know when they look at you that you, watch what you do or hear what you say, that you have Jesus in your life? Does your light shine? Sadly, mine at many times is dim, as if hid under that darn lamp stand. Why? Life. Struggles. People around me. Sin. A lack of focus.

This is something that I've been really trying to work on. For those who know me, you know that I'm going through some struggles right now and have difficulty with some things. Through it all, I KNOW that God loves me and He is on His throne and is in control of all things. I need to focus on that and not myself and truly let others see Jesus in me. What will you choose to do? I pray that you will decide that for you. Let's work hard at making this world a brighter place--bringing a much needed Light into the world of darkness. As the good old hymn says, "let others see Jesus in you".

At our revival this spring the pastor was talking about our focus. He said something to the effect of keeping our eye on the cross at all times. If we do, our path will be straight. If we take our eyes off the cross, our path will be crooked. ... Wouldn't the straight path be lighted and the crooked one not? It's a matter of focus... Where are you looking?

What a week!

After a long week of busy-ness, I attended my HS reunion last night. It was a lot of fun--very informal and it was a great way to spend the evening. It's SOOOO hard to believe that we've been out for 20 years!?! Is that possible?? Guess so--Class of 1988! Mexia High School. WOW... And one guy has just RETIRED after 20 years of Naval Service. RETIRED!!!! So hard to believe. He's about to start a new career doing something else because he's too young to just sit at home, but it is so hard enough to realize we have been out for 20 years and then to say that one of us has been at something long enough in that period of time to retire?! That's amazing.

We probably had about 30-40 or so in attendance and that included a few spouses and guests, so it was easy to make the rounds talking with people and catching up. We played "I never" with Hershey's kisses. That was fun! We played about 3-4 rounds and I think it was Daphne who ended up with the most when it was done, with like 42 or something and we each started with 18! Quite a funny game. It was really great to catch up with everyone and see what they've been up to. We had MANY that didn't make it. Either living too far away or just not showing for whatever reason, including some who still live right there in Mexia. Oh, well. I'm sure they have their reasons and maybe they'll be at the next one. Guess time will tell. At any rate, I hope they are doing well!

At least now things will slow down a little bit this week. I still have several things scheduled this week, but overall, it should be a little more restful than this past week. And at this moment in time, a little rest sounds kind of nice. LOL

Only one way to describe it!

Community Fair was awesome! Lots of work, but more fun than work and was received well, once again, by the community! We had about 100 workers and around 300 visitors. We had a lot of fun, food and sweets! Lots of bake off entries..it was awesome! Lots of wonderful goodies, lots of smiles and happy people! Still some obstacles had to be overcome before we got going, but we were not defeated! Did I mention they yummy bake off entries??! Our judges had a great time tasting everything and they did a great job. I know it was a difficult thing to do, but they endured! :) I got 3rd place for a pie that I entered, so not too bad considering I was in competition with lots of great cooks and many other entries! The whole thing was great and we'll be writing down ideas and getting ready for next year at our follow-up meeting this week. I'm so thankful to everyone who helped pull it all together and who prayed for the event. I also am thankful for everyone who attended. I hope that everyone was blessed in some way by being there and being a part of the community event!

We made the goal!

We met, prayed, worked and mission accomplished on our work night for community fair. I said I hoped to be done by 9 and we were done...by 8:30. Woo hoo!!! Now everyone can relax tomorrow and get their entries ready for the bake off. I'm so excited!! We had several youth show up and they went with Walker and Stephen and delivered flyers to the surrounding neighborhoods, so it was work for all ages! It was a lot of fun we accomplished a lot!

As far as the work week--I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday!! It's been a long week.

Big weekend coming!

Not only is the community fair on Saturday and it will be very busy and exciting, but we will also have the 100th anniversary celebration of the establishment of CBBC. Not the church itself, it's been in existence longer, but of the name of CBBC as CBBC, which met as CBBC the very first time 9/20/1908! Should be a lot of fun.

But the thing I'm most excited about that will happen on Sunday is the start of 40 Day Revolution that our youth group will be doing. It's a national movement and it's going to be exciting to be a part of such an awesome thing. Bible study, fasting, praying...I don't even know what all yet, but I'm so excited!! The youth are getting excited about it too. We first started hearing about it at YEC this summer and again at Super Summer and Progressive Hearts Youth Camp. So, it's almost here! Please pray for us as we get ready to begin.

This Sunday night, our GIRLS ministry is not meeting at the normal time b/c the evening services are cancelled due to the long day of festivities of the 100 year celebrations, but I'm looking forward to our social event at the DQ that evening. Should be fun. Not sure what each of us will choose to eat or drink since the 40 Day Revolution starts that day with some sort of fasting, but none the less, it will be a good time to just hang out and be girls and chit chat!

Next Wednesday is SYATP (See you at the Pole)! that's a great thing as well and I'm praying for our youth as they prepare for that too--that they will take a stand before their school to let others know that they are Christians, not afraid to meet and pray for their school, our neighborhoods, their teachers and school officials. I hope and pray that there is a HUGE turnout!

Stay tuned for more info on how the events go. I'll keep you posted! Have a great rest of the week.

who commented?

whoever commented on the deal or no deal blog--I'm not sure who you are, so it's going to be hard to call you! :) go to my profile and email me if you don't want to reveal yourself on the blog. thanks.

The Smiley of the Moment is wiped out--me too

I see that the smiley of the moment as I'm typing is is "wiped out" and sleeping. I'm about to do the same thing. I'm beat. It's been a long couple of weeks with everything going on and my allergies. I'm so ready for them to go away and feel normal again (whatever that is!) ha

Anyway...can you believe there are no frizbees to be had at Wal Mart?? Nope. Apparently there is a season for them or something and it's not right now! I was on a mission looking for some and it was mission impossible. Oh, well. I'll think of something else.

Let me introduce my bloggers that I have listed...Chickaroni is Connie--a co-worker friend of mine. I haven't known her that long, but she's a very nice lady. I'm glad to know her. She always has a smile on her face and a great attitude. TSUMegs is Meghan. She's like a daughter to me. I've known her since she was in first grade or so and she's in her 3rd-4th year of college now, working on a degree in education. She was one of my Acteens and I'm very proud of her in many ways, including her dedication to the Relay for Life, which she supports in memory of Lauren! And Kerri's Korner--Kerri is a special lady that I've known for a long time! I babysat her and her older sister in the summers and holidays for their dad. Their dad was very special to me and he's gone on to be the with the Lord. I'm very proud of the woman that Kerri has become, as well as her sister Kristi too. I'm looking forward to them both having their second child each soon! They have wonderful husbands and it's very exciting to hear about all that they are doing! Their kids are adorable too! :)

Heading off to rest now. Goodness knows I need some beauty sleep! :-) Hopefully my blogging will be better in the next few days...I'm just a little whooped right now! Take care.

Deal or No Deal...

Did Deal or No Deal change? I just happened to look up and there are all these guys instead of the girls, opening the cases and they are all dressed and made to look a LOT like Howie (with their shaven heads and little fuzzy spot below their lip!) and he's calling them all Howie! I must admit, as beautiful as those women are, it's kind of a nice change...sometimes there too much skin showing! I still don't know that this lady is going to win, but it's got to be a nice change of scenery! LOL... Oh,and she didn't. she just won $91,000 I think it was. Poor thing...I probably wouldn't win either! But wouldn't it be fun to try! Deal or No Deal...would you play to the finish or take a deal? I guess it depends on how well you think you are doing and if your game is really stinking, then probably the deal is the best way to go, but otherwise...I think I'd play to the end. You only get one shot, you might as well take it! Right??

5 days until...

Community Fair! It's just around the corner. So hard to believe! Most of our obstacles that we faced this year have been overcome. The other things--we just improvised. We still have MUCH to do this week, including our food and supply shopping, finishing up the booths and signs, getting info ready, making sure all of the last minute details are done, PRAYING, organizing and .... I have a huge list! We'll start praying and working on Thursday evening around 6 and in hopes that we won't need to be there on Friday night--so we can get ready for the bake off and get some rest because Saturday will be fast and furious! My goal is to be done by 9 on Thursday, but we'll see how that goes, but we have to have a goal! I know it's so hard for everyone to do all these things on week nights with work and school the next day and goodness knows we all need our beauty sleep! LOL

We have an excellent crew working together to get this all accomplished and I know that everything will work out just fine. We'll get it all done and with time to spare, I'm sure.

Did I mention the bake off? Yeah, I still don't know what I'm fixing yet, but it will be something. I've got to try to win another blue ribbon. That was one of my highlights last year! Of all the cooking and serving that I've done...I'd never been in a competition before and I won a blue ribbon, with my coconut-pineapple chess pie. I was quite proud and hope to accomplish that again this year. I'll have to report back and let you know. :)

I know one thing most people are looking forward to this year at the fair--the dunkin booth. Our Music Minister is already trying to get out of it, but he's not going to! We've got 5 people who've volunteered to be dunked this year, including him, so it's pretty exciting. Our youth will work hard and then reward themselves by getting to dunk Walker and Brian ... over and over, I'm sure! Everyone except James, the Music Minister, seems excited about the dunking booth, but who knows...James could find out that this is just what he's been missing and not want to get out! I doubt it, but hey...it could happen!

Check back next week for an update on the fair. I hope to get some pictures posted too.

Something to ponder...

Our youth minister is really good about giving our youth a crazy question to ponder each week, would you rather this or that, and I have pondered this question to myself over the last few days, so let me ask you...

Would you rather have a hurricane or tornado? Hurricane Ike has certainly caused me to think about this. I never, as a younger person, realized how much hurricanes can affect the entire state. I do remember one time as a kid how a hurricane brought in lots of rain and wind to central Texas, but other than that, I just don't recall it until the last 3 years or so. The hurricane seasons seem to be getting worse. Katrina, Rita and others in the last few years and Gustav earlier this year and now Ike. How devastating they are. For people with allergies and weather induced asthmatic symptoms, we've been feeling the affects of the the storm brewing in the gulf for about a week now. Breathing is getting a little easier now, at least for me, since it has moved thru.

Fortunately, I've never experienced the devastation of either a hurricane or tornado first hand, and I hope that I never do. I've experienced down drafts and wind shears from the severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the area and the devastation from that. I've seen a couple of funnel clouds and yes, even had to take shelter a few times but Praise the Lord, they never hit the area where I was. The pressure in the air changes with them too and causes me difficulty in breathing, but it is over sooner.

Aside from the allergy/asthma aspect of it all...what would you rather experience if you HAD to choose one? Hurricanes have more warning--days and allow you to move to higher ground and out of the path of the storm--you have to travel to escape them and you don't know how long before you can go back to check your home, have power, etc. (way more things than I can even comprehend). Tornadoes, sometimes have very little to no warning, other than normally there is a severe thunderstorm going on and we are warned that conditions are favorable. Sometimes there is no warning, they just drop and that's it. They are over quicker, but devastation is just as severe, only not as much water involved. I guess you could say each have pros and cons and I don't know which I'd prefer if I had to choose which to experience. Prayerfully I'll never have to directly experience either.

I don't like storms, I don't like lightening ( I know a lot of people think it is pretty and maybe it is, but I still don't like it) and I don't like wind. I get very nervous during these severe storms, especially at night when you can't see what's going on. I am normally sitting up (in bed when they are at night) watching the news reports for the direction and duration and to see if it's "time to take cover" and praying for the winds and rains to calm and for safety.

For the families of those who experienced Hurricane Ike or any others first hand, I'm praying for you. I hope that you home, belongings and more importantly, you and your family, are safe.

Looking for God?

Where do you look for God, or do you? I try to look for things throughout the day that remind me of God, things to give me encouragement, reminders and inspiration. Last week I was driving to work, listening to KLOVE. That's my favorite station! Anyway, one of my favorite praise and worship songs, "Shout to the Lord" came on. I know you are probably thinking that's been around way too long. Well, maybe so, but like the old Hymns, it's a classic. I love the part where it says the 'mountains will bow down and the seas will roar, at the sound of your name'. So many times we just sing the songs, not thinking about the words. Take a minute, think about those words, would you? Mountains bowing down? Seas roaring? All at the sound of God's name?? WOW!! You probably just in general terms think about mountains being stationary, non movable, but they will bow down! Seas--yeah, they get rough, spill out onto the land, but roar? Not just the typical splashing and listening to the "roar" through a konk shell, we're talking about something major here! God is so Big and we should not forget that. One of the things I found that morning as I was praising God in singing that song on my way to work was in the clouds. It was Tuesday morning. My friend and inspiration, Bob Gentry, had given up his fight with cancer the day before and went to be with the Lord. I was thinking about him and his battle of this horrible disease and how amazing he has been during this time to stay positive, focused and determined not to let it get him down. Always encouraging and more concerned with others than with himself. Still trying to make committee meetings and speak and write and visit with people when ever the chance arose. Everyone who knew him was so blessed, I know I have been. I was thinking about his dear, sweet wife Fran, who is much like Bob--quite an inspiration and always there for others. They are such delightful people and she's been at his side this entire battle. How devastated she must be feeling, a bit lost, wondering what the future will bring. How things will be different now that she will be living alone. I'm thinking about all of these things, singing this song--mountains bowing, seas roaring and looking into the sky that is a bit overcast with beautiful clouds and a wonderful glimpse of a small rainbow. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! It made me realize that God gives us promises and He never breaks them! (unlike people) and He is always there, always at our side and he knows what we're thinking, what we're feeling and what we will experience, even before we do! He knew us before we were born and He knows us so intimately that he knows the number of hairs on our head! How amazing is that? Yes, our God is BIG and Mighty! MY God is Big and Mighty. So, next time you are feeling a little down, sing songs of praise and look around. God is there. He is everywhere. Just open your eyes and see him. Open your heart to feel Him and open your ears to hear Him. He cares for you and He loves you.



I'm sure I've rambled a bit here but the point is, God is all around. His beauty is all around us and even in the overcast sky, you can be reminded of his promises and of His unfailing and undying love. Praise the Lord in all that you say and in all that you do!

Coincidence? No, I don't think so...

So, I decided to change some things on my layout. One thing I changed was the daily Bible verse. I decided I didn't like the look or the translation that was on before, and this IS my blog, so I CAN cange it! Today's verse is from Colossians 3. Guess what the message to our youth at church tonight was from our youth minister...YEP, Colossians 3: 1-17. Do you think this is a coincidence? I do not! I think that there is a reason for all things, a time and place for all things. I think that this is a message to me, to you, that we are to seek the things above, seeking Christ in all things, and making ourselves more like Him. Turn away from the old ways, we are raised in Christ, living a new life. Draw in the new things, live them, live like Christ, live for Christ. I love verse 16..."Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God" Verse 17 goes on to say "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father". Hmph...Pretty deep and good stuff! What do yo think? Do you live like Christ? Do you say and do all things in the name of the Lord? I don't--I'm just being honest. I strive to live better each day, trying to be more like Christ and letting my light shine, but life gets in the way sometimes. We think about things we shouldn't, worry about things, get angry, have attitude and all for what? God takes care of us and all things are for Him. We should praise Him and honor him in all that we say and do.

Busy, Busy...

Let me tell you what's going on with me right now--getting ready for Community Fair. Chalk Bluff Baptist Church will be having it's 8th annual community fair on 9/20/08 from 10-2. We've been working on it for a few months already and now we're down to crunch time! Only 11 days left to the event! It's so hard to believe. There is so much that has already been done, so much yet to do and then it will be here, done and over! It's exciting to be a part of such an event and I'm very blessed to be a part of it. It's tiring and exhausting, but the rewards are immeasurable. We've got work to do this weekend, a few evenings next week and then will start at about 6:30 that morning getting set up and being up and ready to go by 10AM! We normally have about 600 or so people pass through our fair and it's a totally FREE event that the community looks forward to every year. I have had the pleasure to have the opportunity to co-chair the event this year. I'm looking forward to it, but must admit I'm a little anxious for it to all come together, but I feel that way every year, even when I'm not co-chairing! LOL I have been blessed with many ready, willing and able people who have taken on tasks and taken the lead on a few areas and I'm so thankful! I could not have done all this without them. Our prayer is that God will be pleased with all that we do and that we won't do anything that is not pleasing to Him. So, if you get a chance, come out and see us. You'll be glad you did!

My first post!

Well, finally I got my blog page set up--at least for now. I'm not very savvy with this sort of thing, so please be patient with me while I work on my site. I plan to use this site to just chat, talking about random things as well as a place for the girls in my G.I.R.L.S. Ministry class to have a place to check out to find what we talk about if they should miss a class. I hope that that this will be helpful to us all. I'm excited about the idea of blogging, although I'm new to it.