The Mental Peptalk

I may be the only person who does this, and if so, just shake your head and say a prayer for me. But today is like the day of the mental pep talk. For some reason, things people have said to me, days or even weeks ago (and okay, really, one was like months ago), are bugging me. And I'm thinking of all these great things I wish I had the nerve to say, and of course never would. I'm thinking of how right I am and how insensitive they are, blah, blah, blah. Then I follow it up with how I need to just let it all go. This is a conversation I have had with myself about 5 times today, regarding different things/people. And all of the sudden it hit me - this actually might be dialogue of a spiritual nature. And if I chose to dissect it even more, I'd probably see some evidences of the gentle quiet nudge of The Holy Spirit.....not telling me to give them a call along with a piece of my mind, but the letting it go part. Nothing like a little conviction to start off the weekend.

The Addiction

It is blogs. It is out of control. Just today, I clicked away and found myself on so many amazing blogs. I have no idea how I got there. It just got crazy. I'm afraid I'm going to have to do to myself what I do to Zak and start the timer. Since an addicted person wants others to be addicted as well, I'm going to share a couple of the blogs that have stolen my time today. Beware.....

1. The Tip Junkie - there are so many ideas on this I don't think I have a favorites folder big enough.
2. Nesting Place - Unlike some, I need decorating inspiration - well - I copy. I copy what everyone else does, because I am an accountant, not a visionary. I will be copying a lot here.

And I will leave you with that.

Hot Tip

The other day I was thinking we needed to put back some money for Christmas because I hate having to come up with it all in one month. Then I had a stroke of brilliance - instead of putting back money every month, why don't I just spend it - on Christmas gifts. So that is what I am doing. Today, I went to Target to pick up something and didn't have my kids with me so I browsed the toy aisle. I am not exaggerating when I say that every single aisle had at least 10 things on clearance. One of the things on clearance - Paige's main gift from us - her very own pink and purple Leapster - $20 off. I was so excited!! Run, don't walk to Target to get a jump on your Christmas shopping!!

To cable or not to cable...that is the question

We have been cable TV less for 3 years now. The decision was a hard one but an absolute necessity to clean up the budget. It was the cell phone or cable. That made it easy. We were astounded at how much free time we had all of the sudden. We even started to read books again. (gasp!) Randomly, I miss my friends like Paula Deen and Rachel Ray. I also miss seeing how to design a room on a dime. I really miss Dora and Diego every 3 hours. But the thought is fleeting.

A couple of days ago I got the mail. It said Cox cable on the envelope and I knew it was not for the Internet service, but the TV. Curiosity got the best of me and I opened it. That was my first mistake. I guess cable rates have gone down in the last 3 years. And now they have a family package that has the few channels we actually care about like National Geographic, HGTV, and the station of all stations for every mother of a child between the ages of 1 and 3, PBS Kids Sprout, without getting the mindlessness of MTV that I got sucked into in my early 20's. I saved the flier and just mentioned it to Andy. He came back with, we could probably get satellite for that price too. 20 minutes later, he has found a deal even cheaper than the Cox Cable for a year. Visions of me preparing meals along with Giada De Laurentiis pop into my head, then I envision myself being on Trading Spaces........Yeah, it got out of control. We stopped ourselves and questioned whether we want to give up our evenings on the back porch. So, give it to me - do you cable?

857 ways to get in the water this summer

Okay, well, its really like 5. But I feel like we have been in almost every kind of water activity there is in the past 2 weeks. First we'll start with the spray grounds. If you don't know what it is, it is sheer brilliance. And the fact that a new one was built just a couple of miles from my home is icing on the cake. It is an area of a park that has all kinds of water features, spraying out water and the kids just run and play in them. Its great when you have little ones who you don't want to have to worry about drowning. Except, I found the day cares discovered my little haven. And it wasn't such a haven this week. Next is of course the public swimming pool. I'm so happy they are getting creative and making it all a whole lot more small child friendly. Lots of shallow water, etc. Then there is the baby pool and slip and slide in our backyard. When we aren't up to going anywhere, that's where you'll find us. And finally one of our friends has a metal watering trough turned swimming pool. Yes I'm serious and my kids love it.

Now, I'm pretty much summered out so bring on the fall weather, pumpkins, and sweatshirts.

A woman can dream.

I must know

Do you all play with your children every single minute of the day? Mine seem to think I need to and its driving me crazy.

A Shout Out to the Clergy

If you didn't already know, its Pastor Appreciation Month. And so I feel obligated to post my thoughts and feelings on the clergy and the hardest job in the world. Just think about it. When your a pastor you have to deal with many things. One might be just answering "the call" even when you don't want to. I personally am so thankful for not getting "the call" to pastor. God knows I tend to run on a short fuse and my mouth would have me in trouble no matter how many times I read the passage on "how a tiny spark can start a fire, so is it with the tongue." (My paraphrasing, obviously) God just knows what he's doing. Back to the clergy.....they have to deal with so much. The opinions of many people (most who would rather criticize, rather than serve or pray). That alone would make me quit in one day. You have to have a tough skin. And you have to be confident in standing by yourself if you are so called. I'll tell you what I have no tolerance for - those who criticize a church, its pastor, or its activities, when they are 1) not being an advocate for change if need be or 2) not praying for Gods will or 3) just yakking about it in order to bring dissension. I believe if you have a problem with the church, how its run, or the person God put in charge of that church, you need to take it to God in prayer, not people. In MOST cases, the pastor is doing what he feels is best, and lets remember - God ordained him to be the head of our church, not us, or we would be the one on the pulpit. And if the pastor isn't acting unethically, or unbiblically, its probably just a matter of "fluff" - so cut them some slack. So those who criticize a sermon, talk, or the like need to take into consideration the fact that if they think they can do it better, you best be in line to preach it next week. (in my opinion, of course) So this is my sincere thanks to the pastors in my life who have accepted the call, have endured many a criticism and have had an interest in my family's spiritual life enough to "preach it". Namely, our current pastor, Tony Bailey. Our prior pastor, Gene Grate, and my youth pastors, Paul Baker, Jeff Cox, and Mike Shinn. I am forever grateful for your time, leadership, and friendship. Now, go bake some cookies, write a note, or personally thank your pastor for caring enough to stand before you every week and deliver the Word.