He pinched me...

Ephesians 4:26 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

26-27 "Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life."

He pinched me and it hurt!!! Last night while Kent was whawlerin' around in bed, I held my ground with my heel. He said, "Don't be mean." And then he pinched me, hard! After an 'Owww, I went to the living room to finish reading. He transfered his mad to me and I knew better than to come back to bed angry, but that didn't stop me. This morning after exercising, I decided to water the flowers rather than go into the house to greet him. While watering, the Lord wispered to me, "This has nothing to do with him and everything to do with Me. Was it worth making yourself vulnerable to the enemy and obstructing what we have?" Okay, he didn't use the word obstruct, but I had to write something. He speaks to me not always in words but in feelings. And that sentence is what I felt rather than heard. He's right, it's not worth it! I give! And forgive...even tho it hurt.

Running on one cylinder...

Upon observing our clock, I was reminded of a book that I've read twice. My clock is running on one of the three weights. For some strange reason, the outer two weights are not working properly and the one in the middle is doing all the work. This reminded me of a lesson I learned from "Healing By Design" by Dr. Scott Hannen. In this christian health book, I learned that...'while carbohydrates are burned by the body for fuel, they yield less energy to the body than fats do per molecule..." In the long run, I learned that as a carboholic I needed my body to burn stored fat for energy rather than the instant carbs I consumed. Like my clock, I'm running on one cylinder and have power that I am not utilizing. Well, it's time to crack this book open a third time...so here goes...

"Carboholics are easy to pick out in a crowd. Most of them have dark circles under their eyes and fatigued or 'wiped out' look. The reason they fail to maintain weight loss is that they are not beating their addiction....It is an improvement when people try to better their diets by eating less sugary foods and refined carbohydrates, but that is not the answer. If a person smokes five packs of cigarettes a day, for example, we consider that person to be addicted to nicotine. If he or she cuts the smoking down to five cigarettes a day, that is definitely a healthy improvement, but the fact that he still needs cigarettes shows he is still addicted. The only way to beat an addiction is to abstain from the addictive substance completely. Sugar addictions are no exception."

"1" of the Why's?

Today, this is one of the why's I asked God..."Yesterday, why didn't you heal Kim, Gus' mom, when they prayed for her healing during Sunday School?" Today she was rushed to the hospital because her condition was worse.

Under the circumstances, Gus ended up spending the afternoon at Kidmo with me and the night at my home. He is an avid reader for a second grader and the only kid book I had was the #2 book in the Kids' Left Behind Series. In an effort to catch him up on what happened in the book #1 (which is MIA), I tried explaining the rapture. Surprisingly, Gus understood every word and expressed a desire to invite Jesus to be his Savior so that he would go to heaven if Jesus returned before he died. It was a holy moment!

Now, what if on this very day, Kim hadn't needed my help babysitting? Funny how God uses circumstances to answer the why's of life? Someday when Kim meets up with Gus in heaven, what might she say if someone asks her, "Was your sickness worth your son's salvation?"

She has her healing but the 'when' is sometimes sooo critical. If she had been healed Sunday, then Gus wouldn't have heard the gospel at Kidmo and encountered book #2 at my house on Monday. Maybe I'm full of hogwash and seem to over-analyze, but the fact remains that a miracle occurred in that boy's heart and life this evening and the angels rejoiced!

Pshhh....Peacccceee!

Well, well, well...I've been struggling with the issue of respect towards a church leader for some time. Don't hear me wrong...not submission but respect. Oh, God and I have settled that little area awhile ago. I submit to authority as long as authority doesn't ask me to sin, then if that authority is wrong that's between them and God. I'm off scott-free. Respect for that authority is the deeper struggle for me. Then Oswald hits me where I live with...'The Holy Spirit reveals that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now, He says to me, show the same love to others--"Love as I have loved you." "I will bring any number of people about you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited to you".' Oucheee!!!

And now after a not-so-peaceful gathering with family, I am hit with another deep challenge from Oswald. 'It is one thing to choose the disagreeable, and another thing to go into the disagreeable by God's engineering. If God puts you there, He is amply sufficient.' Oh how I do NOT want to hear that... Now I have had lots of run-ins with the disagreeable at my own doin'. But, I don't think I've ever voluntarily chose the disagreeable...I'm a comfort junky. I do think, however, that God engineered some disagreeable in this family-thing and I'm coming forth as gold. I was attacked and didn't counter-attack (old nature). Thank you God, that the only regret I have from the weekend was turning down the chance to get into a water hose fight with my little brother on the account of...I didn't want to get my hair wet.

Aaaaaahyeeee!

Last day of Faithweavers Friends and I almost pulled my hair out! The iddy biddy kids and I were on a nature walk and they were searching for things that God made and bringing them to show and tell me. Little did I know about the freshly planted periwinkles in the church's flower beds. And then here comes a little one holding a plant by the stems with a few buds on top and a pack of potting soil below and three more kids on the same track. Aaaaaaah NO, I screamed!!! And we proceeded to replant God's creation. Whew! I'm sure it was a teachable moment, but I didn't utilize it!

I Have Sooo Much Help This Morning!

I was thinking about getting a flat-screen moniter to free up desk working space...but then I still have the problem with Mittens to think about.

We held services today...

Niki passed from this life on May 6, 2007....R.I.P.

Do All Dogs Go To Heaven? Or, just christian dogs?

Why, I'm not quite sure. But, I do know that animals are gonna be in heaven!!! The Garden of Eden was heaven on earth and that was Adam and Eve's main job, naming and taking care of the animals. And remember the verse about heaven that says the lion will lay down with the lamb. Peace, total peace!

I think, God has one more dog in heaven today. May 6, 2007 in the middle of the afternoon, Granny's dog Niki went to be with her Maker. Niki was buried right beside my cat, Samson, near the garage. I performed the services. Aunt Mollie, Granny and I held hands and prayed. We buried Niki in a beautiful plastic table cloth along with her beloved Texas Tech Red Raider toy. Pray for my Granny! There will be a lonely spot on her lap and in her heart.