Grump-busters

I must admit that I haven’t exactly been the happiest person to be around these days. (I promise that my husband will give that a resounding "AMEN!") While I can’t pin down the cause precisely, I do know how to move past it.

Gratitude.

It’s a funny thing, because just yesterday I thought “Maybe I should start a gratitude journal.” I knew that focusing on the good would help me get out of my mood.

So, what do I stumble across today? More links. (Apparently I’m all about the linky love this week!) I found 7 Secrets to a Happy Heart, at just the right time. Imagine that :-) (I love it when God answers prayers so clearly!)

There's also the perpetual thanks offered by Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience. Just scroll through her old posts or go to the Gratitude Community and read a little about her gratitude...

So, I’m sharing the links with you today, just in case you’re like me and need a few tricks to get over a case of The Grumps!

Can someone please bottle this?

Dear Scented Candle Makers and other Inventor-types,

Could you please find a way to capture yesterday afternoon? You could probably find a way to make a scented candle that smells like fallen leaves and damp earth beside a lazy creek. But could you also figure out how to make me feel the warmth of the sun on my face, but at the same time feel the crispness of the breeze in my hair? Oh, and don't forget the "smoosh" sound of the overgrown grass beneath my feet. Throw in the "thud" the acorns make when they bounce through the branches and hit the ground, too. And somehow include some visuals like these:





I'll love you forever and buy your product by the truckload. Just let me know when my shipment is ready.

Thank you,
A Fall Fanatic

Puppy Love

No, not that kind! Our doggie drama continues...

The new dog itch just wasn't gone, so we started looking at the local shelters for a dog that would fit with our family. We found one that was gorgeous in her photo, and we just knew she was the one.

Her shelter was an hour away, so finally last Sunday we made the trip to see her. She was so NOT the one. She wouldn't look at us, come near us, or in any way acknowledge our presence. Not exactly the warm-fuzzy-licks-you-to-death kind of dog I was hoping for. And her photo? Well, whoever took that photo was a magician! She looked terribly unhealthy in real life. I hope she finds a good home. It just won't be ours.

So we're leaving and the ladies at the shelter are like, "You didn't find one?" We shook our heads. "Well, we have one more that just came in. Let me go get him."

When she came through the door, all I saw was a little black puppy face with big brown eyes and I think I audibly said, "AWWWWW!"

We played with him for a few minutes, and all of the boys loved him, too. It was unanimous. We'd FINALLY found our dog.

We had to wait for him to get "fixed", so we couldn't bring him home until Thursday. (Another hour-each-way ride!) Well, now he's here. The shelter called him Buddy, which several of us originally wanted to change. But it just kind of suits him, so Buddy it is.

He is precious. He took a nap in my lap while I did my Bible study. He loves to be held, and petted, and played with. Aaron is great with him. Eli is still a little timid, but we'll work on it. The house training has a loooong way to go, but we'll get that eventually, too.

He lays on your feet, your shoes, his toys, whatever is handy. And he has claimed the "dump everything" corner where we toss our shoes as his own. He is too funny! And sooooo cute. Wanna see him? OK. :-)

(He does not really have blue eyes. They are dark brown.)









BONUS: He licks :-)

Another Perspective

Unless you have been living under a rock (as I do most of the work week!), you've heard that our economy is a total nightmare. Actually, all over the world it's pretty ugly. Folks are freaking out about retirement accounts and mortgages, what banks are still in business....the list of doomsday topics could go on and on.

And to be honest, I did log on to my retirement account to see how much damage has been done up to this point. Yep, there's some there. But, I decided that I wasn't going to check it any more. What will it accomplish? It won't restore the balance. It won't bring stability to the world economy. Heck, it won't even bring peace to my house!

Since so many are affected and alarmed by the current state of affairs, people everywhere are talking about it. Thankfully, what I'm seeing isn't alarming at all - it's comforting! God is speaking to Christians left and right about what's going on. If you need an word of encouragement about the future right now, then go check out these posts. They'll give you a nice perspective going in to the holiday weekend (Oh, sorry - it's a holiday weekend for me, working for the government :-))

Read:
"Oh, no! Here we go again..." at Laced with Grace
The Stability of Our Times" at The Preachers Wife

Hallelujah it's Friday :-)

Taming My Tongue

I work with a fellow who suffered through a divorce a few years ago, and still hasn’t quite recovered. I know that in the depths of his hearthe is full of sadness, anger and confusion. I try to keep that in mind most of the time, because, quite frankly, he’s just become an ugly person. Insulting words spew from his lips daily. Complaints, demands, and cries of injustice have all become an integral part of his vocabulary.

Knowing his story, I can see Matthew 12:34-35 lived out in his life: “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” (NIV) He’s miserable and ugly inside, and it shows.

Face to face with him this week, he unloaded a barrage of verbal abuse on me. I simply let him speak, at which point he asked me, “Don’t you have a comeback or something?” To which I replied, “I’m not stooping to that level.”

Which was true for about three seconds. He blurted out something else rude, and I retaliated. I dredged up a mistake from his past and threw it right in his face. I felt vindicated for a moment. I spent the day reflecting on how awful he has become. “Can you believe those things he said to me?” I justified my behavior by comparing it to his.

The next morning when I read Matthew 12:37 I stopped right in my tracks: “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (NIV)

I read it over and over, unable to get past it.

My mouth spoke hurtful words, just like his. I was just as guilty as he was. And that was not a fun truth to learn.

We choose our words. We have control over what we speak. Taming my tongue is one of my biggest struggles, but it is one battle that I can win! One way is to internalize God’s word so that when we find ourselves in a potentially nasty situation, we have the weapons we need to win.

I need to memorize that verse that jumped off the page at me. I need to be mindful that while I will be rewarded for the good words I use and the God messages that I share, I will also be condemned for the rotten ones that I use.

How are you doing with your words?

Saturday Silliness, on Sunday :-)

I meant to start posting random silly stuff on Saturdays, but it totally slipped by me yesterday. So, a day late and a dollar short, here's the first installment. Although, since I had a brain lapse about this very post, I'm not sure these results are accurate these days :-)

Without further adieu: What Superlative Are You?

Edited to add: In case you can't see it, I Would Be Voted "Biggest Brain"

You Would Be Voted Biggest Brain

In school, you were very serious about getting good grades and studying. You may have thought that no one noticed you, but people did know how smart you were. You were often at the head of your class, and people respected your intelligence. And it's likely that all your studying eventually did pay off!

What Superlative Are You?

Salt

You know how you sometimes see the same verse over and over, and then suddenly one day it looks completely different? That just happened to me. All my life I’ve heard Matthew 5:13 telling us how we are like salt.

I never got it.

I mean, I fundamentally understood what it was trying to say. But I didn’t get it.

Enter my handy-dandy two-translation Bible and Viola! A fresh word! (I love it when that happens!) My Bible has both the NIV and The Message in it. Here’s the NIV translation of Matthew 5:13:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “

And then here’s The Message translation:

“Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.”

Eureka! It makes sense! How cool is that?

I always knew that salt enhances food – it makes things taste better. I got that correlation. But just how did that relate to me as a Christian? What exactly was I enhancing?

God. The Message says that we bring out the "God-flavors of the earth." Not that He needs us to make Him look better, but He has chosen to give us this purpose anyway. He is using us, His children, to draw others to Himself. Let me say it again: how cool is that?

But did you catch the last part? If we’re not enhancing God, we are of no use. Ineffective. A waste of time.

I don’t know about you, but I know how that makes me feel -- can somebody please pass the salt?!?!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

(PS: More Doggie Drama - we're going to check out a puppy Sunday - pray that if she's the one for us we will ALL be in love with her! Thanks!!)