Our Daily Bread
Those of you that know me accept the fact that I have a vivid sense of humor. As I was reading the scripture passage in the devotional, Ephesians 6:10-18, I couldn't help hearing the voice of Foghorn Leghorn reading it! That is where I got the title for today's entry. hehehe
Seriously, this is yet another devotional that I really needed to hear right now. Praise God! I wage a battle daily with all of the thoughts that rush through my busy brain. The past few days my brain has been working overtime! Too many weird scenarios that try to steal my joy keep running through my head. I cannot keep this up because it upsets my whole body in addition to my mind. It tires me!
The lesson and scripture today said exactly what I need to do - put on the whole armor of God. I have very little fashion sense, but I know armor is not in this season! What does this mean to a child of God? My opinion is that you do your best to fill your mind with the things of God -- scripture, prayers, thinking about holy things like church services, hymns and Christian music, remembering the times you felt closest to God, and being disciplined about not dwelling on inappropriate things. It is not wrong to think about something. It can be wrong to dwell on inappropriate thoughts. We are constantly bombarded with all kinds of images and text that we shouldn't dwell on! hehehe
I can do this. You can do this.
Lord, thank you for your full armor! It is in season any time!
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 18 is a long one at fifty verses! It fits perfectly with the passage from Ephesians, too! How cool is that? Take a read..
I know most folks don't like passages in the Old Testament because of all the talk of violence and war. I started thinking about these passages as applying to the spiritual warfare that we deal with each day. Don't the psalms apply in this realm as well? Instead of physical enemies, we have spirits of evil that try to bring us down to their level. Praise God that he is our rock and salvation from all of these things!
Psalm 18
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
Other Stuff
I grilled out some boneless pork ribs last night. MmmMMmmmm! I sprinkled with my usual poultry/pork seasoning and added some smoked paprika (at the suggestion of a friend). Wow! I added some Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce to top them off. They were so good. I had a veggie with them for a low carb supper.
I also worked on laundry and mowed the lawn. That means I can rest more today! hehehe There is only one more movie currently at the theaters that I want to see. I may do that this afternoon. I will see. I need to do some stuff around the house. I keep putting things off. I also have some other church stuff to do that I am very excited about. I am so much happier when I am busy doing meaningful stuff! I have had too much time on my hands since finishing grad school last year. ;-p
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
No pain, no gain or no plan, no flan, or whatever!
Our Daily Bread
I am writing this entry late in the day considering I usually write first thing in the morning to start my day (and hopefully yours!). Reading the devotional tonight reinforces the things that God brought my way today. Praise God!
I have been having a tough time getting over something the past few days. God spoke to me in many ways today about the situation. It has been amazing! The scripture passage for the devotional includes this verse:
9 In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the LORD establishes their steps.
God gently reminded me of the ways he has been so very active in my life since I have been trying to follow him and please him with my meager service. I think if my service to God were judged like a server at a restaurant, I am not sure I would get a tip at all! hehehe We can only do our best. God knows that. He knows our hearts and the desires of our hearts. He knows what we can bear and what we can't bear.
I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). I forget many times, especially when the silly task seems much easier to get over than the difficult tasks I faced the past four years. I can and will do this. God will guide my steps. I will turn over my plans to him.
What plans are you holding on to?
Lord, thank you for your love. Please guide my steps.
Simply Saturday
Had a good meeting this morning. I understand now what my role on the team. It was nice working in the role today. I am so excited about what God is going to do with this team and the group of pilgrims that join us.
I went to the gym after my meeting. I am working my way up on the elliptical machine. I went 40 minutes today! Woohooo! That was on the lowest settings, but I went 40 minutes! I did some light upper body weights, then ran some errands. A quest for some sherry vinegar took longer than what I wanted, I found it at Sur Le Table. Cool.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Not sure where God will lead my steps. What does it matter where the road ends up as long as God is leading?
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
I am writing this entry late in the day considering I usually write first thing in the morning to start my day (and hopefully yours!). Reading the devotional tonight reinforces the things that God brought my way today. Praise God!
I have been having a tough time getting over something the past few days. God spoke to me in many ways today about the situation. It has been amazing! The scripture passage for the devotional includes this verse:
9 In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the LORD establishes their steps.
God gently reminded me of the ways he has been so very active in my life since I have been trying to follow him and please him with my meager service. I think if my service to God were judged like a server at a restaurant, I am not sure I would get a tip at all! hehehe We can only do our best. God knows that. He knows our hearts and the desires of our hearts. He knows what we can bear and what we can't bear.
I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). I forget many times, especially when the silly task seems much easier to get over than the difficult tasks I faced the past four years. I can and will do this. God will guide my steps. I will turn over my plans to him.
What plans are you holding on to?
Lord, thank you for your love. Please guide my steps.
Simply Saturday
Had a good meeting this morning. I understand now what my role on the team. It was nice working in the role today. I am so excited about what God is going to do with this team and the group of pilgrims that join us.
I went to the gym after my meeting. I am working my way up on the elliptical machine. I went 40 minutes today! Woohooo! That was on the lowest settings, but I went 40 minutes! I did some light upper body weights, then ran some errands. A quest for some sherry vinegar took longer than what I wanted, I found it at Sur Le Table. Cool.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Not sure where God will lead my steps. What does it matter where the road ends up as long as God is leading?
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Friday, August 5, 2011
It's so nice we had this time together...
Our Daily Bread
Carol Burnett ended every one of her TV show episodes with a song talking about how nice it was to share the time together, but it was now time to say good bye. That is what the devotional is about today -- good byes.
I know I have said it a million times over the past year. Today is not any different. God knew I needed this devotional, this day, way before I ever knew about the conversation I had last night. It was a good bye for me. A very hard good bye. I am thankful because several prayers have been answered. I am sad because they were not answered in the way I thought I wanted. I have a difficult road ahead of being disciplined and moving on, but I know without a shadow of doubt that God is with me. Through his power alone, I have overcome much more difficult situations. I can and will overcome with his love and power.
I promised myself that 2011 would be a different, better year for me. God is answering my prayers. Praise God! I can take comfort that I am not alone. I have many folks who love me. I have God's promises to rely on as I trust him for every breath. I pray the same for you as you go through your trials and tribulations and joys and happiness.
Lord, thank you for answered prayers. I need your strength and power to be disciplined about moving on with my life. I thank you in advance.
Foodie Friday
I talked to my mother on the phone the other day. She talked about making her cabbage rolls for some friends after she received several heads of cabbage from another friend. I forgot how much I liked her cabbage rolls. I will get her recipe and post it here.
I ate at the Columbus Brewing Company on Tuesday. I enjoyed the nachos with cheese, chili and chorizo. I also enjoyed the Asian cashew chicken salad. Very very tasty.
I used my free meal coupon on Monday night for supper. I had the Mongolian Chicken at Oodles of Noodles on Neil Avenue. The onions were sauteed perfectly. The sauce was a little sweet and complemented the sauteed onions very well. I had it with brown rice and a spring roll. MmmMmmmm I also had a half order of the pot stickers. They tasted good, but were very doughy this time.
A friend told me about a bourbon bar/restaurant in the Short North. I may need to try that out. Food and bourbon. Works for me!
Other Stuff
As I mentioned in my devotional above, I had some prayers answered last night. My heart has been untrustworthy the past few years. Heavy sigh. God helped me move on from one issue earlier this year. I have been unwilling to move on from the second unhealthy issue until last night. While I was sad and cried and talked with God with a heavy heart, I know that everything will be OK. The peace he showered me with is inexplicable. The quiet, confident joy he has helped me find deep in my heart and soul have been amazing. I need to be disciplined to continue to move away from this situation. I can and will do this. I am an over comer. I am a conqueror through God's strength. I write about these things so you, too, can know that you can over come anything with God's strength and power. Trust him today.
I am going to the gym after work tonight. I am doing better with eating habits. I am trying to exercise smart to promote my weight loss. I can do this, too. Praise God for his grace and love and strength!
I need to do some reading tonight after I get home.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Carol Burnett ended every one of her TV show episodes with a song talking about how nice it was to share the time together, but it was now time to say good bye. That is what the devotional is about today -- good byes.
I know I have said it a million times over the past year. Today is not any different. God knew I needed this devotional, this day, way before I ever knew about the conversation I had last night. It was a good bye for me. A very hard good bye. I am thankful because several prayers have been answered. I am sad because they were not answered in the way I thought I wanted. I have a difficult road ahead of being disciplined and moving on, but I know without a shadow of doubt that God is with me. Through his power alone, I have overcome much more difficult situations. I can and will overcome with his love and power.
I promised myself that 2011 would be a different, better year for me. God is answering my prayers. Praise God! I can take comfort that I am not alone. I have many folks who love me. I have God's promises to rely on as I trust him for every breath. I pray the same for you as you go through your trials and tribulations and joys and happiness.
Lord, thank you for answered prayers. I need your strength and power to be disciplined about moving on with my life. I thank you in advance.
Foodie Friday
I talked to my mother on the phone the other day. She talked about making her cabbage rolls for some friends after she received several heads of cabbage from another friend. I forgot how much I liked her cabbage rolls. I will get her recipe and post it here.
I ate at the Columbus Brewing Company on Tuesday. I enjoyed the nachos with cheese, chili and chorizo. I also enjoyed the Asian cashew chicken salad. Very very tasty.
I used my free meal coupon on Monday night for supper. I had the Mongolian Chicken at Oodles of Noodles on Neil Avenue. The onions were sauteed perfectly. The sauce was a little sweet and complemented the sauteed onions very well. I had it with brown rice and a spring roll. MmmMmmmm I also had a half order of the pot stickers. They tasted good, but were very doughy this time.
A friend told me about a bourbon bar/restaurant in the Short North. I may need to try that out. Food and bourbon. Works for me!
Other Stuff
As I mentioned in my devotional above, I had some prayers answered last night. My heart has been untrustworthy the past few years. Heavy sigh. God helped me move on from one issue earlier this year. I have been unwilling to move on from the second unhealthy issue until last night. While I was sad and cried and talked with God with a heavy heart, I know that everything will be OK. The peace he showered me with is inexplicable. The quiet, confident joy he has helped me find deep in my heart and soul have been amazing. I need to be disciplined to continue to move away from this situation. I can and will do this. I am an over comer. I am a conqueror through God's strength. I write about these things so you, too, can know that you can over come anything with God's strength and power. Trust him today.
I am going to the gym after work tonight. I am doing better with eating habits. I am trying to exercise smart to promote my weight loss. I can do this, too. Praise God for his grace and love and strength!
I need to do some reading tonight after I get home.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Sharing is good...
Our Daily Bread
I have thought a lot about how to be better at sharing God's word the past few years. I bring up my relationship with God in conversations more. I try to do a better job of living my beliefs as well. I have a LOOOONNNGGG way to go, but I am working on letting God's Spirit flow through me each day.
What was my first change? Being nicer at work! It is difficult for me to find the balance between being a hard hitting, getting things done professional and being a witness for my Lord. I struggle with that.
How do you tell others about your relationship with God?
Lord, I want to tell others about you and what you have done for my life!
Technology Thursday
Yes, the technology world is STILL very boring. I had trouble coming up with a topic for today. Here is an obscure one -- using an AM2+ processor in an AM2 motherboard. Did I mention the technology world was boring right now? hehehe
I have an old computer that I took apart to repurpose. I decided to put it back together, but decided that I didn't want to replace the older motherboard and processor. The processor is a dual core AMD AM2 chip. It is OK for all practical purposes, but I want more. hehehe I am too frugal to spend more money on an AM3 or AM2+ motherboard, so I did some research about using an AM2+ chip in an AM2 motherboard. Apparently, the earlier AM2+ chips, which includes some quad core processors, will work in the AM2 motherboard. The sockets are the same, however, the power supply requirements are a little different. The older AM2+ chips have the same power requirements as the AM2 chips. The later AM2+ chips have similar power requirements to the AM3 chips. Whew! The other potential issue is that some motherboard makes don't provide BIOS (the internal working code of a computer) updates to support the AM2+ chips. I think I will be OK there.
I will order an AM2+ chip today that will be much faster than what I have now and it won't cost very much (like $60 or so). I can be happy with that. I will rebuild that computer and fix the old LCD monitor a friend gave me this weekend.
Did I mention boring? hehehe
Other Stuff
I had a fun time with some friends at the Columbus Brewing Company last night. The Asian Cashew Chicken salad was great! I had a nice phone conversation with a good friend after dinner.
A close friend sent me some essays he wrote. They were amazing! I really enjoyed reading them.
I have a very busy evening. I need to visit a friend at the visiting hours for his mother who passed away this week. I have an appointment with my counselor. I have a prayer group meeting at church after that. Whew!
I also had an epiphany about my role on the Emmaus Walk team. Meetings started last Saturday. The first meeting was great! What a blessing! God told me that I need to talk less and listen more in the meetings. I will work on that this week. There are so many experienced and spiritual men on the team, there is a lot I can learn!
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
I have thought a lot about how to be better at sharing God's word the past few years. I bring up my relationship with God in conversations more. I try to do a better job of living my beliefs as well. I have a LOOOONNNGGG way to go, but I am working on letting God's Spirit flow through me each day.
What was my first change? Being nicer at work! It is difficult for me to find the balance between being a hard hitting, getting things done professional and being a witness for my Lord. I struggle with that.
How do you tell others about your relationship with God?
Lord, I want to tell others about you and what you have done for my life!
Technology Thursday
Yes, the technology world is STILL very boring. I had trouble coming up with a topic for today. Here is an obscure one -- using an AM2+ processor in an AM2 motherboard. Did I mention the technology world was boring right now? hehehe
I have an old computer that I took apart to repurpose. I decided to put it back together, but decided that I didn't want to replace the older motherboard and processor. The processor is a dual core AMD AM2 chip. It is OK for all practical purposes, but I want more. hehehe I am too frugal to spend more money on an AM3 or AM2+ motherboard, so I did some research about using an AM2+ chip in an AM2 motherboard. Apparently, the earlier AM2+ chips, which includes some quad core processors, will work in the AM2 motherboard. The sockets are the same, however, the power supply requirements are a little different. The older AM2+ chips have the same power requirements as the AM2 chips. The later AM2+ chips have similar power requirements to the AM3 chips. Whew! The other potential issue is that some motherboard makes don't provide BIOS (the internal working code of a computer) updates to support the AM2+ chips. I think I will be OK there.
I will order an AM2+ chip today that will be much faster than what I have now and it won't cost very much (like $60 or so). I can be happy with that. I will rebuild that computer and fix the old LCD monitor a friend gave me this weekend.
Did I mention boring? hehehe
Other Stuff
I had a fun time with some friends at the Columbus Brewing Company last night. The Asian Cashew Chicken salad was great! I had a nice phone conversation with a good friend after dinner.
A close friend sent me some essays he wrote. They were amazing! I really enjoyed reading them.
I have a very busy evening. I need to visit a friend at the visiting hours for his mother who passed away this week. I have an appointment with my counselor. I have a prayer group meeting at church after that. Whew!
I also had an epiphany about my role on the Emmaus Walk team. Meetings started last Saturday. The first meeting was great! What a blessing! God told me that I need to talk less and listen more in the meetings. I will work on that this week. There are so many experienced and spiritual men on the team, there is a lot I can learn!
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
How to pray?
Our Daily Bread
If you have been reading my blog at all the past two months, you may remember that I have been writing a lot about prayer and my prayer life. I read the book "Stretch out your hand" about prayer, specifically about healing prayer. I started incorporating some of the prayer fragments and suggested prayers into my prayer life. This is in addition to a Thomas Merton prayer I really like, the Lord's Prayer and some prayer chants a monk taught me. On Sunday, I added a few verses from Psalm 17 that meant a lot to me.
This is cool, right? After reading today's devotional, I see the danger of using "canned" prayers. They can become hollow and meaningless if not said in the right spirit or frame of mind. I found myself sprinting through my prayers sometimes just so I could check them off my to do list for the day. Not good! I need to use these canned prayers as a springboard to the intimate prayers of my heart that God help me discern from the canned prayers. Sounds like a wonderful approach! I will let you know how it goes.
Lord, teach me to pray. I love you. Thank you for being in my life.
Witness Wednesday
I am filling in the details of "What's next?" for my life. Questions will always be in front of me. I pray that I will listen to God as he helps me determine the answers. ;-)
Other Stuff
I had a nice "friends night out" with a close friend last night. We talked for almost two hours before attending the movie. We both liked the movie. We prayed together before we went to our separate homes.
I am having dinner with my walking buddy tonight. Should be fun.
Dealing with stuff at work. My job is one of the questions I have in my life. I need to figure out the answer.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
If you have been reading my blog at all the past two months, you may remember that I have been writing a lot about prayer and my prayer life. I read the book "Stretch out your hand" about prayer, specifically about healing prayer. I started incorporating some of the prayer fragments and suggested prayers into my prayer life. This is in addition to a Thomas Merton prayer I really like, the Lord's Prayer and some prayer chants a monk taught me. On Sunday, I added a few verses from Psalm 17 that meant a lot to me.
This is cool, right? After reading today's devotional, I see the danger of using "canned" prayers. They can become hollow and meaningless if not said in the right spirit or frame of mind. I found myself sprinting through my prayers sometimes just so I could check them off my to do list for the day. Not good! I need to use these canned prayers as a springboard to the intimate prayers of my heart that God help me discern from the canned prayers. Sounds like a wonderful approach! I will let you know how it goes.
Lord, teach me to pray. I love you. Thank you for being in my life.
Witness Wednesday
I am filling in the details of "What's next?" for my life. Questions will always be in front of me. I pray that I will listen to God as he helps me determine the answers. ;-)
Other Stuff
I had a nice "friends night out" with a close friend last night. We talked for almost two hours before attending the movie. We both liked the movie. We prayed together before we went to our separate homes.
I am having dinner with my walking buddy tonight. Should be fun.
Dealing with stuff at work. My job is one of the questions I have in my life. I need to figure out the answer.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What I wake up to...
Our Daily Bread
The devotional today talked about the author's experience of waking up after having exploratory surgery for cancer. He saw his wife's face and heard her voice. That brought him immediate comfort.
I had a similar experience earlier this year after I had my eye surgery. A close friend took me to the surgery. It was nice seeing his handsome face after I woke up. I know I embarrassed him by having help me get dressed! hehehe
The point is that we have Jesus to be there for us after we wake up from our death from this life. His face and voice will be there for us to welcome us home to heaven. Are you a child of his? Trust him today!
Lord, thank you for friends who are there for us. Thank you for being there for us for eternity!
Teaching Tuesday
I wrote about discernment last week. I want to continue that topic today. I have been praying and trying to listen to God about "What's next?" for me. I thought I would be leaving King Avenue UMC for other opportunities to serve God. I visited two other churches. I skipped church one Sunday. Here is what I have learned so far.
From the first church: The sermon was on What's next? and Finding home from the story of Jacob in the Old Testament. God really wanted me to hear that sermon. I am glad I listened to his leading and attended that church that specific Sunday. I listened as the pastor talked about how Jacob followed God's leadership to his calling.
Skipped church: I realized just how much church meant to me. I know you can be spiritual or religious without attending church, but I believe that the gathering of believers to worship is crucial to a person's spiritual life. I missed it that Sunday. A lot...
Second church visit: I visited on a crazy Sunday for this church, but I got to see a cross section of the church and how they handled many things. I experienced a little bit of the music program, which had a lot of variety (more than we do at KA IMHO). I also saw how friendly people make a big difference. I was impressed by the number of people that lingered after church. So many of the folks at other I churches I have attended in my life scurry off to their busy lives as soon as church is over.
So where am I now? I realized over the weekend that it will take me quite a while to work my way into a new church to do stuff. I hadn't thought about that when working through this decision. I also learned some more things about myself -- I had some hurt feelings about not being ASKED to do more. Talk about selfishness and arrogance and pride! Oh my! I asked God to forgive me about that. I talked to two close friends about this last night. I plan to talk to another close friend and pray with him tonight. I think I am going to schedule a lunch or coffee with the ministers at KA to discuss after that. God told me to get over my bad self and be more assertive about being involved. I am very, very good at being assertive. Some even consider me formidable! hehehe More later.
Other Stuff
I went to see the movie Beginners last night. I also used my free dinner coupon at Oodles of Noodles. MmmmMmmmm! I talked on the phone and did some stuff around the house after that.
I have a "friends night out" planned for tonight with a close friend. We have a lot to talk about. I hope he can make it. He has a lot on his plate right now. We are supposed to have dinner and see a movie.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
The devotional today talked about the author's experience of waking up after having exploratory surgery for cancer. He saw his wife's face and heard her voice. That brought him immediate comfort.
I had a similar experience earlier this year after I had my eye surgery. A close friend took me to the surgery. It was nice seeing his handsome face after I woke up. I know I embarrassed him by having help me get dressed! hehehe
The point is that we have Jesus to be there for us after we wake up from our death from this life. His face and voice will be there for us to welcome us home to heaven. Are you a child of his? Trust him today!
Lord, thank you for friends who are there for us. Thank you for being there for us for eternity!
Teaching Tuesday
I wrote about discernment last week. I want to continue that topic today. I have been praying and trying to listen to God about "What's next?" for me. I thought I would be leaving King Avenue UMC for other opportunities to serve God. I visited two other churches. I skipped church one Sunday. Here is what I have learned so far.
From the first church: The sermon was on What's next? and Finding home from the story of Jacob in the Old Testament. God really wanted me to hear that sermon. I am glad I listened to his leading and attended that church that specific Sunday. I listened as the pastor talked about how Jacob followed God's leadership to his calling.
Skipped church: I realized just how much church meant to me. I know you can be spiritual or religious without attending church, but I believe that the gathering of believers to worship is crucial to a person's spiritual life. I missed it that Sunday. A lot...
Second church visit: I visited on a crazy Sunday for this church, but I got to see a cross section of the church and how they handled many things. I experienced a little bit of the music program, which had a lot of variety (more than we do at KA IMHO). I also saw how friendly people make a big difference. I was impressed by the number of people that lingered after church. So many of the folks at other I churches I have attended in my life scurry off to their busy lives as soon as church is over.
So where am I now? I realized over the weekend that it will take me quite a while to work my way into a new church to do stuff. I hadn't thought about that when working through this decision. I also learned some more things about myself -- I had some hurt feelings about not being ASKED to do more. Talk about selfishness and arrogance and pride! Oh my! I asked God to forgive me about that. I talked to two close friends about this last night. I plan to talk to another close friend and pray with him tonight. I think I am going to schedule a lunch or coffee with the ministers at KA to discuss after that. God told me to get over my bad self and be more assertive about being involved. I am very, very good at being assertive. Some even consider me formidable! hehehe More later.
Other Stuff
I went to see the movie Beginners last night. I also used my free dinner coupon at Oodles of Noodles. MmmmMmmmm! I talked on the phone and did some stuff around the house after that.
I have a "friends night out" planned for tonight with a close friend. We have a lot to talk about. I hope he can make it. He has a lot on his plate right now. We are supposed to have dinner and see a movie.
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
Monday, August 1, 2011
Do good...
Our Daily Bread
I liked the devotional today. Many times we get caught up in doing good to folks that we know will do good back to us. We rarely think of doing good to folks that could never repay our kindness. Or, we do good in such an anonymous way, such as donating clothing and food to a homeless shelter, that we forget there are real humans behind those needs! Yikes!
Do good and do good for the right reasons. Do good because of the love that God put in your heart. There will always be those in need. Always. If you don't know of someone in need, then you need to get out more! hehehe
Lord, I want to do good for others, especially the ones that can't repay the favor!
Movie Monday
I saw three movies last week. I had a good time with them all.
Captain America: The First Avenger
This movie was thrill packed and also had a little morale value stuck in there! I loved the action. I loved the story. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but then found out it was true to the comic book so that made it more tolerable.
I give it two bear paws. See it on the big screen for the action scenes.
Cowboys and Aliens
This was an odd movie to me, but I liked it more than what I thought I would. The action was good. Daniel Craig was pretty good in it as a bad a$$ cowboy. I kept thinking through the whole movie what was going through the minds of these cowboys when they saw the aliens? We would have trouble believing aliens exist today even with all the scifi movies we have seen. They had nothing. It must have been a shock. They communicated that during the movie, which was cool. The action was good.
I give it one bear paw. See it on the big screen for the action scenes.
Friends with Benefits
A friend at Starbucks recommended this movie, so I saw it Sunday afternoon. It was so cute! Lots of laughs. Several of the laughs were from Woody Harrelson's character. He played a gay sports writer. He was a hoot! The funny parts were hilarious! The sweet parts were very touching. I liked it more than I wanted to admit.
I give it two bear paws. You can rent this one. No rush to see it on the big screen.
Other Stuff
I rested after church yesterday afternoon, then went to the movies. I finished some chores around the house last night, then got ready for the week. I haven't been sleeping well the past few nights. Not sure what is up with that.
I had some thoughts about my search for "What's next?" in my life. I will write more about it after I talk with some friends.
I had a nice talk with my best friend. We had some laughs about the weekend. hehehe
I emailed some friends about stuff. I hope to hear back from them today. ;-)
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
I liked the devotional today. Many times we get caught up in doing good to folks that we know will do good back to us. We rarely think of doing good to folks that could never repay our kindness. Or, we do good in such an anonymous way, such as donating clothing and food to a homeless shelter, that we forget there are real humans behind those needs! Yikes!
Do good and do good for the right reasons. Do good because of the love that God put in your heart. There will always be those in need. Always. If you don't know of someone in need, then you need to get out more! hehehe
Lord, I want to do good for others, especially the ones that can't repay the favor!
Movie Monday
I saw three movies last week. I had a good time with them all.
Captain America: The First Avenger
This movie was thrill packed and also had a little morale value stuck in there! I loved the action. I loved the story. I wasn't crazy about the ending, but then found out it was true to the comic book so that made it more tolerable.
I give it two bear paws. See it on the big screen for the action scenes.
Cowboys and Aliens
This was an odd movie to me, but I liked it more than what I thought I would. The action was good. Daniel Craig was pretty good in it as a bad a$$ cowboy. I kept thinking through the whole movie what was going through the minds of these cowboys when they saw the aliens? We would have trouble believing aliens exist today even with all the scifi movies we have seen. They had nothing. It must have been a shock. They communicated that during the movie, which was cool. The action was good.
I give it one bear paw. See it on the big screen for the action scenes.
Friends with Benefits
A friend at Starbucks recommended this movie, so I saw it Sunday afternoon. It was so cute! Lots of laughs. Several of the laughs were from Woody Harrelson's character. He played a gay sports writer. He was a hoot! The funny parts were hilarious! The sweet parts were very touching. I liked it more than I wanted to admit.
I give it two bear paws. You can rent this one. No rush to see it on the big screen.
Other Stuff
I rested after church yesterday afternoon, then went to the movies. I finished some chores around the house last night, then got ready for the week. I haven't been sleeping well the past few nights. Not sure what is up with that.
I had some thoughts about my search for "What's next?" in my life. I will write more about it after I talk with some friends.
I had a nice talk with my best friend. We had some laughs about the weekend. hehehe
I emailed some friends about stuff. I hope to hear back from them today. ;-)
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
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