Have you had a bad day?

I've been contemplating the topic of mercy for quite a while.  I have felt that it needed more definition than I was giving it.  Nothing was working together.  But today, it came to me.

Josh and I tease with Daisy.  For her birthday, we give her "mercy credits" - for all of the things she has destroyed. . .i.e. glasses, furniture, computer cords, things like that. Our definition of mercy?  Not "making a hat" out of her for the things that she has done wrong. (The "making a hat" came from a time when she was young and got into more things.  Josh would say that he was going to make a coat out of her. . . but she only weighed about 6 pounds at the time. . .so he amended to "making a hat" out of her. :) )

Another definition of mercy I had to learn after living in the south for a while.  Southerners really do live life at a different place.  I work in a very easy-going environment.  You get there when you get there (within reason, of course!)  This morning, I overslept.  Not too much, but enough to be late to work.  I left my house 10 minutes later than I should have, and my gas tank was on empty.  I called my boss to tell him that I was running about 15 minutes late.  He said, "Oh, no problem.  Take your time.  Be careful.  Just get here when you can."  Ha.  I have never been employed by someone like that.  I do feel that I do give my all while I am at work, and if I am late like today, I do stay over to make up the time, but still.  His definition of mercy?  I know you made a mistake and I trust you to do what you should.

A few minutes after I disconnected my phone call, I remembered that I had left my debit card at home.  "That's okay."  I thought to myself.  "I have my checkbook."  Now, I just wrote a check yesterday. . .but when I was at the gas station and looked in my purse. . .it was no where to be found.  And I HAD to have gas to get to work.  I had two dollars.  I needed ten dollars worth of gas to get to work and back.  So I went to the gas station manager and told him my situation.  I told him that if there was any way to allow me to get some gas, I could bring cash back on my way home, since I had my drivers' license, I could get cash at the bank.  He said, "Sure.  I'll put it in, so you will owe it to me.  Just bring it by later." {SIGH} Thank you!  And I went on my merry way.  His definition of mercy?  You made a mistake, but I will cover for you.


And what of God's mercy for us?  I won't make a hat out of you. :)  I know you make many mistakes.  I trust you to do what you should.  It's okay. And You make mistakes, but I will cover for you.

P.S.  My worst morning was right after we got Daisy last year.  I was running a little late.  Josh was taking Daisy to the groomer.  I was opening the refrigerator and spilled grape juice concentrate all over myself, Daisy, and the kitchen floor.  That's okay.  I'll clean myself and Daisy up now and get the kitchen floor later.  So Josh and Daisy left.  I finished getting my things together and went outside. . .dismayed to see only Josh's truck.  I forgot he took my car because it has air and he had the dog.  That's okay.  I just like my car better.  So I was driving down the road and realized that I needed to adjust the rear-view mirror so that I can see. (I am shorter than Josh. :) )  As I was adjusting it, it just broke off.  That's okay.  Josh can fix it later.  I drive 30 miles one way to work.  It seemed that all of the people were driving five miles underneath the speed limit and I could not pass them. That's not okay. Once I got into the city where my work is, I was at a red light.  The light turned green.  I started to go. . .but the truck in front of me was not as speedy as I was. :)  I bumped into his bumper.  I started to cry.  I tried not to, but I couldn't help it at that point.  He got out of his truck, saw that no damage was done, said, "It's okay, let's go."  And we were both back on the road. . .apparently, he was late too. :)  I had a good day the rest of that day. . .but that was a rough hour!

Bountifully

Psalms 13:6  I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Bountiful:  Giving freely, generously; marked by abundance, plentiful

Psalms 13:6 was a verse that "caught" me when I read it.  I know that there are many times in life that we feel unloved and uncared for; however, we need to remember and recall the many, many, many times that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us.  The times He has given to us freely.  The times He has dealt with us generously.  The times He has blessed us that are marked by abundance.  The times He has sent plenty.

Okay, here is the admission of guilt.  I took a break from writing.  I wanted to write, but nothing came to me.  I was off schedule - for a variety of reasons.  I will admit that one reason was that I was reading my Bible. . .daily.  Quickly, but daily.  Reading the Bible quickly, or less than thoroughly does not feed one's soul.  But I'll save that soapbox for another post. :)

It is SO important to feed our souls through preaching, reading the Bible, and spiritual singing.  One of the ways that I know I am getting my soul fed is that I get ideas.  Yes, ideas.  If you were to sit in my church and watch me and see that I was writing, it's probably not sermon notes.  It's idea notes.  For example.  This past Wednesday night, my husband was preaching and mentioned the anointing of Saul to be the first king of Israel.  Which led me to think of a whole lesson on a portion of scripture that had semi-stumped me in the past.  The way I know I am not getting my soul fed is that I run out of ideas. . .

Anyway.  Back to bountifully.  So, yes, every time I read this verse, I think of Bounty paper towels.  They are named Bounty because of their ability to absorb "plentiful" amounts of mess.  God's bounty is much more.

When I think of God's bounty, I think of His sacrificial gift - the giving of His Son as a sacrifice for our sin.  I think of the beautiful area of Tennessee that I live in - all of the beautiful flowers, grasses, trees, and other plants.  I think of blue skies and golden fields.  I think of all the things He's done for me in the past.  Things like directing my steps in His will.  Things like His leading my husband to me.  Things like providing me a good place to work (not perfect by any means, but one with good people . . .and one in which my light can shine bright for Christ if I allow it to).  Things like a good family.  I see so many little events in the lives of my family that, if a different decision were made, could have had very different outcome.

I think of God's bounty in the present.  One of my husband and my biggest praises this summer is that my husband has a job with his brother. You see, we both have 9/10 month jobs where we only get paid for . . .9/10 months. :)  The other times we try to save up, but it's not always possible.  It was such a blessing that Josh has work this summer.  Another blessing this summer was that I could work a few weeks for a friend of mine at their fireworks stand.  That helped financially, as well.  Another blessing I had (this one is the icing on the cake) is that I won a contest.  Yes, a contest.  I know many of us feel that we "never" win anything. . .I have always felt that way.  But I finally won something - and it was a BIG something.  I won a KitchenAid mixer.  Wow.  Did I need one?  No, I already had one.  I felt like it was God saying that He loves me and is always going to take care of me.  It made me feel so special.

Take a minute.  Think of things that God has blessed you with.  Little things, big things, common things, uncommon things.  Take a second and go ahead. . .comment your blessings.  Help us all dwell on how good our God has been!

Change is Here!

This weekend, my husband and I FINALLY got internet in our home.  Since we moved a little over a year ago, we have been either using internet at work (which blocks most of the sites I want to look at - not bad, just anything shopping or Facebook - and doesn't like pictures of any kind) or from the hot spot on my mobile phone.  I probably wouldn't have moved as quickly on getting it as my husband did. He didn't know what he would do if he were at home for a week by himself. . .without any internet.  Let me explain. :)

When we want to go on the internet at home, we must go through the following:

1. Find my phone (in my purse, on my person, on the charger, etc.).  Which means, if I am not home, there is no internet at home. . .
2. Put my phone on the charger if it was not already there.  Using the hot spot drains the battery life.  If Josh wanted to use his e-reader, he had to unplug my phone. . .from behind our bed, move it to the living room, and plug it back in. . .then out of the kindness of his heart, plug it back in behind the bed.  I <3 him!
3. Hope there is 3G coverage. . .
4. Activate the hot spot (there is a cap on usage per month).
5. Plug the laptop charger in and connect to the laptop.
6. Hope that there is 3G coverage on the phone. . .
7. Open the laptop and wait for it to catch the internet signal from the phone. . .
8. Hope there is adequate 3G coverage. . .
9. Once we got online, we were fine. . .as long as we didn't try to listen to music, try to download, or try to watch a movie. . .
10. Don't ask about if we wanted to print something. . .

Our having internet at home was not as simple as sitting down and opening an internet browser.  One had to weigh very carefully if using the internet was worth following the aforementioned steps.  

Last night, shortly after the guys got the internet hooked up, we went to Josh's school's graduation program.  As I was thinking on my way home, I was contemplating the fact that I really wasn't on board for getting internet this soon. . .but why?  I realized that it was because - even though there were a lot of steps to take - I got used to jumping through hoops.  The unique thing about humans is that once we get used to something, we hate to change it.

Being a receptionist at a high school that is over 100 years old, I work with a lot of people who don't like change.  I won't go into the details, but basically, if something has been done the same way for 50 years - or been in the same place for 50 years - one cannot change it. . .without ramifications, anyway.  Sometimes, I laugh. Sometimes, I don't.  It is amusing to me how much people refuse to change.

I don't really care to change either, but I feel that since I am a child of God, He gives me the ability to change. Not through myself, of course, but through Him.  Now, if you look up the word "change" in the Bible, you will only find references to changing things - not yourself. I believe the biblical word is "transformed."  The Bible says in Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. . ."  We change ourselves by the renewing of our mind, or the renovation of our mind, or the tearing down of the old and inserting the new.  

If I were to renovate my kitchen, there is no way I would keep my old cabinets around.  I would take them out and get rid of them.  I would go to a store and look at all of their cabinet selection.  I might not even buy anything the first time, but maybe I would go back multiple times until I knew that was what I wanted.  Then I would take my husband and show him what I wanted.  I would take pictures and send them to my family to look at.  Then, I would purchase the ones I wanted and have them installed.  I would dwell on my new cabinets and probably not think of the old ones except for a few laughs. 

That is how we are to change.  We are to read the Bible and listen to preaching. (Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.) We mull it over and over in our minds. Then we get new cabinets. . .I mean, new habits. Change takes time.  Change takes faith.  Change takes love.  Change takes wanting to be like Jesus. . . and not like another human - no matter how famous.

I have had two instances of change this year that were not of my own doing.  They were attitude/personality changes.  I prayed about them.  One was the fact that I was asked to teach a young children's Sunday school class.  I don't have much patience with little kids.  The other was that our church piano player was moving quite a distance away and would not be able to attend our church on Wednesday nights.  I am not good at playing the piano, but I needed to have a little jump-start on the learning angle of it.  Both instances were those that I prayed that the Lord would help me love my little ones and that He would help me understand piano playing.  I must admit that to date, I love my little ones.  I didn't do it, Jesus did.  I am doing better at the piano.  I didn't do it, Jesus did.

Change takes time, but it is always worth it when I come out on the other side a little more of the person that Jesus wants me to be.

Be Afraid - Very Afraid!

Something my pastor said this morning made me think. I wish I would have written it down. . .because I forgot what he said, exactly, but it was about our relationship with God.  Something like when we neglect our relationship with God, we have problems.

I had read something like that in the past - relating to money.  You know you are in trouble when you don't want to check your account balance, budget, etc.

I recognized it in myself.  I normally check my bank account online at least every two days, most likely every day.  Identity Theft Awareness, I suppose.  Anyway, I know I'm having spending problems when I don't really . . .um. . .need to check it today. . .or tomorrow. . .or the next day.  After avoiding it, I realize that I DO need to look at it because I need to figure out the mess that I made.  And I do make myself.

It's funny how the main areas of life always coincide - like relationships.  If I am avoiding someone, there is a problem.  I ask myself if there is anything I need to apologize for. . . even if I thought I was right.  It's amazing how an apology opens up hearts and conversations.

When I don't want to talk to God, it bothers me.  I hate feeling far from God - especially because I know He is always near.  But when I have sin in my life, it's easy to try to avoid Him. . .if I don't see Him, He doesn't see me, right?  Yeah, right.  Adam and Eve figured that one out pretty quickly.  Good try, guys!  Didn't work!

To sum everything up, if you are avoiding someone/thing, there is very likely something that has to be worked out.  Pray and ask God to help you with it.  He will.  He wants you to be joyful.  He doesn't wish for you to be bogged down with cares!

Blessings

Yesterday, I mentioned to Josh about a girl who had been faithfully attending our junior church program.  She hadn't been in many weeks (that I could tell - I am in junior church 2-3 times a month).  I was worried about her because she is at the age when many kids just drop out of church and begin to follow a path of destruction.  I was so thankful that last night at church she came up to sit with me.  It did my heart good to see her.

As I was driving home from church, I dwelt on the many (for our small town :) ) kids that I was able to be in contact with this week.  Since Josh and I have been in Lewisburg, many teens and children have crossed our paths. . .and continued down different ones.  I pray for them often.  It seems that this week, the Lord has guided my path to go to. . .Wal-mart.  I have never cared for Wal-mart.  But this past week, I feel that I've been at least every other day, if not more.  I was able to see two teenage girls who used to attend our church.  Both are hurting.  Both aren't making the best decisions.  But I loved seeing them.  They are constantly in my prayers.

Another blessing was that yesterday morning, after the bus had arrived (all of our children who attend Sunday school and junior church come on our bus), one of my girls ran up and said that her mom was there!  What a blessing.  I saw her mother and spoke to her for a moment, then I went to my class to count my kids.  I bake enough for Josh's and my Sunday school classes.  Goodness!  I had 11 kids!  Hooray!  That is our highest number since I was given the class in September/October.

God blesses me more than I deserve, and I am thankful.

My Mother

I woke up.  As I walked out of my bedroom, I remember seeing yellow stuff and balloons on the door.  Huh.  That's unusual, I thought.  When I walked in the kitchen to find my mom, I remember there being a sign on the wall and more yellow balloons.  My mom told me it was my birthday, and that was why she had put decorations up.  What a surprise! :)

My dad brought me into the laundry room with the green checked curtains that I loved.  There was mom. . .and a baby.  She gave me a new baby doll of my own, then introduced me to her new baby, my sister, Anna.

My mom was making me ramen noodles for lunch. . .when she left the kitchen, I reached up on the counter and took a bite of the raw noodles. . . it reminded me of a sandwich!

As I try to remember more memories of my mom, memories of my dad pop up (I'll save those for Father's Day. :) ). . .and I try to think of more memories of my mom. . .  then it clicked.  My mom was such a good mother that she always pushed us toward our dad.  She loved us very much and knew that we would need a good relationship with him as we got older.  I remember my mom encouraging me to write a story about my dad for a  Father's Day contest in our newspaper.  I ended up winning and having my article published.  Again, more to follow on Father's Day.

Once my mom (also teacher at the time) realized I needed glasses, I remember her taking me to the eye doctor. . .and I couldn't see one letter on the wall!  Not even the big "E" at the top!  I remember her taking me on many more trips to pick up my many pair of glasses -and eventually contacts - over the years.  How cool it was when I realized that one could see the leaves in the trees and the individual blades of grass from a moving car!  Oh, and who knew that the lines in the ceiling tiles were visible from the floor, as well as when one was un-installing a light fixture for cleaning. . .

I remember going to work with my mom during the summers when I was in college. . .and the year I decided to work a second part-time job after my regular full time and overtime job.  She wanted to know how to make my coffee so she could make it for me when I was too tired. . .and suffered from it during the day. :)  I remember people asking me to go to lunch with them, but I wanted to stay and have lunch with my mom.

I miss my mom.

Sugar, Spice, and Puppy Dog Tails?

I don't know where I began to be interested in organic and natural things.  I'm not super good at it, but I do try to be more environmentally friendly and pesticide free.

One of my most recent discoveries of things that work are essential oils.  I used to think they were just for smelling, but I am finding other uses for them now.  One of which is citronella oil.  I put 20 drops in a small bottle of olive oil.  Instant bug repellent that actually works, is inexpensive, and smells nice.  Oh, and it's a two-for-one deal.  I read that olive oil is a natural sunscreen!

The other I am currently experimenting with is lavender oil.  I'm sure I first purchased it to combine with Epsom salts in bath water.  I love lavender.

Now to the puppy dog tail part. :)  We are still experiencing our first year of having a dog.  The newest development has been that of ticks.  Bless Daisy's heart!  Within 2 1/2 weeks, I think I found 5 ticks on her.  What to do?  Flea and tick medicines are very expensive, and I question their working capability since I read the reviews online.  I also don't care at all for the fact that flea and tick meds are poison.  My vet, of course, recommends the most expensive ones. . .and cringes when I order my pet meds online.  No good.

One day, I thought that if the citronella oil works for me, would it be safe and work for Daisy?  I started researching online and found a better alternative.  LAVENDER!  Woo hoo! (Citronella smells good, but lavender is better!)

Maybe a week and a half ago, I gave daisy a bath.  Afterwards, I would put a drop or two of lavender oil into my palms, rub them together, then rub it into her fur.  I repeated it until I got her tummy, back, legs, and the top of her head. I also filled a spray bottle with one cup of water and about 15 drops of lavender oil.   Whenever I notice that Daisy doesn't have too much of a lavender smell before we go outside for any reason, I tell her to come to me.  She does very well and sits quietly while I spray her down, then rub in the spray.

I hadn't noticed any more ticks on her since I started the lavender routine.  Yesterday, Josh took Daisy to the groomer.  He asked the groomer if there were any ticks on her when the groomer bathed her.  Good news!  Daisy was tick AND flea free!