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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Solid Ground

Sometimes we just need a reminder! Enjoy and may you sing this in your heart the rest of the week.





So Good To Me by Cory Asbury
Album: Holy

I waited patiently upon the Lord
And He inclined and heard my cry
He pulled me up out of the miry clay
He set my feet upon the Rock
He gave me beauty for ashes and joy for my mourning
And praise for heaviness
He put a new song in my mouth and a crown upon my head
He gave me life forevermore

Chorus:
He’s been so good, so, so good to me; so good, so, so good to me
So good, so, so good to me, Jesus

Post-chorus:
He picked me up and He turned me around
And He placed my feet on the solid ground
Hallelujah, hallelujah


I've got love, joy peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit
Oooooh, yeah.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Green Water

Knowing little to nothing about winterizing a swimming pool, last fall I went into pool winterizing blind. I read a few things after googling the proper words. Really, how hard can it be after reading the tried and true dos and don'ts from the world wide web.

In went the chemicals. Check. Out came a cover I never looked at until that fall day. Ummm, check? Okay, so it was a pool cover to keep debris out of the pool and not a winter cover. It was too late in the season to buy one. But hey,we'll save some money and use what we have. Right? Mistake number uno. The first wind blew the thing off. Sigh.

After talking to a neighbor who used to have a pool and one who currently has a pool, we decided there was nothing to do but leave it cover-less.

Disclaimer: When I say the word 'pool' I say it loosely. It is a soft-sided metal frame...as in poles to hold it up...pool. Other years we have the soft sided blue pool that has a ring to inflate and it is more like a bigger kiddie pool. Last year we moved "up" in the world of pools. Swimming in it made us feel like we were actually in a real pool.

Suffice to say, after the ice melted, it.was.green. Ewwww!!!

Well, I'll just drain it as much as I can and throw some more chemicals in there and we'll be good to go. At least that was my plan. But, no...not that easy. By throwing the chemicals in I had killed most of the algae. But it still looked nasty and dirty and...ick! After talking to a lady at the pool store, we decided we had to get that junk out of there or we might have problems the rest of the summer.

So, recently, we spent a significant amount of time sucking the green, nasty water and equally nasty debris from the pool. [seriously, there was a dead frog in there! shiver!!] A couple of us were down on our knees at the end of the process wiping up the algae from the hidden areas...aka, the seams. It got me thinking....

The pool looked great, all the water and debris was gone. I had thought we were done. Then I moved a seam and looked behind it. Green. Sigh. Still more work to do. I asked our son to get some paper towels and a bucket of water. Down on our hands and knees we circled the inside of the pool cleaning up the green.

The pool floor and sides looked wonderful until I had made that hidden-green-under-the-seams-discovery. How often do I have a mess going on in my hidden places but look and act on the outside like I'm just fine? What messes am I trying to hide? What if what I'm hiding gets away from me? Quickly I can contaminate and make things ugly...turning a clear "pool" into a icky-green-mess.

In a way, all of this reminded me of Psalm 139.

1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you, LORD, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.


7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?


23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

And, by the way, I already have permission from hubs to get a winter cover for next year! ☺ Lesson learned.

Friday, May 20, 2011

The End is Near

Or is it?! [cue music: dun, dun, dun, duuunnnnnn.]

I was reminded by the media, again, that someone has predicted the end times.

Earthquakes, famine, war, rumors of war, hurricanes, mass destruction. Is not this a most pleasant thought. Apparently tomorrow, May 21, is the end of the world as we know it. Apocalypse.

Do I believe it. Nope. Not even the Son of Man knows the day or time. So how can a mere mortal know what God's Son doesn't even know.

But, that doesn't mean I don't think about the Second Coming. Am I ready? To be in Glory with God and his Angels. A place of no more tears. Oh, I am ready for that. But am I really ready? Only Jesus and I can answer that one. I really want to be ready. But there are some things I need to work on. Mainly my relationship with Him. Admittedly, there are days I don't talk with Him. There are days I don't listen. Yup, gotta work on that. [hangs head in shame and embarrassment.]

But, on a lighter note, [sorry, couldn't think of a creative transition...obviously I need to work on that too!], if you knew the world was ending, oh, let's say tomorrow, what would you do? Who would you want to talk to? What wouldn't you want to do?

Here is my slightly wacky list [and I apologize in advance for my lack of creativity...I got this idea from Jenny B Jones' blog post from the other day and her list is much more creative than mine.]

If the world ended tomorrow I would:

1) not mow the lawn, vacuum the house or get groceries today. Sad but so, so true. Groceries, have we ever talked about what a big waste of time that entire process seems? If the world doesn't end tomorrow, I'll post about that big time-waster! [I can see you all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for that wonderful post! You're probably secretly hoping the world does end tomorrow!]

2) make sure everyone I know and love knew I love them. I love you my people.

3) not waste time on facebook or thinking about a blog post.

4) enjoy the moments.

5) clean out and let go of things I'm hanging on to in my 'emotional' closet.

6) not clean out my house closets! Definitely not.

7) remember to write out a list of questions I have for God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the all the Disciples. Trust me, it will be a long list. I have lots of questions.

8) wonder if the streets in Heaven are really gold. Will God make me take off my shoes so it doesn't get dirty? Will I have shoes?

9) wonder if the Northern Lights are really that great. I've only seen them once but wasn't impressed as we are so far away from where I hear they are spectacular.

10) wonder if when Jesus comes for me, if He really looks like those pictures from Sunday School.

And last but certainly not least....so, I get a new body in Heaven, can I request what I look like? I would really like to be hot and skinny and hot and did I say skinny?! ☺ And, my mansion in the sky, do I have to clean it? Because I would like to request a small one if I have to clean it...big one if I don't, please. ☺ [and since God has a terrific sense of humor, I'm sure I'll get a large mansion and will need to clean every day.]

What does your list look like?

Sunday, May 15, 2011

And So It Goes

I got nothin'. I think writer's block might apply here. It might have something to do with how busy our family seems this time of year. I feel like there isn't even time to think. Let alone sleep. Although I proudly took an hour and a half nap this afternoon...and I'm not feeling guilty...much!

In this post, I decided to do what I do best...babble. Now, let me direct you to some favorites of mine. [in no particular order...]

My family. My people are good to me.

Dancer Daughter's blog. Go visit. Now.

Salt. Right now, salty food is tops on my list. There is this new product called Pretzel Crisps. Good, people, good.

Ice cream. Because I know I'll be over salt at any moment. Don't hate me, salt. We shall meet again.

Chocolate. Because after I'm over salt and ice cream, chocolate just seems right. Ice Cream, you know you'll always hold a special spot in my heart...er, stomach. After all, every month is 'national ice cream month' in our household.

The expression "Silly Head". Doesn't that sound innocent, creative, and sweet? Better than so many other expressions I've heard lately.

Stalking blogs. Don't judge me, people. You know you do it, too! I love the funny. I love the educational. I love the spiritual. I love the foodies. [I'll write another post w/fav blogs soon so you guys can enjoy others too]

Reading. Love the smell and feel of books. With that said, I've been thinking about Mr. Kindle or Mr. Nook. Is that wrong? I feel like I'm cheating on Mr. Book! Honestly, Mr. Book, you have nothing to fear. Mr. Kindle and Mr. Nook, you are too rich for my blood...unless someone gives me one...

Sitting on the porch swing with Mr. Book...or with the gift of Mr. Kindle or Mr. Nook....

And lastly [since I fear readers are quickly falling asleep...], the sound of baby laughter. How can one not smile when one hears a baby full-out-laughing!

So, what are some of your favorites?