:. miscellany .:

[There is NO WAY to top this post . . . OR this post so I'm not even going to try. But you know how it is: ideas just keep swirling around your brain, screaming for expression. So what follows are unimportant, unrelated thoughts that simply don't warrant an entire post of their own. And it gives Katie something to read at work.]

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I read yesterday that they are recalling millions of umbrella strollers because children have been getting their fingertips cut off. Yes, it seems when the stroller is being unfolded, if kids put their fingers in the locking mechanism, there is a danger of them losing a fingertip.

Well, duh! Hey kids! Keep your hands to yourself till mummy gets the stroller open!

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Guilty Pleasures:

Dove Chocolates

TMZ

mmmm . . . . how 'bout eating Dove Chocolates while watching TMZ???

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Pretty excited for a new little munchkin to join the fam. (I think Glinda was the last person to use those exact words.) Chris and Kate, I hope you enjoy to the max this most wonderful time in your life. Kids are the BEST!!! Praying for the next six months to be an amazing time of preparation and FUN!!! EEEEEEEEE!!

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An old friend whom I hadn't seen in years showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly yesterday. She only had a half hour to spare, and we hugged/talked non-stop/hugged for 30 minutes straight.

How lovely to pick up as if we had spoken yesterday.

How lovely that she's back in my life.

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I wonder why we allow people to slip so easily in and out of our lives? How is it that another human being can so easily be taken for granted? When will I learn how precious are the people God has placed in close proximity to my heart?

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As we were raking last weekend, Benny claimed to remember me once saying that I LOVED to rake leaves.

26 leaf bags later, I begged to differ.

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Okay, I admit it: we've been watching the new TV series 'V'. It's not bad, if you like sci-fi. Interesting how the 'visitors' have taken on human form.

[****SPOILER ALERT! They're actually lizard-like creatures, up to no good! END SPOILER ALERT!***]

They are all beautiful humans; not a plug-ugly among them. Their thought is they would be more easily trusted and accepted if they were nice to look at.

Pssssh, yeah, like we'd fall for THAT!

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Lately I've been trying hard to 'see' the soul of a person, not just the shell that houses that soul. I really would love to see with God's eyes rather than man's.

Wonder how many 'lizards' are lurking under a beautiful exterior?

And vice-versa, of course.

:. nine out of ten .:

I love reading in the gospels about all the miracles Jesus performed: the blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life. I find myself wondering what happened to these people down the road. Did they follow Jesus all of their days, or did the miraculous become something they took for granted?

What became of blind Bartimaeus, whom Jesus healed with a single word? Mark tells us he 'received his sight and followed Jesus along the road'. How far? For how long? Where was he when Jesus was crucified? What about ten years later? Was he still following Jesus?

What about the demon-possessed guy who spent his days wailing, naked, in the cemetery? Jesus freed the man from his torment, and the next thing you know he was 'dressed and in his right mind'. He begged Jesus to let him go with Him, but Jesus wanted him rather to go tell his family how much the Lord had done for him. The last we hear of that guy, he was going from city to city, amazing people with his story. Did he spend the rest of his life telling others what the Savior had done for him? Did he ever forget what he had once been?

What about the little girl who had died, but Jesus took her by the hand and gave her life back to her with the lovely words, "Talitha koum"? [Aramaic for 'Little girl, arise'.] She was twelve when that happened; was she living in devotion and service to the One True God when she was 24, or 60, or once again on her deathbed? What about her parents? Did they spend their days telling everyone who would listen what Jesus had done for them?

It's easy to think, 'oh, if they experienced that firsthand, then surely they went on to follow Jesus the rest of their lives'.

But wait. How many times has Jesus touched you? healed you? provided for you? given you life? helped you see? helped you walk? given you strength? Do you spend every day of your life in gratitude to God? Or has the miraculous become common-place? Has the hand of God in your life become something you take for granted?

There's another story that always gets me. Ten lepers came to Jesus, begging for mercy. He told them to go show themselves to the priests, "and as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him."

Nine out of ten didn't bother.

Which am I?

:. ansel liam .:

Here's what happens when you hand a 2-year old a camera:

He snapped 3 dozen pictures in the space of about 5 minutes, most of them of Lambie.

Nice job, photog!

:. pet peeves .:

• I hate when I make a detailed shopping list . . . and then leave it on my kitchen counter.

• I hate when people have loud cell phone conversations in public places.

• I hate it even more when the person having the loud conversation is a woman, striding through a store/mall/whathaveyou wearing high heels: YAK YAK CLACK CLACK YAK CLACK YAK CLACK CLACK YAK.

• I hate it when the last person in a check-out line rushes over when a new clerk announces she can help whoever is next. I don't think this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, 'the last shall be first'.

• I don't mind at all when people have strong opinions. I just hate it when they think I am somehow a lesser human being if my opinions don't happen to coincide with theirs.

• I hate it when people think that stay-at-home moms are vapid, brainless women who could never make it in the 'real' world.

• I hate it when people think that working moms don't love their kids quite as much as stay-at-home moms.

• I hate when my favorite TV shows are preempted by a presidential speech or Cyclone basketball.

• I hate when someone offers advice when I haven't asked for it. Unasked for advice is really just veiled criticism.

• I hate when I fall into any of the above categories. (although for the record, I've never preempted a television show in my life.)

:. 10 • 20 • 2007 .:

There were so many wonderful things about that day:

The way that God Himself brought two people together.

The assemblage of family, and friends from different circles, all gathered into one spot as witnesses.

Those beautiful little flower girls, enjoying their role to the max . . . twirling and smiling.

The dapper little ring bearer, carrying the ring pillow AND his mickey spoon.

The drop-dead gorgeous bride, shining like the sun.

The drop-dead handsome groom, with tears in his eyes as he beheld his bride.

That song. Oh, that song.

The F-16 fly-over.

The solemnity . . . the fun . . . the beauty.

And then there was the weather.
It was one of the wettest Octobers on record. The ten days prior to the 20th were rainy and cold. The sun? Nowhere in sight.
And then came the forecast. This is what it looked like on Wednesday:

And the forecast only improved as the week went on. As a matter of fact, it got up to around 80 degrees Saturday. EIGHTY degrees.

God cracks me up.I'm quite certain He made sure it was rainy, stormy, wet, damp, cloudy, dark, etc, JUST SO He could show His sovereignty and power over creation. JUST SO He could reveal to Chris and Kate (and anyone else watching) just how much He loves them as He shined down on their day. JUST SO He would be glorified.

Yes, it was a grand day, indeed.

[reprinted from November 3, 2007]

Happy, happy anniversary, Chris and Katie!