Saturday, April 29, 2006
THANK YOU GOD.....
Father,
Thank you so much for the rain we received (and are still receiving in abundance) today! It was much needed. Thank you for my family and my friends. Thank you for allowing me to be born in a country where I can pray freely, enjoy the freedoms given to me by the men who are willing to fight for the rights of freedom. Thank you for giving me a voice to share you with others, and thank you for giving me my trials, to learn to love you even more. Father God, I pray that you will keep a watchful eye on Paul and Joe as they travel, that you will heal my mother, that you will, with your grace, bring those home that are suffering and lonely and that you will guide my daughter back to the path you have chosen for her before she entangles herself to deeply! Father, I ask these things in your precious son's name. AMEN!
Thank you so much for the rain we received (and are still receiving in abundance) today! It was much needed. Thank you for my family and my friends. Thank you for allowing me to be born in a country where I can pray freely, enjoy the freedoms given to me by the men who are willing to fight for the rights of freedom. Thank you for giving me a voice to share you with others, and thank you for giving me my trials, to learn to love you even more. Father God, I pray that you will keep a watchful eye on Paul and Joe as they travel, that you will heal my mother, that you will, with your grace, bring those home that are suffering and lonely and that you will guide my daughter back to the path you have chosen for her before she entangles herself to deeply! Father, I ask these things in your precious son's name. AMEN!
LATELY.......
It seems that of late, I have strayed from the original reason I began this blog. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the fun, the funny, and the outragious, but I have gotten away from the prayer time I spent with Christ and the quiet time I shared while I was so busy having a pity party for myself. Hopefully things will get back to normal! Yeah right! Anyway, I am going to try to be more careful in my blogging process before I stumble too far away from the light!
Lately I have.......
1. Fallen short of the Glory of God!
2. Lost alot of my quiet time with Him.
3. Not been as diligent in my prayer time.
4. Been trying to hard to please myself and not others!
5. Realized how much I have neglected my friends and not the other way around.
6. Spent too much money!
7. Skipped confession! (just kidding, I am not Catholic).
8. Lost 10 pounds! Hurray!
9. Spent more time playing Mahjong Rivers than I should have!
10. Done much better at keeping my house picked up and my sink shiny!!!!!
11. Unpacked more boxes, and put the stuff away! Can you believe that?!?!
12. Gone past my physical limitations and enjoyed the pain from being productive.
13. Remebered to actually send out thank you and birthday cards!
14. Decided to finish the 9 afghans I have started, that are all laying around the house!
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.......
15. I have decided to obey Gods calling to finish the art work and publish the book I have had finished for almost 4 years, just sitting in my computer.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
I JUST THOUGHT THIS WAS COOL......
This one is absolutely fantastic!
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint: What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%.
How about achieving 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these Questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20> 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
AND,
look how far the love of God will take you
L - O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close,
and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of
God that will put you over the top!
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint: What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%.
How about achieving 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these Questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20> 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
AND,
look how far the love of God will take you
L - O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close,
and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of
God that will put you over the top!
WHAT IS YOUR THEME SONG.........
My theme song is Walking On Sunshine! Click on this link for a fun quiz that will give you your theme song!
What's Your Theme Song?
Brought to you by Tickle
Monday, April 24, 2006
DANCING WITH GOD.....
Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God, "u" and "i" dance."
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.
May you abide in God as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.
And I Hope You Dance !
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God, "u" and "i" dance."
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.
May you abide in God as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.
And I Hope You Dance !
Sunday, April 23, 2006
What Generation Are You?.....
THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! Are you one of them?
CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Pics of Kaylee....
Here are just a few of the most recent pics taken of Kaylee and a couple of Kordell.
GETTING THERE.........
Let's see, where do I start today?
We are still moving! STILL!! It is strange to me that we have moved into a larger house with an extra bedroom and a REAL attic, and things just will not fit! I am wondering how I could get rid of SO MUCH "crap" and still have so much left! I tried really hard to set myself for 50/50 move and get rid of but ended up at about 60/40 and still need to get rid of much more stuff. I am now having to put ads in the paper to get rid of excess furniture that just won't fit anywhere. Unless we add on a large den to the back of the house. I really am in need of bookshelves to fit all the books and nic nacs that I refuse to get rid of. I am not materialistic but I am a collector. Mostly of useful things but I don't keep stuff that can be thrown away.
On that note, at what point do you begin to get rid of things that belonged to someone who has moved to heaven? I ask this because alot of the things that we moved over here were things that belonged to Ian and things from school, and momentos that I cherish and I guess I am holding on to them for fear of actually losing him! WEIRD! I know!
I am still recovering from the staph infection and though the healing is going well, it is uncomfortable and inconvienent, the antibiotics are finally beginning to leave me alone! YIPEE!! I am still really tired and it takes alot for me to get done just the things that HAVE to be done and then it is a struggle to do the rest of the stuff.
Paul is soooooo tired of moving and working on the other house. I wish we played the lottery so that we could hire out the rest of the things that have to be done just to place the house on the market. Little things but quite a few of them still. He has a doctor appt tomorrow to see if he has pneumonia. I am praying for bronchitis or something along that line so that he is not hospitalized. We have had enough of hospitals for a lifetime.
Kaylee is doing great and I will include some photos just below this blog to show you how she is growing up! She is such a joy! She constantly is amazing us with her wit and humor. A few days ago, I um....."accidently" let some gas "slip" and her immediate comment went like this, "HOW RUDE"! It was hilarious! She then proceeded to tell me that I needed to excuse myself and that she would then excuse me back! Ok, when did she get that smart? I also realized that YEAH!!! She really has been listening! Sometimes too much. A few weeks ago, she told my dad, "You are gettin on my last nerve"! That was sadly really funny! Her manors are great and she actually blows her nose, covers her mouth when she coughs and tries to cover her "hiney" when she......well you know!
Life goes on!
It is weird to be in a new house and feel like you have left something of great importance behind in the old one. We lived in the last house for 16 years. Our first home, Kendra's first home, Ian's first and Kaylee's first! How do you leave the door frame with all the measurments on it? How do you leave the tree you planted when you got pregnant with your son so he'd have a climbing tree? How do you leave behind the neighbors that you came to depend on in times of need and in times of crisis? It is heartbreaking as well as depressing. I believe I will have to ask my doctor for an anti-depressant before all this is done and over! I love the new place and Kaylee is so happy here! Our neighbors here have been friends with us for many years so that helps but it is still a new home! Like starting over but with all the baggage and junk from the old home!
(example of collectorism: I cleaned out a few cabinets in our old garage and pulled out probably close to 250 skeins of yarn.....all sorted by afghan plans!!!) SAD but true! I will be crocheting until I am firmly planted six feet down!
FAMILY NEWS;
My neice, Jamie, is marrying on August 12th, they will be living in New York either until she finished college or when she is done and her (now fiance) honey, Destin finds a job back down here. (she has asked Kaylee to be her flower girl! I am really excited about that!!!)
My sister and her husband will be moving to Little Rock shortly. Brian will be moving soon with his dad and my sister and Brian's mom will follow after the wedding and all the rest is finished up down here. In the process, she will be caring for her sister in law, Pam, who will be having the same back surgery that I had on the 20th of June. At the same time, her youngest daughter Brett will be graduating from highschool and gearing up to move to New York to attend her first year of college there and then on the a college in Arkansas. I am sure that there is something that I am leaving out but I suppose that this is enough for her for a while too!
One of my "adopted" daughters will be marrying her sweetie in October and I am really thrilled for her as well.
Paul will be turning the BIG 40 this summer and I can't wait to share his birthday surprise! I have to hold my tongue alot to keep from slipping about the plans I have for him. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Guess that is enough for now. Please continue to pray for my family as there are still illnesses and troubles that need God's love and mercy. Please leave a note to let me know you were here and so that I can pray for you as well.
My scripture for today is this:
Exodus 23:25 Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,
I am following this post with some pictures of the last few months! Enjoy!
Blessings and hugs,
Colleen
We are still moving! STILL!! It is strange to me that we have moved into a larger house with an extra bedroom and a REAL attic, and things just will not fit! I am wondering how I could get rid of SO MUCH "crap" and still have so much left! I tried really hard to set myself for 50/50 move and get rid of but ended up at about 60/40 and still need to get rid of much more stuff. I am now having to put ads in the paper to get rid of excess furniture that just won't fit anywhere. Unless we add on a large den to the back of the house. I really am in need of bookshelves to fit all the books and nic nacs that I refuse to get rid of. I am not materialistic but I am a collector. Mostly of useful things but I don't keep stuff that can be thrown away.
On that note, at what point do you begin to get rid of things that belonged to someone who has moved to heaven? I ask this because alot of the things that we moved over here were things that belonged to Ian and things from school, and momentos that I cherish and I guess I am holding on to them for fear of actually losing him! WEIRD! I know!
I am still recovering from the staph infection and though the healing is going well, it is uncomfortable and inconvienent, the antibiotics are finally beginning to leave me alone! YIPEE!! I am still really tired and it takes alot for me to get done just the things that HAVE to be done and then it is a struggle to do the rest of the stuff.
Paul is soooooo tired of moving and working on the other house. I wish we played the lottery so that we could hire out the rest of the things that have to be done just to place the house on the market. Little things but quite a few of them still. He has a doctor appt tomorrow to see if he has pneumonia. I am praying for bronchitis or something along that line so that he is not hospitalized. We have had enough of hospitals for a lifetime.
Kaylee is doing great and I will include some photos just below this blog to show you how she is growing up! She is such a joy! She constantly is amazing us with her wit and humor. A few days ago, I um....."accidently" let some gas "slip" and her immediate comment went like this, "HOW RUDE"! It was hilarious! She then proceeded to tell me that I needed to excuse myself and that she would then excuse me back! Ok, when did she get that smart? I also realized that YEAH!!! She really has been listening! Sometimes too much. A few weeks ago, she told my dad, "You are gettin on my last nerve"! That was sadly really funny! Her manors are great and she actually blows her nose, covers her mouth when she coughs and tries to cover her "hiney" when she......well you know!
Life goes on!
It is weird to be in a new house and feel like you have left something of great importance behind in the old one. We lived in the last house for 16 years. Our first home, Kendra's first home, Ian's first and Kaylee's first! How do you leave the door frame with all the measurments on it? How do you leave the tree you planted when you got pregnant with your son so he'd have a climbing tree? How do you leave behind the neighbors that you came to depend on in times of need and in times of crisis? It is heartbreaking as well as depressing. I believe I will have to ask my doctor for an anti-depressant before all this is done and over! I love the new place and Kaylee is so happy here! Our neighbors here have been friends with us for many years so that helps but it is still a new home! Like starting over but with all the baggage and junk from the old home!
(example of collectorism: I cleaned out a few cabinets in our old garage and pulled out probably close to 250 skeins of yarn.....all sorted by afghan plans!!!) SAD but true! I will be crocheting until I am firmly planted six feet down!
FAMILY NEWS;
My neice, Jamie, is marrying on August 12th, they will be living in New York either until she finished college or when she is done and her (now fiance) honey, Destin finds a job back down here. (she has asked Kaylee to be her flower girl! I am really excited about that!!!)
My sister and her husband will be moving to Little Rock shortly. Brian will be moving soon with his dad and my sister and Brian's mom will follow after the wedding and all the rest is finished up down here. In the process, she will be caring for her sister in law, Pam, who will be having the same back surgery that I had on the 20th of June. At the same time, her youngest daughter Brett will be graduating from highschool and gearing up to move to New York to attend her first year of college there and then on the a college in Arkansas. I am sure that there is something that I am leaving out but I suppose that this is enough for her for a while too!
One of my "adopted" daughters will be marrying her sweetie in October and I am really thrilled for her as well.
Paul will be turning the BIG 40 this summer and I can't wait to share his birthday surprise! I have to hold my tongue alot to keep from slipping about the plans I have for him. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Guess that is enough for now. Please continue to pray for my family as there are still illnesses and troubles that need God's love and mercy. Please leave a note to let me know you were here and so that I can pray for you as well.
My scripture for today is this:
Exodus 23:25 Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,
I am following this post with some pictures of the last few months! Enjoy!
Blessings and hugs,
Colleen
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
UPDATE.....
I had my post op checkup this afternoon and the cultures finally came back and were negative for MRSA staph! Yipee!!! I have the plain ole version of staph! Now I only have to take the antibiotics for another 3 weeks and then will be done! Praise God! Hopefully the fatigue will pass once I am off of the strong antibiotics and I will begin to feel normal again. Thank you for your prayers.
Blessings,
Colleen
Blessings,
Colleen
"MURPHY", "satan's yoyo", just to name a few.....
I have definitely discovered that I am what you would call a "Murphy" this week. It had become a familiar nickname to me for several years, but now I am officially telling the doctors that it is my name! Upon introducing myself to a surgeon recently, I said, "Howdy, my name is Murphy, how are ya"! Go figure! He thought it was really funny until I shared with him some of my most recent problems. He then said, "we'll take care of this, don't worry". I asked him to do a little tummy tuck while in surgery and he was not willing to comply with that particular request, though he may have thought a little different after he put me on the operating table.
I have tried really, really, really, really hard to remain faithful in my walk with Christ, and stay happy, (at least outwardly), while facing some of the things I have in life. I will remain faithful but the discontent of my afflictions are beginning to wear on me! Satan will not win this war, but he might win a battle or two if I were to let him. I am tired of fighting. I have tried the proverbial "Get the behind me satan", to no avail and have decided to step up the anty. I now ask God to "slam" him behind me! It makes me laugh if nothing else!
I am now fighting a serious staph infection known as MRSA. To make matters worse the antibiotics they have me on are soooooo strong, that after only 2 days, (while I was consuming 3 cups of yougart daily), I received notice that the "yeasty beasty" had moved into my body. Yep, you know what I'm talking about if you've ever had a yeast infection, only I have it everywhere, in my gums, (can't wear my partial cuz it hurts), all in my nose, and all of my throat! Now one major problem with this is that yeast (thrush) thrives on sugar! I will go down fighting but will NEVER, NEVER give up my Dr Pepper! haha I have an appointment today with the surgeon to see if the visiting nurses can quit coming twice a day to clean my wound (which they are letting heal from the inside out and it is really cool, oops, I mean nasty!!!).
So, please pray for Paul as he is yet again having to take care of me because the antibiotics have drained me and the fact that I took an extra tablet for three days didn't help! haha I od'd on antibiotics! Go figure! Please pray for my sanity as I deal with just one more illness in a long line of problems (but at the very least, this is not my back!!!), and please pray for Kaylee as she is not yet home from her grandparents house and she was taken to the doctor yesterday upon my insistance, and diagnosed with strep throat. I am still trying to figure out if there is any correlation between my MRSA and strep but she had, has me worried!
Blessings and hugs,
Colleen
I have tried really, really, really, really hard to remain faithful in my walk with Christ, and stay happy, (at least outwardly), while facing some of the things I have in life. I will remain faithful but the discontent of my afflictions are beginning to wear on me! Satan will not win this war, but he might win a battle or two if I were to let him. I am tired of fighting. I have tried the proverbial "Get the behind me satan", to no avail and have decided to step up the anty. I now ask God to "slam" him behind me! It makes me laugh if nothing else!
I am now fighting a serious staph infection known as MRSA. To make matters worse the antibiotics they have me on are soooooo strong, that after only 2 days, (while I was consuming 3 cups of yougart daily), I received notice that the "yeasty beasty" had moved into my body. Yep, you know what I'm talking about if you've ever had a yeast infection, only I have it everywhere, in my gums, (can't wear my partial cuz it hurts), all in my nose, and all of my throat! Now one major problem with this is that yeast (thrush) thrives on sugar! I will go down fighting but will NEVER, NEVER give up my Dr Pepper! haha I have an appointment today with the surgeon to see if the visiting nurses can quit coming twice a day to clean my wound (which they are letting heal from the inside out and it is really cool, oops, I mean nasty!!!).
So, please pray for Paul as he is yet again having to take care of me because the antibiotics have drained me and the fact that I took an extra tablet for three days didn't help! haha I od'd on antibiotics! Go figure! Please pray for my sanity as I deal with just one more illness in a long line of problems (but at the very least, this is not my back!!!), and please pray for Kaylee as she is not yet home from her grandparents house and she was taken to the doctor yesterday upon my insistance, and diagnosed with strep throat. I am still trying to figure out if there is any correlation between my MRSA and strep but she had, has me worried!
Blessings and hugs,
Colleen
