And the birds don't look to happy about it either.
I am so excited! My friend has joined this bloggity adventure that we are on. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Note to self....
It's better to make sure you are fully awake before you try to feed the critters. Otherwise, you might find yourself feeding a bowl of bird seed to some very confused dogs.
Cover to cover
We entered the Promised Land with Joshua this week and finished up today with his death. There were several things that stood out to me over the last few days. Oddly enough, I am reading John Ortberg's If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat, and he has some interesting thoughts about the Jordan miracle found in Joshua 3.
Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.
The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.
Ortberg says, "The people will experience God's power--but they will have to take the first step. This not only involves a mental acknowledgement of God's power, but requires them to take a step of action based on the assumption that God is trustworthy as well. They had to get their feet wet first. "
What a powerful statement. Do I trust God, Author of the Universe, enough to take the first step toward whatever work He has for me?
And do you wonder why the entire land didn't just surrender at that moment? The Israelite's God stopped the Jordan River from flowing! At a time when the river was overflowing!
So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. Joshua 9:14-15
This spoke to me because so much of the time, I take the time to think through my actions and what the ramifications might be, but I do not take the time to ask the Lord what He thinks about it. In the Israelites case, not inquiring of the Lord caused them to not be able to do what God had asked. To remove all the current inhabitants of the Promised Land. What do I miss when I don't inquire of God? Or worse, what situations do I create when I go my own way?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
From My Perspective
I was reading last night before I went to bed when Elwood came up and decided to call it a day. After a little bit, I looked down and this is what I saw. 
I'm hoping you're focusing on his gi-normous nose as opposed to the size of my thigh. After all, there might be something I could do about my thigh (photo shop, maybe?) but I think he is stuck with his nose. And a cute nose it is!
I'm hoping you're focusing on his gi-normous nose as opposed to the size of my thigh. After all, there might be something I could do about my thigh (photo shop, maybe?) but I think he is stuck with his nose. And a cute nose it is!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Ivan the terrible
Ivan is our oldest dog. He is one of two Yorkies that lives here and he will be eleven in July. I have noticed that the older he gets, the more he grumbles and complains. (Not unlike other people I know) He is very possessive and protective. Everything in the house that he wants, belongs to him.
Bring in a new bag of dog food and set it down? It belongs to him.
Any one of the five dog food bowls? They all belong to him.
People? His.
Toys? His.
He continually takes on the bigger dogs for anything he feels they are doing wrong. (Although I suspect they see him as some kind of squeak toy that they can play with.)
Ivan also likes to protect me from things that he thinks might want to harm me. If my in-laws come over? Bark bark bark. Never mind the fact that he has seen them thousands of times and they have yet to kidnap, maim or otherwise harm me.
Prince Charming drops by? Bark bark bark.
Heaven help the mailman when he drops off a package. You'd think it was Satan himself, ringing my doorbell.
This morning at about 3 am, Ivan decided that I needed protecting again.
From the thunder.
Sigh.
Rumble, rumble rumble. Bark, bark bark.
Can I just say that it thundered for about two hours? Bark, bark, bark.
I'll be picking up a very LARGE Mountain Dew on my way to work this morning. And my little Yorkie? I'm sure he'll be sleeping the day away. After all, he was up all night protecting his mommy from the big bad thunder. That way he'll be nice and rested in case it returns again tonight.
Bring in a new bag of dog food and set it down? It belongs to him.
Any one of the five dog food bowls? They all belong to him.
People? His.
Toys? His.
He continually takes on the bigger dogs for anything he feels they are doing wrong. (Although I suspect they see him as some kind of squeak toy that they can play with.)
Ivan also likes to protect me from things that he thinks might want to harm me. If my in-laws come over? Bark bark bark. Never mind the fact that he has seen them thousands of times and they have yet to kidnap, maim or otherwise harm me.
Prince Charming drops by? Bark bark bark.
Heaven help the mailman when he drops off a package. You'd think it was Satan himself, ringing my doorbell.
This morning at about 3 am, Ivan decided that I needed protecting again.
From the thunder.
Sigh.
Rumble, rumble rumble. Bark, bark bark.
Can I just say that it thundered for about two hours? Bark, bark, bark.
I'll be picking up a very LARGE Mountain Dew on my way to work this morning. And my little Yorkie? I'm sure he'll be sleeping the day away. After all, he was up all night protecting his mommy from the big bad thunder. That way he'll be nice and rested in case it returns again tonight.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
My goodness, there has been much bloggity fodder around the heigh-ho house in the last 24 hours.
With the arrival of spring-like weather, it becomes necessary to remove the multitude of layers we've swaddled ourselves in. After the removal of said layers, it's time to assess one's winter "stores". (Insert "fat" for the word "stores".) It appears, in my case, that I must have been anticipating a winter of epic proportion, because I have "stores" (insert "fat" again) left over. It's always an awkward moment to actually view what's underneath the 47 layers of sweat clothing and long underwear. Only this year, I think that perhaps it wasn't really 47 layers of fabric, but more like 2 or 3 layers of clothing and 44 layers of me.
Sigh.
Thus, along with the arrival of the first crocus and the sighting of the first robin, comes the first dreaded uncovering of the recumbent bike. (In the interest of being completely honest, I must confess that while I am writing this, I am eating a chocolate poptart and drinking a glass of grape koolaid. Because they are nutritious and low in calories.)
As a person who was born skinny and stayed skinny until she got married and birthed those babies, I hate to diet. Part of this may be because I think I am still 16 (not!) and I could always eat anything I wanted (interpret this to read Outback cheese fries) and I never gained weight. But those days are gone. Sigh.
All that said, I am still at the stage where I prefer to whine about my weight as opposed to actually doing anything about it. So, while I might climb on the bike while watching Dancing with the Stars (it is a two hour show. Surely I can ride for ten minutes while the dancers work out so hard.), I am most likely going to be clutching a book in one hand and a cupcake in the other while I get my exercise. (Hey, at least I won't be gaining any weight this way. And no, I don't want to know how many hours I'd have to ride to work off the calories from that cupcake!)
So, how about you? Did you "save up" more this winter than you "used up"? If so, what are you going to do about it?
With the arrival of spring-like weather, it becomes necessary to remove the multitude of layers we've swaddled ourselves in. After the removal of said layers, it's time to assess one's winter "stores". (Insert "fat" for the word "stores".) It appears, in my case, that I must have been anticipating a winter of epic proportion, because I have "stores" (insert "fat" again) left over. It's always an awkward moment to actually view what's underneath the 47 layers of sweat clothing and long underwear. Only this year, I think that perhaps it wasn't really 47 layers of fabric, but more like 2 or 3 layers of clothing and 44 layers of me.
Sigh.
Thus, along with the arrival of the first crocus and the sighting of the first robin, comes the first dreaded uncovering of the recumbent bike. (In the interest of being completely honest, I must confess that while I am writing this, I am eating a chocolate poptart and drinking a glass of grape koolaid. Because they are nutritious and low in calories.)
As a person who was born skinny and stayed skinny until she got married and birthed those babies, I hate to diet. Part of this may be because I think I am still 16 (not!) and I could always eat anything I wanted (interpret this to read Outback cheese fries) and I never gained weight. But those days are gone. Sigh.
All that said, I am still at the stage where I prefer to whine about my weight as opposed to actually doing anything about it. So, while I might climb on the bike while watching Dancing with the Stars (it is a two hour show. Surely I can ride for ten minutes while the dancers work out so hard.), I am most likely going to be clutching a book in one hand and a cupcake in the other while I get my exercise. (Hey, at least I won't be gaining any weight this way. And no, I don't want to know how many hours I'd have to ride to work off the calories from that cupcake!)
So, how about you? Did you "save up" more this winter than you "used up"? If so, what are you going to do about it?
Monday, March 24, 2008
100 things
Apparently it's tradition to post 100 things about yourself when you reach your 100th post. I am not sure that I can think of 100 things about me (and I'm not letting my children post) and I'm fairly certain that no one would want to read 100 things either. So I will post until I get bored and you can read until you get bored and we'll both feel like we've fulfilled our commitments to the bloggy tradition fairy.
1. My middle name is Louise.
2. I've always hated having the middle name Louise.
3. However, my father wanted to name me Louise, so Louise as a middle name isn't so bad.
4.I was a bald baby.
5. I stayed bald for a very long time. There are pictures of me at one years old with just enough hair to look like a kewpie doll. And that hair was strawberry blonde.
6. When I finally grew hair, it was platinum blonde. Sort of like now only some silly people refer to the platinum part as "white". Obviously, they need glasses.
7. I am 43. And a half. more than likely.
8. I have a husband and two children. I like them just fine.
9. We have five dogs. I'm not sure how or why we have five dogs. They range from very big to very small.
10. We have one cat. He is bigger than two of the dogs.
11. We have ten parrots. We are also insane. Notice I did not assign a number to that fact. I figure you probably already knew that.
12. I absolutely love to read. I will read anywhere at any time. I could finish a book a day if I had the chance.
13. I read all different genres. Including cereal boxes.
14. I have a purse obsession. I know it's a sickness and I need to seek help for it. Someday.
15. Are you bored yet?
16. I am adopted.
17. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was adopted when I was eleven days old.
18. I need to have the insurance adjuster look at our roof to see if it has storm damage from the tornado/strong storms in January.
19. I wrote that so that hopefully I will remember to call the insurance adjuster.
20. Somehow I became a fan of Dancing with the Stars.
21. I am slightly embarrassed about that.
22. My sister-in-law wants me to take dancing lessons with her.
23. I think I could do a mean tango. In my dreams.
24. I don't think I'd look so hot in one of those little bitty dancing costumes.
25. I think I've mentioned that I'm tall. I still am. I expect to shrink some. But being tall means that I can weigh more now and have more places to spread it out.
26. I have a Winnie the Pooh collection.
27. I also have a collection of stuffed animals. Yes, I know I should have outgrown that years ago.
28. But my stuffed animals are so cute and fluffy. With interesting expressions. And personality.
29. I do not text message.
30. I work at a Christian Book Store. With Books! Good stuff!
31. My current favorite food is Outback Cheese Fries.
32. Which have 2900 calories.
33. Which may be why I think I wouldn't look so hot in one of those itty bitty dancing costumes.
34. I can be tempted with chocolate, cheesecake, peanut m&m's, and other assorted forbidden foods. But not apples. If I were Eve, I would have said no. Til he whipped out the chocolate.
35. Someday I want to live in a lighthouse.
36. I also want to live in a villa in Tuscany. Someday. There are no lighthouses in Tuscany. I sense a "life conflict" coming on.
37. Basset hounds are the most willful creatures on the face of the earth.
38. I love tulips! Even though they don't smell.
39. There's a girl dog named Chloe that lives next door. My 5 boy dogs love her. Even though no one is anatomically correct anymore.
40. I don't like movies that don't end happily.
41. Everyone knows that they are supposed to tell me if a movie doesn't end happily so that I won't watch it.
42. Someone forgot to tell me that Pirates 3 doesn't end happily. (my version of happy anyway.)
43. I will never watch Star Wars 3: the stith movie. Because it doesn't end happily.
44. I'm allergic to bees.
45. I can't believe you are still reading this. I'm not even reading this anymore. Just kidding.
46. Mary Jane said she wouldn't read past 45. I'm just checking.
47. I live in Kentucky and I'm wearing shoes. I am also not pregnant but I am in the kitchen.
48. I should be doing laundry.
49. I am sitting here with my head down on the computer desk at the prospect of trying to think of 51 more things.
1. My middle name is Louise.
2. I've always hated having the middle name Louise.
3. However, my father wanted to name me Louise, so Louise as a middle name isn't so bad.
4.I was a bald baby.
5. I stayed bald for a very long time. There are pictures of me at one years old with just enough hair to look like a kewpie doll. And that hair was strawberry blonde.
6. When I finally grew hair, it was platinum blonde. Sort of like now only some silly people refer to the platinum part as "white". Obviously, they need glasses.
7. I am 43. And a half. more than likely.
8. I have a husband and two children. I like them just fine.
9. We have five dogs. I'm not sure how or why we have five dogs. They range from very big to very small.
10. We have one cat. He is bigger than two of the dogs.
11. We have ten parrots. We are also insane. Notice I did not assign a number to that fact. I figure you probably already knew that.
12. I absolutely love to read. I will read anywhere at any time. I could finish a book a day if I had the chance.
13. I read all different genres. Including cereal boxes.
14. I have a purse obsession. I know it's a sickness and I need to seek help for it. Someday.
15. Are you bored yet?
16. I am adopted.
17. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and was adopted when I was eleven days old.
18. I need to have the insurance adjuster look at our roof to see if it has storm damage from the tornado/strong storms in January.
19. I wrote that so that hopefully I will remember to call the insurance adjuster.
20. Somehow I became a fan of Dancing with the Stars.
21. I am slightly embarrassed about that.
22. My sister-in-law wants me to take dancing lessons with her.
23. I think I could do a mean tango. In my dreams.
24. I don't think I'd look so hot in one of those little bitty dancing costumes.
25. I think I've mentioned that I'm tall. I still am. I expect to shrink some. But being tall means that I can weigh more now and have more places to spread it out.
26. I have a Winnie the Pooh collection.
27. I also have a collection of stuffed animals. Yes, I know I should have outgrown that years ago.
28. But my stuffed animals are so cute and fluffy. With interesting expressions. And personality.
29. I do not text message.
30. I work at a Christian Book Store. With Books! Good stuff!
31. My current favorite food is Outback Cheese Fries.
32. Which have 2900 calories.
33. Which may be why I think I wouldn't look so hot in one of those itty bitty dancing costumes.
34. I can be tempted with chocolate, cheesecake, peanut m&m's, and other assorted forbidden foods. But not apples. If I were Eve, I would have said no. Til he whipped out the chocolate.
35. Someday I want to live in a lighthouse.
36. I also want to live in a villa in Tuscany. Someday. There are no lighthouses in Tuscany. I sense a "life conflict" coming on.
37. Basset hounds are the most willful creatures on the face of the earth.
38. I love tulips! Even though they don't smell.
39. There's a girl dog named Chloe that lives next door. My 5 boy dogs love her. Even though no one is anatomically correct anymore.
40. I don't like movies that don't end happily.
41. Everyone knows that they are supposed to tell me if a movie doesn't end happily so that I won't watch it.
42. Someone forgot to tell me that Pirates 3 doesn't end happily. (my version of happy anyway.)
43. I will never watch Star Wars 3: the stith movie. Because it doesn't end happily.
44. I'm allergic to bees.
45. I can't believe you are still reading this. I'm not even reading this anymore. Just kidding.
46. Mary Jane said she wouldn't read past 45. I'm just checking.
47. I live in Kentucky and I'm wearing shoes. I am also not pregnant but I am in the kitchen.
48. I should be doing laundry.
49. I am sitting here with my head down on the computer desk at the prospect of trying to think of 51 more things.
50. I love Jesus. And He loves me. (How could I not have mentioned this first?)
51. I am going to memorize Psalm 90. Ask me how I'm doing sometime.
52. Did I say my birthday is in October? My husband's birthday is two days later than mine. But he's older than me. My friend MJ's birthday is the same day as hubby's. She's older than me too. But don't tell her I said so.
53. I probably partake of too much caffiene. I try to resist. but I am weak.
54. My daughter's getting married. January 2nd, 2010. Which is way too soon.
55. Sometimes I think I want a ferret. Because I am crazy.
56. I have an NCAA bracket. I picked Tennesse to win. Just because. They are an SEC team. And you always pull for the SEC team. And we all knew UK wasn't going to win this year.
57. I love my church. You can feel God there. It's a cool thing.
58. I am a crier. Over commercials. Movies. Extreme Makeover:Home Edition. Books. Other people's children graduating. Weddings. God has been merciful to keep me from bawling my eyes out at important events of my children. I have not embarrassed them by clinging to their legs, wailing, "no, not my baby! She's too young to (fill in the blank here.) Yet. There's still time.
59. Oooo...that was a long one. It should count for two.
60. Cinderella originally wanted to get married four weeks after her college graduation and two weeks after The Boy's high school graduation. I told her that I would be a bald-headed crazy woman if she did.
61. Fortunately, she changed the date.
62. I probably wouldn't look too good as a bald-headed crazy woman.
63. My favorite scripture today is Psalm 43:8.
64. It says,"Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life."
65. Cool, huh?
66. I am reading the bible chronologically this year. And loving every minute of it!
67. I have a brother.
68. We don't talk about him much.
69. But he has two children.
70. I like to talk about them. My niece is 9. My nephew is...older than he should be. 25.
71. He was born the year I graduated high school.
72. Which means I've been out of high school for 25 years.
73. This is getting depressing.
74. There will not be a quiz later.
75. Okay, 75 things is enough. Just pretend like this is my 75th post and we can stop the madness now!
If you are still reading at the end of this post, thank you! May your day be blessed!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
cover to cover
I have to throw this out before we get down to the Bible recap. I'm writing this on Easter Sunday afternoon and it is SNOWING! Big giant sized flakes. I'm not sure how I feel about this recent development.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.
I think, for me, there was a sense of sadness in this week's reading. Partly from my knowing that Moses is ending his journey with us and partly because he knows that they are going to rebel. He knows that all these horrible things are going to happen to Israel. I think it would be difficult for me to leave (as if I had a choice) knowing the future that awaited the nation that I had been responsible for, had loved and prayed over. Because regardless of how frustrated he became with them, he loved them.
The one thing that I think the Lord is working with me about right now is "obedience." Most the verses that touch my heart are about obeying.
The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 30:9b-10
Is that not a promise we want to keep? To have the Lord delight in us? Oh, my heart sings at the thought of being so pleasing to my Father that He delights in me! And in all honesty, having Him delighted in me is reward enough.
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. Deuteronomy 30:11
He knows me too well. The answer to the question/complaint that I haven't voiced yet. "I can't do that, it's too hard!"
No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. Deuteronomy 30:14
One thing I've felt this year is that I need to memorize and carry in my heart more of His word. (of course, it's March and I'm not telling how far I've gotten on this...)
For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. Deuteronomy 30:16
If ever I needed a blueprint for what God expects of me, I think this is it. It pretty much covers everything.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:8
What a beautiful promise. And the cool thing is that Joshua already knows this. He's been Moses's right hand man this whole time. He knows who God is and that God means what He says. May we have the same assurance in our day to day walk.
I also love the fact that we finished the week up with Moses's song and a Psalm. I'll leave you with this final thought.
Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12
As always, if you want to be blessed with words by those who can explain it so much better than I do, check out what Annette, and Bev have to say. Also, please lift Bev up in prayer. She is having difficulties with a broken toe and severe back pain.
Blessings!
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