A friend in need and a friend in deed

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Our Daily Bread
Boy, I can't get away from Facebook even in the daily devotionals!  Many of you know that I deleted all my online accounts except for my email accounts and this blog about 18 months ago.  I didn't feel like I was meeting the right kind of people or having the kind of "friendships" I wanted to have online.  Do you ever feel that way?

The devotional talks about friendships - real and virtual.  Christ left this earth calling us "friends" instead of us being his servants.  A friend knows all that he knows.  He told us all that the Father had for us to know.  It is our job to spread the good news and to be a friend to others.  How cool is that?  ;-)

I am stretching this topic a little bit to include Valentines Day.  We should be all be grateful for whatever state we are in - single, married, partnered, etc.  We all have special friends that help us through the bad times and share our good times.  Praise God!

Lord, thank you so much for friends! 

Movie Monday
Since today is Valentines Day, I thought I would talk about two of my favorite romantic movies: Ever After and Date Night.

Ever After stars Drew Barrymore and Angelica Huston in a retelling of the Cinderella story.  It is so cool!  There are some great lines.  Even if you have a heart of stone, the movie will touch you and make you want to hug a stranger.  hehehe

Date Night came out last year.  It starts Tina Fey and Steve Carell.  They are an middle aged married couple that seemingly lost the fire in their relationship (or are at least afraid they have after some of their friends break up).  They get involved in some mayhem after they stole someone's restaurant reservation.  Lots of hi jinx ensue with, of course, a corny, happy ending.  It is very cool.

Other Stuff
I can't really tell how my eye is doing since I just took all of my morning eye drops.  My vision has been clearing up slowly but surely.  I am not sure how much progress it has made in the past 48 hours.  I will keep resting and relaxing the best I can.

I get to spend some time with Flybear this afternoon after the Atlas Butler folks do a safety inspection on my furnace and air conditioner.

I will spend the evening reading.  Not much exciting for Valentines Day.  Did I mention being content in whatever state we are in?  ;-)

Hang in there, my friends.  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

He is exalted!

Our Daily Bread
God asked me to incorporate more worship and praise in my prayer and devotional life.  The devotional today talks about that!  Wow!

We can use several approaches to accomplish this desire.  I am copying a lot of the devotional into this posting because I liked it so much.  You can click on the Our Daily Bread link above to see the original devotional.


"One way to do that is to meditate on His many attributes. Exalt God, for He is faithful, eternal, all-knowing, just, unchangeable, gracious, holy, merciful, longsuffering, impartial, and infinite. Our God is perfect.


Exalt God also by realizing that He is all-powerful, almighty, personal, righteous, unsearchable, wise, triune, accessible, self-existent, glorious, and compassionate.

Another way to worship God is to contemplate His names. Exalt God, for He is Creator. He is Love. He is Redeemer. He is Shepherd. He is Savior, Lord, and Father. He is Judge. He is Comforter. He is Teacher. He is I AM. Our God is the Mighty One.

Dwell on His identity. God is our shield. Our stronghold. Our light. Our strength. Our sustainer. Our rescuer. Our fortress.

Meditate on God’s attributes. Contemplate His names. Dwell on His identity. Adore Him. Respect Him. Honor Him. Love Him. Exalt Him. Use the rest of your life getting ready to worship our awesome God forever."

I thought this devotional was extraordinary and, of course, just what I needed!  

Lord, I want to worship you in word and deed.  Thank you for your leadership.

Psalm Sunday

No, this is not Palm Sunday, it is now Psalm Sunday.  I decided to change the topic for the Sunday entry to post and talk a little bit about each psalm.  I have been toying with this idea for a few weeks.  Let's see how it works for a few weeks.  Here is Psalm 1:

 ¹ Oh, the joys of those who do not
      follow the advice of the wicked,
      or stand around with sinners,
      or join in with mockers.
 ² But they delight in the law of the Lord,
      meditating on it day and night.
 ³ They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
      bearing fruit each season.
   Their leaves never wither,
      and they prosper in all they do.

 ⁴ But not the wicked!
      They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
 ⁵ They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
      Sinners will have no place among the godly.
 ⁶ For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
      but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

This psalm obviously talks about the joy of following God.  It is not good to be wicked!  No one mourns the wicket!  hehehe  God watches over the paths of the those that follow and obey him.

I doubted my own motivation about following God for a while.  I finally got it through my thick skull that it is not my DUTY to follow God and obey him.  It is my HONOR!  What a difference in my frame of mind!

I hope this new topic blesses you as much as it has already blessed me.

Other Stuff
My eye is healing slowly but surely (yes it is and please don't call me Shirley!).  Sorry, that was an old Airplane movie joke!  hehehe  I can see a little better each day.  The pain is gone.  I am doing well taking it easy.  I will continue to do so.

God helped me work through some relationship stuff this weekend.  Praise God!  It is his will (and one of my deepest desires) that I truly learn how to love and to be loved.  I want to put aside insecurity and doubt.  Praise God for his loving kindness.

I am a little bummed out that the Buckeyes lost their first basketball game yesterday, especially after being ahead by 15 points!  Yikes!  This loss is fine as long as it motivates them to win it all!  ;-)

Hang in there my friends.  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

I just don't believe it...

Our Daily Bread
I was praying about a relationship situation this morning.  I asked God to help me not be disappointed if a special person didn't ask me out for Valentines Day.  It is highly unlikely he will.  Going out on VD could be inappropriate for our relationship.  I realize I am being selfish, but I care about this man very much.

That leads to the devotional.  How should I react to this person the next time I see him?  What if he asks someone else out after we have been spending a lot of time together?  Why do I create these little scenarios over and over again that increase my anxiety and frustration!?!  DOH!  God is teaching me so much these days.  He is teaching me that no circumstance or no person can steal the joy of my salvation.  He is teaching me that I need to love my friends and family regardless if they do what I think they should do.  He is teaching me that I need to rely on him and trust him for all my needs.  He knows them all.  He knows the desires of my heart.  The only way the desires of my heart will be fulfilled is if I trust God.  No more insecurity.  No more selfishness.  No more pride.  No more arrogance.  Yes, I am being a little hard on myself.  As I wrote here before, God has given me so much.  He expects much from me.  I can only achieve this through his loving kindness and mercy.

What are the desires of your heart?  What is God asking you to do?

Lord, thank you for reinforcing how I should act with everyone.  Help me be what I say at the end of each day's entry "upbeat and steady" according to your will.

Simply Saturday
I have been resting and sleeping.  Yes, I have.  hehehe  Those of you that know me realize how difficult it is for me to slow down.  I have been reading a lot.  Watched a few movies.  Slept a LOT.  So how are things going?

My left eye is clearing up slowly but surely.  I can see some things today that I couldn't see yesterday.  I am putting in my eye drops per the schedule the doctor gave me.  The eye is a little gross in the morning from all the drops and stuff.  I have to rinse it out the best I can.  I will continue to rest and take it easy.  I can do this. ;-)  I plan to go to church tomorrow.

I had a nice evening with my bubby last night.  Bubby is a relatively new friend that is like a Christian little brother to me.  We met a few months ago and got close pretty fast ( some of you know how I am with people).  We had a nice supper.  A nice talk  Watched a few movies.  Relaxed.  It was a good thing.   I find it cool that we call each other Bub or Bubby.  That is what my little brother and I used to call each other when we were young.  ;-)

I also finished up my D2 reading for next week.  I am on the third revision of my devotion for the evening.  I hope to finish a book that a friend lent me either today or tomorrow.  It is sort of a slow read.  I have to turn off my "remember a lot of this stuff" reading mode when I read this book.  I like it though.

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

Do I really love to tell the story?

Our Daily Bread
The devotional today refers to the hymn "I love to tell the story".  After thinking about the devotional, I am not sure I can honestly sing that hymn!  I am not the kind of person to just go through the motions, especially at church.  I want to be honest when I sing a hymn or say a prayer.

God is working in me to use my outgoing personality to share my faith more and more.  I started with the care call team at church.  I make phone calls and/or send emails as needed to folks who haven't been at church in a while.  I can do that.  I teased one friend that I need to channel the energy I use for flirting into spreading the Gospel!  Yikes!

How about you?  When was the last time you told the story?  Do you love to tell it?

Lord, help me honestly say "I love to tell the story".  Your story.  

Foodie Friday
The recipe for this week is for Easy Chicken Bake.  It is from the back of a box of Stovetop Stuffing mix.  I don't usually put the veggies in the mix.  I prefer to use more chicken.  Try it both ways and see how you like it.  You can also make it healthier by using whole wheat stuffing mix, low fat soup and low fat sour cream.  It still tastes pretty good!  I also sautee the chicken before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.

Easy Chicken Bake
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into cubes
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare stuffing mix per package directions.  Set aside.
2. Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in 13X9 inch baking dish, top with stuffing
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Makes six servings.

Enjoy!

Other Stuff
My left eye is doing a little better today.  I forgot that it takes a few days before I can see very well out of it after this surgery.  I can see large shapes and some smaller shapes.  Nothing is clear at this time.  I will continue to rest and take it easy.

I decided to cancel my trip to St Louis this weekend.  I do not feel comfortable driving by myself.  I could have flown, but I don't think lugging a suitcase around would be a good thing either.  My best friend completely understood.  He agreed that he would be more worried about me instead of focusing on his family and other friends for the funeral.  He will call me as he needs to talk and vent.

I watched a movie yesterday and started on my D2 readings after a couple of naps.  I have also been writing the devotional that God told me to write for the Feb 16 D2 class.  I didn't understand how it would be relevant until I started reading the chapters this week.  Our God is an awesome God.  I hope it is as meaningful to the other disciples as it has been for me to write it.  I will post it here next Thursday after I read it in class on Wed night.

Monday will be my annual "give my love life over to God" day.  I choose not to be depressed about not having someone special for Valentines Day.  God has given me so much in my life.  He has someone special for me.  I will discover who that is when the time is right.  Our God is an awesome God.  He knows what is best for us and at the specific time.  I get frustrated that His time is not always my time.  What is up with that?  hehehe

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

Odd question....

Our Daily Bread
The sentence at the end of the devotional today is this:
"If you meet opposition, maybe it shows that you are doing something that counts."

My question is: if you are meeting opposition, does it mean that you aren't doing something that counts?  Wow!  I will have to think about that one!  I remember being taught as a teenager that your life will be very smooth and easy, like the wide road that leads to Hell, when you aren't doing God's will.  I always thought that was odd.  It made the ways of God seem painful and unattractive.  I finally learned that God cleanses and purifies his children so we can commune better together.  We can understand his ways a little better.  We can rest in the knowledge that his path for us, the narrow and winding road, is our best option is life.  Our lives might not always be easy, but we have the strength and guidance of the Almighty God on our side!

Lord, help me to speak your words and do something that counts!

Technology Thursday
Just a few random technology notes for this week.

Verizon started selling the iPhone 4 this week.  It is also available at Best Buy on the Verizon network.  It will be interesting to hear how the performance of their 3G network will hold up with the new traffic from the iPhones!

I am seeing more "leaks" about the Motorola Xoom tablet computer.  It is supposed to be the iPad killer.  The rumors have it the iPad 2 will be at least as good as the Xoom and much cheaper!  There will be some functionality differences between the iOS and Android Mobile (Zoom uses this).  There will always be some Apple-centric things that will bug some folks.  Some people will use the Samsung tablet or the Motorola tablet so they won't be buying an Apple product!    Here is a link to the Xoom web page.

I saw some interesting technologies at the conference last week.  Unified telephony was the big one that is getting better and better each year.  You will be hearing more about that in the personal devices market in the next year or two.  There are a few devices out there now.

Other Stuff
My left eye is doing OK.  My vision is clearing up a little, but not as fast as I thought it would.  I will rest and be patient.  I need to call my best friend.  I don't think there is any way I can drive to St Louis this weekend for his father's funeral.  I will stay home and rest instead.  I can read OK, but watching movies is not as fun since I can only focus with one eye.  ;-(  It will get better.  Just need some time.

Only three more weeks left for our D2 class!  I will miss this group of people.  We have enjoyed my great talks and insights.  I am so thankful to have been a part of it.  I am giving the devotional next week.  The neat part is that God lead me to write something about myself.  I looked ahead last night to discover that the topic fits perfectly with one of the lessons for net week!  Cool!  Isn't God amazing!

Hang in there, my friends.  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

I got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Our Daily Bread
...down in my heart.  Down in my heart!  Yes!  I like the points of today's devotional.  We cannot truly experience joy if we have not experienced some sorrow.  If we have experienced joy and sorry, the next logical thing to do is empathize with those around us during their joy and sorrow!  I like the idea of "being there" for my friends and sometimes for folks that I don't even know.

I have a tendency to be a giver instead of receiving this kind of attention.  I was deeply touched by a close friend who took me to my eye surgery yesterday.  It meant even more to me when he told me some comforting words that I told him recently.  He said those meant a lot to him at the time and still today.  He wanted me to know that and to experience the peace he felt when he thought of them.

Did I mention -- I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!  Where?  Down in my heart!  hehehe

Yes, I had my eye cut on yesterday.  Yes, it was scary.  And YES!, God provided his love and care in the form of friends and family who care for me.  Our God is an awesome God!

Lord, thank you for your peace, love and strength during all my joys and sorrows!  I praise you!

Lifestyle Change Wednesday
I have been trying to eat better and walk more.  I haven't ridden my new recumbent bike very much.  One of the reasons is that the basement was being worked on (it is pretty much done now).  I was also out of town for eight days.  During my trip to Orlando, I did a lot of walking.  I was also pretty successful in watching what I ate, except for a few days.

I got on the scale this morning and weighed in at 265.  That is a loss of seven pounds so far.  I will keep working at it.  I need to watch my eating the next two weeks when I can't be very active.  I need to rest as much as I can so my eye can start healing.  I may try to walk next week or do a light session on my bike.  The doctor says I can do stuff as long as it is not "straining" in any way.  Yikes!

Other Stuff
I go to the doctor in a few minutes to have the patch taken off my left eye.  The eye hurt more than what I anticipated yesterday afternoon, but it settled down last night.  I slept most of the afternoon, then did my reading for D2.  I will review the readings some more this afternoon.  I have to wear the metal patch over night for the next few weeks so I do't accidentally rub my eye.  That would be bad.  I will wear some protective glasses when I am out and about for the next few weeks as well so nothing accidentally hits my eye.  That would also be bad!

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...

Space cadet...

Our Daily Bread
I didn't get much out of today's devotional at first.  It was about parenting.  Then I thought about the book "It takes a village to raise a child" by Hillary Clinton.  I am a member of several "villages".  Am I being the best example for little eyes and little ears?  Probably not all of the time!

I was at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure last week.  There were LOTS of kids!  Was I the Christian example for those children or did my impatience leave them with a question mark about guys like me?  Hmmm.  Food for thought.

How about you?  What are you like when you around little kids.  How about big kids?  Are you the example that you need to be?

Lord, help me remember the little eyes and little ears are around a lot!

Surgery Update
I headed to surgery this morning about 7:00 am.  I had to be at the hospital two hours before the outpatient surgery at 9:30.  I am thankful for the good friend who took me this morning!  I have another friend taking me to the follow up visit on Wednesday to get the patch off my left eye.  I am sure things will be fine.  I am thankful to have another chance to keep my eye sight.  Very thankful indeed.

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...