A Look at Psalm 23

A friend loaned me a book last week, and I have read the first chapter.  It's so precious that I think I'm going to share what I'm learning.  Titled A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, it helps us folks who haven't been around sheep or have any idea what shepherding a flock is like, to understand what David's well-known Psalm is talking about.  It's really a deeper look into what God is trying to convey to us about being His sheep and His character as the Shepherd.

I'm looking forward to telling you more about it.  I already want to tell everyone to run out and get a copy of this book.  It's not a lengthy book and reads easily.  I think it's going to be so sweet. 

Randomness, Edition #517

Hello, and how are ya?  Just had a few random things I wanted to mention...

First I must give a shout out to Amanda, my bloggy friend.  She just had a baby boy last weekend.  Her pregnancy just flew for me... I don't know about her, though.  ;)  Congratulations, Amanda!!!!

Second, I just wanted to mention that if you'd like to declare your loyalty to me as a reader of my blog, you do can that ever-so-publicly by clicking on the "follow this blog" link over there in my sidebar.  It will put your cute little profile picture up there and everything.  That's not to say that I'm demanding that of my readers, but this is more of an FYI - just lettin' ya know it's there kind of thing.  And hey... you never know whom of all 5 readers of my blog might go visit your blog and become a big fan, should they happen to notice your cute little profile picture.  I'm just sayin...

Thirdly (is thirdly a word?)... I'm considering changing my blog design, yet again.  My widgets and what-all keep moving on me, and I wonder if any of you are noticing the goofiness, too.  I also am seriously craving a 3-column design.  Seriously!

And fourthly, my friend Shelly has started a blog called Cafe Bontrager.  I went to school with her, and I can't even remember how long I've known her.  Since the 4th or 5th grade?  (You'll have to help me out here, Shell.)  Here we are in Home Ec. in the 8th grade.  (Shelly is holding the fruit pizza, and I am the really ugly girl standing behind the girl in the polka-dot apron.)  She was the only person I knew who laughed louder than me.  And if this tells you anything, we were the two nominees for the biggest mouth in our senior year, and I don't think I want to say who won that distinguishing honor.  {ahem}  Moving on...

I hope she doesn't mind if I send you all over to see her blog.  It's pretty new.  Just make sure you cut her some slack because she is a total newbie at the blogging thing and still trying to figure out how things work.  She is a funny woman, so you should hang with her until she gets warmed up on this thing.

And here we reach the conclusion of Randomness, Edition #517 (or was the #518?).  Thank you for reading.

Another Storm (Cont.)

I decided I better write at this moment while I have the will and the "voice".  It's just a thought for the day.

The Lord gave me Psalm 57:1 this morning, so I memorized it.  Hopefully, I will continue to go back to it often as I need the reminder, walking through the challenge I'm facing.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. (NKJV)

I'm still in the storm, even calamities as they're described in this verse, but I think my heart is finally settling down.  At least I'm able to hear God's voice more clearly over the din of my wrong thoughts. 

I've been of the mind to protect myself from anyone or anything hurting me, and I go so quickly to that mode.  I'm finally relinquishing that to Him, though.  God says He will be my Protector, my Shield, my Defender, and I believe He will do that better for me than I can do it for myself.  So rather than be self-protective, I'm going to be prayerful.  It's something I had forgotten was the most important thing.

How Do I Spell Relief?

B-O-U-N-C-Y  C-R-E-M-E  Yes, it's true.  I now have a bottle of the frizz control miracle potion in my possession.  We can all breathe a collected sigh of relief that my frizz issues will be well nigh under control tomorrow morning, the good Lord willing, of course.  I've been limping along fairly well with my store brand of frizz control product, but there is a great comfort in having the Bouncy Creme.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

Another Storm

Life is hard and hasn't really been going the way I would've chosen for myself.  It's taken such unexpected twists and turns since sometime back in April.  Just when I think a storm is calming and the sun is peeking through, another storm begins to rage.

God helped me ride the previous storms.  He'll help me again, won't He?

Weekend Highlights

It rained.  A lot!  It still is raining, but I think it's supposed to stop tonight.  I hope so.  Local areas are experiencing some flooding, even to the point of closing schools tomorrow north of here.  It's amazing that a hurricane that hit the Gulf is affecting us in Indiana to this extent.

You'll think this is crazy, but that omelette I made was a major highlight.  I don't like cooking.  You have to understand that.  I like microwaving frozen entrees or making a sandwich for lunch and being done with the matter.   To heat up a pan, mix up the eggs, prepare the filling items, and to patiently cook it until it's just right...that is soooo not my thing, but it was very much worth it because it was a success, not to mention delicious.  I'm kinda thinking about cooking something else.

And then there was the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game on Saturday.  Oh man, Notre Dame was smokin'!  They're now 2-0.  Hope has once again sprung in my heart for my favorite college team.  Two touchdowns within the first 5 minutes of play.  Lots of turnovers.  I haven't seen them play that well since...oh, I can't remember when.  It was awesome!  I was actually clapping and "woo-hoo"ing OUT LOUD by the end of the game, and that's significant to mention because I typically don't get all whooped up when my husband is around.  I'm more of a quiet spectator when I watch sports with people.

So...did anything interesting happen over your weekend?

Pottery Pictures

A few weeks ago I went to the ceramics studio with my sister and painted a sugar bowl.  I think it turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself.

And as I often do, I gave this one away to a friend.

I Hate Cooking, But...

...look what I made for lunch today. 

It's a Hawaiian omelette made with ham, pineapple and cheddar cheese.  Isn't it pretty?

Blogging and Its Effects

Are you a blogger?  Have you thought about the positive and/or negative effects that it's had on your life?  I guess I've never just sat down and thought about it.

This little meme has been floating around the community this week, and I thought I would sit down and put into words how blogging has affected me.

Here are the rules:
1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you
3. link back to this parent post
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

1. Postitive:  My blog has provided an outlet that I had been in search of for years.  I have enjoyed creating freebie web sites in the past, learning html, and have wanted to have my own site to be able to communicate anything and everything I want to say about whatever my favorite thing of the day is.  Finally, I found the blog to be exactly what I was looking for.
2. Positive:  I've found sisters in Christ in the blog community, people like Ronnica (Tale of a Kansas Girl), Amanda (OhAmanda), Lisa (Simply His), Amy Beth(Ministry So Fabulous) and Melanie (Big Mama), just to name a few.  The things they write about make me think, encourage me, and definitely entertain.  Some make me laugh out loud!  I do enjoy knowing that when I log on to the internet first thing in the morning, I'm going to have something interesting to read.
3. Positive:  Blogging helps me work on my writing.  I used to write so much more when I was in high school and college.  I kept journals, as well as worked at creative writing for my English classes.  Once I left the classroom environment, writing took a backseat to... well... life.  Now I have opportunity to turn things around and write about life, and sometimes that helps bring perspective when things seem a little cloudy.
4. Negative:  I'm a little too concerned with my popularity now that I blog.  I compare the number of comments I get to my blog friends' numbers, and I feel like I'm on the bottom of the pile.  Then my thoughts go to wondering whether there's any point to this whole blogging thing or not.  My site meter really bums me out most of the time.   I want to make people laugh, and I also want to influence them for God.  I feel like I'm not succeeding when I look at the numbers.  This is a negative effect because I obviously lose my focus on what's really important in life.
5. Negative:  Last but not least, my thoughts through the day tend to drift to blogs frequently - writing my own and reading my favorites.  Maybe more than they should.  Of course, if you've noticed how sporadic my posting is, you can tell how much of that thinking actually comes to fruition by way of writing.  (Not much)  This is also a negative in that I'm easily distracted from things I should be doing... like making dinner or doing housework.

So there you have it, the positive and negative effects that blogging has on my life.  Since I found this topic at Tale of a Kansas Girl, you can go over now and read what Ronnica's thoughts are on this.  I won't be tagging anyone, but feel free to use this meme if you like.

Just Hit Me!

Can someone tell me?  Do I have a sign draped across the front of my car that says -

IGNORE ME!  I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY AT A 4-WAY STOP, EVEN IF I WAS HERE FIRST.  GO AHEAD AND HIT ME! 

Ever since my accident last week I have been very trepidatious at 4-way stops.  I've had a few incidents where people are disregarding my right of way.  Happened again this morning.  I start to pull into the intersection to make my left turn, and sure enough the woman to my right just goes right through ahead of me.

I drive a white car, people!  It's the most visible car on the road.  And with my lights on.  I just don't think you can miss me.

That's it!  I'm walking!

Brevity

I'll be brief.  And in list form.

1.  The hair situation has improved.  I'm getting this thing figured out, even without Bouncy Creme.  Hallelujah!  I would not be adverse to having any pictures taken of my hair now.  You know... if I were famous or something.

2.  I have been working much of the afternoon and evening on a complete new look for my blog, but there's still work to be done.  In fact, it could change entirely to something other than what it is at this moment.  I do advise anyone in the vicinity of my neighborhood to please keep all children and pets indoors until I'm finished, purely for their own safety.  I would hate for anyone to get hurt in the midst of this process.  Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S?!?

3.  My arm is in pain.  I tried playing tennis this weekend for the first time all summer, and I do use the word playing loosely.  Ow-chi-wa-wa!!  My whole arm hurts from my hand up to my shoulder.  I soooo was not anticipating this.

That is all.

Hand Over the Bouncy Creme, And No One Will Get Hurt!

In all honesty, I must tell you that I am struggling with the hair.  Yeah, my new style is giving me fits.  That's because I have naturally wavy hair that has a life of its own.  Untameable!  (My mom didn't call me Frizzy Lizzy for nothin'.)

That miracle product, Bouncy Creme, that my hairstylist used worked fabulous to create a soft, sleek, gorgeous "do" for me.  The problem was that he was out of Bouncy Creme the day I was at the salon and is supposed to bring some to me on Sunday.  So I'm trying to hold my own WITHOUT my miracle product.  It's not working.  Not working AT ALL. 

Suddenly I find myself consumed with my looks.  I don't remember caring this much before the haircut.  I mean, frizz has always been my arch nemesis, but I'd just pull my hair back into a clip and go about my business.  Now it's a whole different ball game.  I'm trying to get my bangs just so.  Using the curling iron to get just the right wispy tapering toward my face.  But when I look in the mirror, all I see is something akin to a big, woolly sheep on my head.  {sigh}

So what I'm about to say has been creeping up on me all day.  I don't want to say it.  I really don't, but... what if... what if the haircut was... a... mistake?  {big gasp}  Oh man, I can't believe I just said that!  Tell me I did not just say that!  I know, I know.  That's just the lack of Bouncy Creme talking.  I know that's got to be it.  Has to be.  Right? 

RIGHT?!?

What a Way To Start My Morning

I was in a car accident this morning on my way to work.  I'm fine, though.  Really.  When I called to report the accident, the operator asked me if I was alright.  I assured her I was, but she said my voice sounded a bit shaky.  I guess I was slightly shaken, but I think I was more startled than anything.  It just happened so quickly.  And unexpectedly.  But I guess that's what defines an accident, huh?

This was just a minor fender bender.  Not a big deal.  And totally not my fault.  A Ford Explorer basically swiped across the front bumper of my Neon at an intersection when he didn't see me making a left-hand turn in front of him.  I was too far into the intersection to avoid a scrape by the time I realized he just didn't see me there.  It tore my #1 Notre Dame Fan license plate right off the front of my car.  {GASP}  And of course, the Explorer came out unscathed.  (He's probably a USC fan.)  Ha Ha... just kidding.

The really special part was getting to stand out in the morning rain while waiting for the officer to get all the information, after having spent the morning primping my new hairstyle with a curling iron and everything, only to have said hairstyle shrivel up into a nasty ball of frizz.  Now that's a picture you're never gonna see on this blog.  NOT EVER.

I'm feeling the littlest bit of soreness at the base of my neck after all that, but it's okay.  I've had whiplash before, and that was awful.  If I'm thankful for anything, it's that the accident was minor enough to prevent serious pain.  Yes, I'm definitely thankful for that.

But do you know what a girl really needs after all that?  Yeah...you know what I was thinkin'. 

Tall non-fat raspberry mocha with whip.

I'm definitely thankful for the very nice barista at Starbucks, too.

We Survived

This was our first night of the new Awana Club year.  Rich is the game leader, and I am the Sparks secretary.  Today I had worked to get all my forms and record keeping cards prepared, but it was still a little harried when all those kids and parents started flowing in the door.

Every year is a learning experience.  We manage to find one more way to tweak our ways to make things run smoother or more efficiently.  At one point, I said to the other secretary, Should I be writing this down for next year?

But we survived. 

Look What I Did!

I've got bangs!!!!

I decided within the last week that my hair was getting too long to stand it any more, and I was getting a hair cut this week.  You have no idea how lazy I am about my hair.  Would you believe I haven't had it trimmed since December 31?  {Yeah, I'm that bad.} 

I never dreamed I would come out of the salon with bangs, but after a discussion with my stylist we decided this was best for my high forehead.  I can't remember the last time I had bangs.  It's been years.

He hesitated to cut my length any shorter than this because I guess he thought I was hesitating about it.  Next time it will probably go even shorter, but the new shorter layers really reduce bulk and weight.

One other thing to note - NO FRIZZ!  And today is very humid in Indiana.  He used a product called Bouncy Creme, and you better believe I'm gonna be ALL OVER THAT.  I think I'm going to order a case of that miracle product.