ramdomings

Random thoughts…
I was noticing that it is already Thursday. Where has this week gone?
And then… I noticed that it is September 30th. What? Where did September go? {I'm thinking it went to the football stadiums, too! Or it went to Alaska to cool off!}
Third quarter of 2010 in the record books. Were we not just ringing in 2010?
Is it only old people that marvel at the swift passage of time? {please say no, please say no}
The critter-gitter was here this morning to spray the outside of our house and remove all the spiderwebs {shudder}. Hopefully that will keep the bumper crop of stink bugs out of our house, too.

{i know, yesterday a locust, and today a stink bug!}

Since when do we even have stink bugs?? Apparently we're not the only ones with an infiltration… they were featured on the front page of the paper last week. Ugh.

And who knew they were so pesky!!?

In the midst of insane busyness, the Hubs and I tore ourselves away from our computers to spend the afternoon and evening with the parentals. We met them to enjoy some good old-fashioned music at the Southern Gospel Music Festival at Dollywood. We missed seeing Dolly, literally, by one minute. I saw her little blonde head over the sea of people assembled to watch the parade as we were at the ticket booth. It's not like i'm a huge Dolly fan… but she has done so many great things for the people of Southern Appalachia… and she's the closest thing tennessee has to royalty! It's not like I'm a huge southern gospel fan either… but it was enjoyable and the people there performing were so very talented!

Getting up in the morning in the dark is just not fun. It's not like I'm getting up earlier… it's just dark. Shorter days… grrrr. not a fan. It'll be another month before we fall back. I guess when I consider the shorter and shorter days and think of all that darkness I should be thankful that I don't live someplace where it gets dark in the early afternoon!

Decided yesterday to have a yard sale in two weeks. The last time I did that the Hubs about served me with papers. Need to raise some resources for a special event for bamagirl. I hate having yard sales with every fiber of our being, but also know that we need to purge. Big time.

Hopefully we've seen our last stink bug in the house {at least I know enough not to squish them! eeeewww} and I'll take time to embrace the fall. 

So… that's all I got. Have a wonderful Thursday and last day of September. 

Must I Be a Locust-eater?

In the midst of studying women of the Bible,  I am thinking and pondering exactly what it looks like to follow hard after Christ.
In the midst of studying women of the Bible, I am having these deep conversations about the Holy Spirit with my very energized college son, BoyWonder.
In the midst of studying women of the Bible, my pastor is challenging us…

You and I are on a journey, whether or not we choose to be, and we will either be carried along by the currents of our culture, our old habits and routines, or we will intentionally chart a new course, toward becoming the people that we have always known deep inside that we long to be, because we know that we were created to be so much more than we have yet become.Why is it that we settle for so much less? Why are we, who believe that God has offered us so much in Christ, still willing year after year to settle for so little? Is it not because we also want many other things that we suspect may be incompatible with the claims of Christ? Or is it, perhaps, because we have tried the path of our culture, particularly the messages presented so seductively in the various media through which our senses swim each day, conspires to tell us that we can have what we want with little time and effort, if only we are willing to pay with cash or credit card. Yet we know, in our more reflective moments, that nothing of value comes easily or cheaply. Even grace, which is by definition “free,” is anything BUT cheap.

I look around me and there are people who are so on fire. I'm living in the spirit too… but perhaps not as demonstratively…
Must I be a locust-eater to be living radically for Christ?
What does it look like to have one foot in this culture and the other firmly rooted in heaven?
BoyWonder is captivated by these gifts of the spirit. Friends are recounting their experiences of speaking in tongues, friends are speaking prophesy over his life… he's so excited about his relationship with Christ… yet i fear he's excited about seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than seeking the Holy Spirit.
Lots of questions today…
…what does a life lived radically for Jesus look like?
…how do I spiritually guide BoyWonder from a distance?
…how do I walk in this life when I long for heaven… and still be "normal?"

PINT: gridiron sweat factory edition

TGIT… for PINT. seriously, i have zero energy {or time} to really do a real post. i promise i'll be back in the saddle again soon. must. work. for. a. living. {dangitall}
thanks to that one mom for the PINT-host.

and a big shout-out to blogspot… able to add multiple pictures at one time?? i hear angels singing!!
have yourself a great week… promise i'll be back before next tuesday!

going going going

Weekend before last: Nashville. MTSU game. 

Last weekend: Auburn for the Auburn/Clemson game. 

This weekend: Atlanta. Home office time and Ga. Tech game tomorrow.

Just so there's no confusion here… we're not that big of football fans (now don't get me wrong… I'm a HUGE football fan… but not a big enough one that I have to travel every ding-dang weekend.

We're inspecting our Petro's venues at the stadiums.

And let me tell you… it ain't anywhere near fall, y'all!

Last weekend it was 99° in Auburn (awwww, c'mon, it was frikkin 100. Just say it!). To say it was miserably hot in the stands is a vast understatement.

Tomorrow proves to be equally hot, and the game is an early one. {Translation: hottest part of the day}

I'll give a full report soon.

Must. Catch. Breath. First.

Oh, and today… land of the home office. I'll certainly be practicing my Ruth skills today. I'll be praying my way to Atlanta. I'm definitely gonna be needing a full dose of Jesus before I get there.

…I'm just sayin'.

Spending Time with Ruth

Last Sunday, our small group of Junior ladies spent some time meeting and discussing the Proverbs 31 woman.
At first glance, she was intimidating, but upon further study, we found she is simply being Jesus to her family and those around her.
While that notion of being Jesus can be intimidating (the perfection of Jesus after all can be crippling to many), it's what we, as Christians (or as I like to refer to it as Christ-following), are called to.
This week, we'll be sharing our evening with Ruth.
I love Ruth.
What a safe woman to be in community with. Her very name means friendship. She's loving and loyal and gentle-spirited. She works tirelessly in the fields even though you know she's got to be scared to death… a foreigner, an unprotected young, attractive woman working in the fields right near the men. But she didn't say a word. She kept her head down and concentrated on her work… gleaning from  the fields… in order to care for her mother-in-law and herself.
Quietly bold and courageous. Loyal and loving. Generous and humble. Faithful and trusting to a God she chose over her former gods.
I'm praying our girls may see a bit of themselves in the character of Ruth and may be able to glean some truths that they can hold on to… as they spend time in their own fields… whether they are in their own homes, school, sports teams, activities or workplace.
And for me?
I am challenged to be that loyal, loving woman. A woman who isn't striving for my own gain or notoriety, but one who focuses more on other's needs… it's what I continually come back to…
HUMILITY.
Lord, help me to be quietly humble and to have the capacity and desire to love others well. Help me to maintain my snarky edge without bite. Perserve my personality while molding me more into a picture of Jesus. Lord, I don't know if that's even possible. I like to think I'm letting go of myself completely…

I guess I'll do a novel thing, Lord…
…and leave it all up to you.

PINT: me and my dumb blog

yep. tuesday. another installment of PINT, hosted by the wonderful that one mom at onlyparentchronicles.
head on over and see what everyone else is ranting about… all on a post it, of course!

A Real Woman

This Sunday, our small groups start back up. Along with two college students and another woman, I am leading a group of Junior ladies from our youth group. This semester, we are focusing on the women in the Bible, and seeing how their life experiences and how they deal with them can be applied to our lives today.
First up is the Proverbs 31 woman.
Holy Superwoman, Batman!! Is there a more perfect woman out there?

She brings him good, not harm, 

       all the days of her life.

Oops. Fail. This wife here has criticism for her man. It's a area in which I really struggle. I'm sure it harkens back to a woman who is not at rest in the Lord… When I feel slighted or threatened, I do not retreat… I fight back. Ugh.
I wish sometimes that all I had to do was run my household and family without the stresses and demands of a full time job. I'd like to think that would make me a better wife, mother, person.
But I'm not… so that doesn't give me a pass on being a blessing to those around me.
So I press on… striving to be the woman that God has called me to be. I continually need to remind myself that it's not about me… ever.
Emptying myself out so I can fill up with Him.
To be clothed in humility… this is what I long for, and yet my pride, the anvil I carry… with my white-knuckled-grip on what steals and destroys… why can't I let you go?

What nugget would you bring to this discussion that would encourage and challenge these young women?

I pray, that out of my brokenness, I can encourage them to be ever encouraging to their husbands… to be a wife who builds up rather than tears down. For a man, the world can be an angry place where ideas of "success" often conflict with the Biblical view of success. Their fear of failure, of not providing is so real… and we are the oasis they will come home to (even if we are coming home from the workplace, too).
Lord, let me be an oasis of love and encouragement for my husband. In my setting aside my own needs, may it provide a fertile ground for him to return the blessing to me… but even if that isn't the case, let me be content in the love and encouragement YOU provide. Oh that my heart can be satisfied with just YOU.

PINT: The Sports Fan Edition

After a rather lame execution last week, I decided I need to get with it this week. So here you go. Thanks to That One Mom at Only Parent Chronicles for hosting PINT. Go visit. It's usually a pretty fun ride.