You Think Sally Was High Maintenance!

Have you ever seen the movie "When Harry Met Sally" ? Do you remember how Sally was "high maintenance"? Well, I have a friend like that and she cracks me up!

Over the years, I have heard my friend ask:

1. What is the base for this sauce? Sour cream or mayonnaise?
2. I want the salad, but I would like the dressing on the side.
3. How is this served? Can I get ______on the side?

(In other words, I have yet to see her order something straight from the menu without changing something)

Well, she topped herself the other day as we ate breakfast at IHOP. The waitress came to our table and was ready to take our order. I give my order (regular off the menu...no special instructions), the girls give their orders, and then it's my friend's turn. Here's how it goes:

W: Are you ready for me to take your order?
L: Yes. I would like the pumpkin pancakes with the eggs. I would like the eggs on a separate plate and I would like the pancakes cooked all the way through. I really want them on the griddle for a bit longer than usual. I don't want the middles mushy. Please keep them on the griddle for a few extra minutes. I don't like when the middles are not solid, all the way cooked.
W: (with eyes wide) Will that be all?

Really? Will that be all? What more could there be? I was laughing so hard the whole time I was crying! For those of you who know how I laugh...you can only imagine how funny this was to me.

Let me end by saying that this is the kind of thing that makes my friend, my friend! I wouldn't change one thing about her! First of all, she provides many hours of laughing for me ( I love to laugh). But she is never, ever dull! I love that! Thanks friend, for all the great times you have given me. I hope they never end.

Well....after travelling for Thanksgiving and just getting home Saturday, it was time to put up the tree on Sunday afternoon! We had a time trying to figure out where to put the tree this year. We ended up rearranging the living room to be prepared for a family gift that Ben has gotten for the kids...ok...we will enjoy it too! :) But that rearranging created the perfect spot in the corner of our living room.

The kids were thrilled to be able to get the boxes out of the shed...all 30 of them! Yep! I said 30! I do love Christmas..have I mentioned that before? Anyway, they loved putting the ornaments on and I must say I only unwrapped and handed them to the kids to hang up. They did it all!

The only downside was the Bailey still isn't home and this is one of her very favorite things to do all year. She will be on hand for the taking down...but who really likes to do that?

A few more little touches need to be handled and then we have a month of festivities to look forward to!!

I love this time of year...I love the decorations....I love getting gifts for others...and I love the best gift of all-Jesus!

The Presence of a Good Friend

"The presence of a good friend is good medicine to the heart. It soothes the soul and brings joy to the weary."

I wish that "verse" would be in the Bible! It is true in my life and I suspect in yours too! I just received much of that good medicine from a variety of people.

On Monday, our family made the trek to Little Rock to visit our most dear friends. The moment we pulled up in the driveway, I could feel the medicine working. Then when my friend came running out to meet us, the medicine became even more potent! Ahhh! I could feel it go down and soothing everything in its path. Then came the hello hug....a large dose of medicine!

Tuesday, we were privileged to see so many sweet friends and their children. Ohhh! More medicine for my weary soul. More joy to my weary heart. More hugs to hold up this weary body.

The rest of the week delivered more doses of this holy medicine. Talks with a friend, tears over prayers, laughter while conversing, jokes during the card games, smiles over shopping, shared meals, and shared lives for a very short week. But the potency!...the way it worked so speedily!...the lasting power!

God is so good to provide what is needed just when it is needed. So, I still say that I wish this verse were in the Bible:

"The presence of a good friend is good medicine to the heart. It soothes the soul and brings joy to the weary."

Aslan Is On The Move

This post is probably mostly aimed at the gals from Little Rock with whom I went to church.

Do you gals remember when we all felt so strongly that God was doing something? Do you remember when all those specific prayers were answered in amazing ways? Do you remember the babies that were conceived and then born after pointed, direct prayers for those very babies? Do you remember crying at the grace of God and feeling His very presence?

I do! I remember each and every one of those! It was probably one of the best times of spiritual growth in my life! Seeing the very hand of God intervene in our puny lives. Seeing your faith grow also! Watching the way you began raising your children because God had made Himself so real!

I am in that time again! Now...how do I get so blessed to have this happen to me twice in such a mighty way? I have no clue...I know I am not worthy of seeing God move and work and intervene, and grant grace...I know this...But He is at work in our church and He has allowed me to be a part of it.

I am humbled by His mercy, love, grace!

If you have forgotten those times...please ask God to remind you of it! Get back there and remember that the God of the universe cares about your every issue! He is moving among us!
As they said in Chronicles of Narnia: "Aslan is on the move!"

Adoption

I have been following the journey of our friends who are in Korea as I write this, finalizing the process of adopting the bringing home their new daughter, Carys. They have prayed for so long, gone through the paperwork, people in their home checking on things, and waiting the long wait of beaurocracy. They received the phone call last Monday that all that was needed was for their family to get to Korea and meet their little girl!

How exciting it all has been! I have been reminded of people that we think of as "overnight sensations". Rarely, if ever, does that literally happen! There is usually a lot of waiting and preparation on the front end that never gets seen and then, to us, the public, one day there they are...up on the big screen entertaining us! That's what it might seem like to those of us watching this adoption happen....like all of a sudden they are in Korea getting their little girl!

There has been so much behind the scenes to prepare and get ready. They have been diligent, patient, and dedicated to much prayer and searching the Scriptures during the year and a half that this process has really taken. There have been tears, anger, and the squeals of delight as they received their first pictures of the girl God picked for them!

But God has been in control the whole time! He has been holding Carys in the palm of His hand just waiting for our friends. What a joy to know that He has been monitoring the whole situation. What a pleasure to realize that God has also adopted us into His family...maybe even exhibiting sadness, anger, and then squeals of delight as He has watched and helped us in our growth. What a joy divine to be part of His plan...no matter how small!

What Will God Do?

I have just been given approval to have our church be a host site for the Beth Moore simulcast on April 24! I am so excited to see what God is going to do in the women of our church and community and through our church!

I can't wait until this event!

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!

My veteran!

I am so proud of him, his service to his country, and mostly, his service to his God!

He's pretty cute too, isn't he?

It Got Too Quiet

When it got too quiet in the house, at first I thought, WOW! it's quiet...how odd and nice! Then a bit of terror struck my heart and I had to go find out what was happening...was the jar of vaseline being spread out all over (it's already happened once in my life with kiddos), was my wallet being raided and put in the oven (again, it's happened!), was paint being spilled (ok...this hasn't happened but I didn't want to add it to my list of "things that will be funny one day"). But no...none of those things...my search ended when I saw Rawley sleeping..head hanging off of the chair, clinging to his Ent!

So I was able to go back to my first thought...how odd and nice!

Three Ring Circus

As you may have noticed, life is busy around here lately (with the lack of posts and all!). God has me busy for a purpose and that purpose is: I am the laziest person I know!

If I could, I would watch TV, surf the web, nap, and eat all day long! I am inherently lazy and slothful and I know this about myself. I completely understand that part of my sin nature. I don't like it, but I understand it...

There are some people who can only be involved in one thing at a time, and they do that one thing with excellence. They are quickly overwhelmed by the mere thought of adding more to their plate...so they don't. And that works for them.

I am not that way. I have always needed more of a three-ring-circus type life so that I will do even one thing well. If I don't have deadlines and commitments, not much happens. So...not that my way is good at all, but it helps me to serve better.

I do sense God's pleasure in my life. Though I get tired, I am peaceful about where I am and what I am doing.

When do you sense God's pleasure? What makes you tick? Are you a one-ring, two-ring, or three-ring kind of person? I challenge you to figure it out....and then go do it...all for the glory of God!