i needed a good laugh

trust

Jay Knotts did some breaking down of Psalm 23 this past Sunday at TrueNorth Church during the I AM series. "The Lord is my shepherd" translates in my simple mind as "The Lord is my leader."

I have had a blog post brewing in my mind for awhile, but never seemed to make sense out of it until focusing on this particular verse in Psalm. So here it goes:

Recently, our family (ten of us...including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) went on a trip to San Antonio, Texas. We utilized many forms of transportation during this trip. We took a car to Atlanta, shuttle bus to the airport, flew to Texas, and shuttle-bussed to the hotel. While in San Antonio, we took the public transit, rental cars, and boat rides. All ten of us. We were constantly counting heads and re-counting to make sure we were all together (I'm flashbacking to Home Alone in my mind now). As we were rushing through the airport on our return home , the ten of us were headed toward the baggage claim, and I was watching my seven year old son, Matthew. Considering all the modes of transportation that we had experienced on our trip, I realized that he stayed with the pack and followed every move we made. He never questioned if we were at the right gate. When we turned left, he never said we should turn right. He watched us and knew what to do at every moment. He completely trusted his leaders to take him where he needed to go. And he arrived at his destination without a glitch.

Are you a leader? Say yes. Everyone is a leader of something. But are you a trusted leader?

Do you have a leader? Nod your head. Everyone is lead by someone. But do you trust your leader?

Psalm 23 tells us that as our leader, the Lord will never lead us astray. He is not going to tell us to go east while he goes west. He leads with authority and provides security. We can have complete trust that he is taking us in the right direction.

In your circles of influence, how can you become more trusted and return that trust to others?

name this sheep

We will have a special guest appearance at TrueNorth Church - North Augusta this Sunday. Jay Knotts will be speaking and may be asking for some help from this little fella that I picked up for him from our friends at Just Beds. Ever since I brought him to my house for the weekend, he has made himself right at home. Considering we are a family who names our cats Kitty, and Kitty Kitty, and Kitty Kitty Kitty, we have no business naming this sheep. Would you help us out and leave a comment here so that we can give this sheep a unique name?

All buckled up for the ride home!

He loves Starbucks coffee in the mornings.

Some Wii action with Matthew.

He can be quite the troublemaker.

He has been complaining that he gets NO privacy.

Networking on Facebook.


He couldn't go to sleep, so I told him to try 'counting people'.

Be on the lookout for him this Sunday. Hopefully he will have a name by then!

i don't do scary

Halloween has never been one of my favorite times of the year. Probably because I'm not big on surprises or scary things. Like haunted houses. You know...the kind you don't really see anymore. The old abandoned houses that were once transformed into your worst nightmare. The kind where you had to stand outside in the freezing cold forever, pay a small admission price, and be chased out by a chainsaw-wielding maniac three minutes later. The last time I was chased out by a chainsaw, I fell face first into the grass. The guy actually put down the chainsaw and helped me up. Thanks, Chainsaw Man. Then he cranked it back up and chased me to my car. You probably heard me screaming. And that wasn't too long ago!

I don't like scary movies either. I grew up in the days of The Exorcist, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Stephen King's stuff and I watched it all. So, no thank you. I like being able to sleep with my eyes shut instead of open at night.

What I do like is the excitement of helping my kids decide on a costume and watching it come to life. I love seeing them run their little legs off across the neighborhood yards with their cousins to get another piece of candy to add to their already too-full bag. I enjoy eating chili and cornbread on Halloween night with my family. I like pumpkins and mums and candy apples.

I just don't do scary.

where have i been?

Last weekend....with Alan's family in San Antonio.

This weekend....with my family in Blackshear.

i heart barnes and noble

Matthew and I went to the mall last night because the boy needs jeans. His knees keep busting through his pants. Being a girl and growing up with a bunch of girls, I don't understand how this happens. One minute the pants are fine, the next minute...there's a knee coming through. But this is not the point of my post.

As we were leaving the mall and circling the mall property, there was a huge glow that lit up the sky, pointing straight to heaven. There was lots of excitement and movement around the area. I thought maybe Jesus had come back. But no, it was the next best thing....Barnes and Noble had finally opened up at the mall.

I suddenly realized how URGENT it was that I go inside IMMEDIATELY and get a book that Allison needed. As Matthew and I entered the store and were greeted by people welcoming us to the 'preview party', I thought I heard a choir of angels singing. But actually it was a couple of guys on acoustic guitars, playing Nirvana's About a Girl. Clifford the Big Red Dog and Hurbee the Clown were in the children's area. Workers were offering me fresh baked chocolate chunk cookies. Story time for kids. Books galore. People everywhere. The smell of coffee. More books. More music. Somebody please lock me inside this place for a night!

get smooshed

I got smooshed today.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I had my first official "now-that-you-are-40-you-have-to-do-this-every-year" mammogram. For my male coworkers who had to adjust our meetings around my appointment, now you know where I went. And if you are embarrassed now, you can go here.

I have a good friend who just turned 40 as well and she said she was scared to get a mammogram. Heck no, not me. If there is something wrong with me, I want to know now so I can get started on a treatment plan.

The exam was not really bad at all. It wasn't as dramatic as some women make it out to be. There was no pain involved, just awkwardness. The worst parts were the random poses and exposed flesh during the procedure. The technician was happy and smiling when I left, so I hope that's a good sign (or maybe she was laughing). Anyway, I'll find out my fate in a few days.

If you are a woman over 40, please don't waste another minute.... go get smooshed! Your future depends on it.

And don't forget to take your sense of humor with you!