my boss from my very first adult job passed away a few weeks ago. as i was reading her obituary i was struck with something her son said. the obituary stated that his mom was a praying woman who led many people to the Lord, and was a light to many. wonderful words for his mom.
when i worked for this woman, which was about 23 years ago i was as close to not knowing the Lord as a person could get. during my 3 years of employment i never felt the love of Jesus as i know it today. i would have to be honest and say i only felt judgment, shame, and a feeling of never quite doing my job good enough. as a matter of fact when i left this job i purposed in my heart and mind that if being a christian meant being like her i didn't want anything to do with it.
so what happened? was it me? was my heart so hard that not even this praying church woman could see any good in me?
i'm not sure what the answers are but it has made me realize...am i as guilty as her?
how many people have i treated shamefully or ignored?
how many people have i stepped across or pushed aside to get to where i am without so much as a second glance?
how many people have decided they don't want to be christian if they have to be like me?
Lord forgive me if this is true.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
through my open window
due to the remodeling going on at my house. i have had to move my computer into my dining room which is now my living room until my real living room is finished. the only logical place to put the computer was in front of the windows looking out to the street in front of my house. from this vantage point i am able to observe my neighborhood. i have to tell you my neighborhood is quite a happening place.
as i type this my neighbor to the left of me is pulling weeds in her side yard. when i work in my yard i prefer the kneel and pull method of weed removal. but my neighbor is currently in the bend and pull position with her rump pointed toward the street. ladies this is not a flattering position especially as we get older.
my across the street neighbor man to the left has just backed a rather large flatbed trailer into his back yard, which is protected by a privacy fence. what he has back there i do not know but i have my suspicions. i know there is a hot tub back there. before he put the privacy fence around the whole yard he just had one in the corner of the yard around his hot tub. on a regular basis you could see him and his wife trot out in their bathrobes and disappear behind the fence. we could let our imaginations run wild but i think we should move along and let them enjoy their privacy.
across the street and to the right we have my neighbor lady enjoying her first cigarette of the day....and her first hacking my lungs out coughing fit. now that their children have grown up and moved out they are a very quiet couple. about the only excitement they get into is when she decides its time to clean out the garage and they pull everything out into the yard. they then look at it for a few hours and then put it all back. this happens about twice a year. of course when they do this everybody driving by stops and asks if they are having a garage sale.
last but not least we have my neighbor lady to the right. she is the neighborhood nudist. she is in her 70's and likes to check the mail in her bra and panties. its quite a sight...let me tell you. the children have learned to not let their eyes stray into her yard for fear of what they might see. once again ladies as we get older certain positions are just not recommended. thankfully she stays indoors most of the time.
we have come to the end of my neighborhood tour. i poke fun but i have to admit i like my little corner of the world and all my neighbors are good hard-working people. we have our little eccentricities but then who doesn't. so if you will excuse me i have a large chicken wire sculpture of the easter bunny i need to finish.
as i type this my neighbor to the left of me is pulling weeds in her side yard. when i work in my yard i prefer the kneel and pull method of weed removal. but my neighbor is currently in the bend and pull position with her rump pointed toward the street. ladies this is not a flattering position especially as we get older.
my across the street neighbor man to the left has just backed a rather large flatbed trailer into his back yard, which is protected by a privacy fence. what he has back there i do not know but i have my suspicions. i know there is a hot tub back there. before he put the privacy fence around the whole yard he just had one in the corner of the yard around his hot tub. on a regular basis you could see him and his wife trot out in their bathrobes and disappear behind the fence. we could let our imaginations run wild but i think we should move along and let them enjoy their privacy.
across the street and to the right we have my neighbor lady enjoying her first cigarette of the day....and her first hacking my lungs out coughing fit. now that their children have grown up and moved out they are a very quiet couple. about the only excitement they get into is when she decides its time to clean out the garage and they pull everything out into the yard. they then look at it for a few hours and then put it all back. this happens about twice a year. of course when they do this everybody driving by stops and asks if they are having a garage sale.
last but not least we have my neighbor lady to the right. she is the neighborhood nudist. she is in her 70's and likes to check the mail in her bra and panties. its quite a sight...let me tell you. the children have learned to not let their eyes stray into her yard for fear of what they might see. once again ladies as we get older certain positions are just not recommended. thankfully she stays indoors most of the time.
we have come to the end of my neighborhood tour. i poke fun but i have to admit i like my little corner of the world and all my neighbors are good hard-working people. we have our little eccentricities but then who doesn't. so if you will excuse me i have a large chicken wire sculpture of the easter bunny i need to finish.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
so long since my last post
i know its been 6 months since my last post.
how sad is that
its been so long that i actually forgot my userid and password.
after much prayer and prompting from blogger i remembered what it was and was able to sign on.
whew!
so after living in this house for 17 years, we are finally finally finally getting the living room and kitchen finished. i started seriously updating my house 10 years ago and now i'm finally getting the last 2 rooms finished. when i started this i seriously didn't think it would take me 10 years but it has and i'll be glad to be done. of course if you own a home then you know that its never really done. as soon as i figure out how to upload the pictures from my camera i will post them.
how sad is that
its been so long that i actually forgot my userid and password.
after much prayer and prompting from blogger i remembered what it was and was able to sign on.
whew!
so after living in this house for 17 years, we are finally finally finally getting the living room and kitchen finished. i started seriously updating my house 10 years ago and now i'm finally getting the last 2 rooms finished. when i started this i seriously didn't think it would take me 10 years but it has and i'll be glad to be done. of course if you own a home then you know that its never really done. as soon as i figure out how to upload the pictures from my camera i will post them.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
ch-ch-ch-changes
this is how my life feels right now.
so many changes happening so fast.
some of them i knew where coming and some i had no clue.
colleen is now driving and working. i knew this day was coming but nothing has prepared me for how it would make me feel. my prayer life has deepened and i fight the desire to dip her in annointing oil everytime she walks out the door.
mark's boss closed the doors on both shops about a month ago. really Lord did we not just go through this last year? why now, why us, why why why???
all i know is my children will grow up and leave home, jobs will come and go, friends may move away but they are always near and God will forever hold me in His unchanging hands.
so many changes happening so fast.
some of them i knew where coming and some i had no clue.
colleen is now driving and working. i knew this day was coming but nothing has prepared me for how it would make me feel. my prayer life has deepened and i fight the desire to dip her in annointing oil everytime she walks out the door.
mark's boss closed the doors on both shops about a month ago. really Lord did we not just go through this last year? why now, why us, why why why???
all i know is my children will grow up and leave home, jobs will come and go, friends may move away but they are always near and God will forever hold me in His unchanging hands.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
almost mother-in-law
i was happily surprized this evening by my almost mother in law dropping off a box of fresh baked brownies. she was on her way home and thought of me and all my children and knew we would enjoy them. how sweet was that?!? if you are asking yourself why would i call her my almost mother in law. well because she is not mark's mom she is mark's ex-wife's mom.
I have always been especially blessed with people who truly love me.
people who don't have to love me but choose to love me.
seven years ago when i married mark i not only was welcomed into his family but i was also welcomed into his ex-wife's family.
i know this sounds strange but as a child of divorce my mother set the example that even though divorce can separate a family you can make the choice to rise above and love the ones that God has placed into your life.
so when mark and i married i went out of my way to always rise above and treat his ex-wife's family as if they where my own. this has not always been easy but it has always been worth it. we all love jonathan and none of us ever want him to feel he has to take sides. so if the adults get along then he is never stuck in the middle.
so thank you wilma for the wonderful brownies and the wonderful love.
I have always been especially blessed with people who truly love me.
people who don't have to love me but choose to love me.
seven years ago when i married mark i not only was welcomed into his family but i was also welcomed into his ex-wife's family.
i know this sounds strange but as a child of divorce my mother set the example that even though divorce can separate a family you can make the choice to rise above and love the ones that God has placed into your life.
so when mark and i married i went out of my way to always rise above and treat his ex-wife's family as if they where my own. this has not always been easy but it has always been worth it. we all love jonathan and none of us ever want him to feel he has to take sides. so if the adults get along then he is never stuck in the middle.
so thank you wilma for the wonderful brownies and the wonderful love.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
summer project #2 - paint
for quite some time i have had the idea in my head to switch the kids bedrooms. the girls were cramped into a very small room and could really use more space. the boys don't need so much space since we just have jonathan part-time. so since i am taking the summer off from college i decided i better get it done before i ran out of time and want-to.
The girls bedroom is yellow.....this would never do for the boys.
This is colleens little corner....or should i say her little rat nest.
i found all kinds of surprises when we moved the bed.
so the week before camp the children sorted and boxed up their rooms.
finally most everything is off the walls and the furniture has been moved out.
it took me all day monday to move everything out and clean so that we could start painting. this is the pile of trash i swept up after moving the beds. i promise you they do clean their rooms but when you have packrat children sometimes the best thing to do is move everything out so that you can clean it really good.
when i got home from bible study on tuesday night my wonderful 6'5" husband was in the process of cutting in all the corners so that when i got off work on wednesday mexa and i could finish the painting.
finished painting!
it took us all night thursday to get all the furniture and boxes moved over. when the kids got home from camp on friday they moved back in.
once the girls new furniture and bedding get here i will post pictures of both the new bedrooms.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)