By "it," you mean, "The Plan?" It began with immaculate conception-see even God didn't break His own rules. Mary and Joseph were both chosen by God as proud participants in the plan. The birth of John the Baptist was to prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus was to receive His anointing to lead mankind to God, becoming the link between us, and God, as our Savior. To subdue the earth and prepare it for His death and His resurrection. To take on all of the sins of mankind, and become that sin. As a sin offering, allow Himself to be crucified on the cross in our place, rather than letting us be destroyed thru the wrath of God, due to our sins. Go into Hell boldly, get the keys of death, sickness and disease from Satan's possession. On the third day, arise from the grave, that no longer would have the power to contain Him, since He then had possession of the keys of death, of sickness, and of disease! Deliver the Keys to heaven. Return to sit at the right hand of God-the Father in His rightful seat, which He still occupies to this day! \o/ Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Now that I have put the piece together both in my heart and my mind, and I understand THE PLAN of God, and the role Jesus agreed to play, I believe it must frustrate Jesus greatly when He sees any of us giving up. Especially when we give up on our faith in the Trinity. For He has shown He is faithful and; He is committed to each of us so, even at great cost to himself.
My Wreath Made At Craft Night At The Public Library
There is something to be said for getting back to the basics. This year I have not put a tree up and probably won't. So far, I have not sent out Xmas cards, and may decide not to. And, I personally am O.K. with that. After spending 2 Xmas' in the hospital with mom either dealing with cancer or in a coma, I realized all the money in the world, and all the presents under the tree, were not going to make things better. Santa was not going to be able to fix anything. But I knew who Jesus was, and that He by all means could. I knew Jesus could heal my mom, He would visit me wherever I was at, and that He would love me whether I was naughty or nice-preferably nice, and I could have joy-maybe not happiness 365 days a year. My family is now down to drawing names, setting a limit on how much we spend, with the option of buying each other trinket gifts. I understand who St. Nicholas was, and his principle behind gift giving. I know who Santa wasn't, because it is a fictional character. I simply don't let retailers momentum behind buying gifts in the name of Santa supersede my celebration of the birth of Christ.
Now that I have been released from giving gifts or receiving gifts at Xmas under the premies of changing someone else's world or my own with a material gift, I'm finally at a place of enjoying Christmas. Oh, I still love the look of a beautiful Xmas tree and I love the Xmas light displays around town and around the world. I don't believe anyone is bowing in worship of their decorated Christmas tree, that I know of, or praying to any tree god or goddess. However, I'm no longer buying into the myth that if I don't have a Xmas tree bedazzled with bling, I will have a depressed or a second rate Christmas. I really hate that I fell for that train of thought once upon a time. And I feel sad, if I contributed to some one else feeling that way by making a big deal that it wasn't Christmas if there wasn't a hugh, bedangled, over the top, decorated tree in every home in the neighborhood. Now days, I have a chosen charity that I contribute to before Christmas. It is a worthy charity, I know the persons behind the scenes, and they have a solid grasp on the reason for celebrating December 25th. That brings to mind another belief of mine, I personally don't think the Trinity minds that we are not celebrating Jesus' birth according to the "correct" date. What I believe, is that by universally celebrating one day as the birth of Christ, where we thank Him for sharing His son with the world, so that together thru Him, we could have the opportunity of becoming one with God is the real reason for the season.
Like I said in the title of this note, I went thru a lot to get to this point. God has a way of making good on the bad experiences we have had in this life. I absolutly do not want anyone to feel as though they have to agree with me in how I approach Christmas. This is an individual approach based upon my own journey. But it feels good to be free of chains that bind leading up to, and the days after Christmas(zero bank debt, no credit card balance to pay off, & no one to impress.) I celebrate a secular Xmas in a small way, and I celebrate a Christain Christmas honoring the birth of Jesus Christ, who is my Savior. I also no longer get caught up on whether it is Xmas or Christmas. I guess what I have allowed God to do is release me from the mental and social chains that bound me, so that I could love Him, His Son the Christ, and those around me in a differnt way and on a different level.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Enjoy the below link of Linus relaying the real meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown!
OK I've been online reading about stampedes, pepper spray, physical altercations, robbery at gunpoint, and other nonsense that happens on every Black Friday. It can be potentially dangerous to even take a small child with you on Black Friday with all these crazy people acting up! Going to Wal-mart or any electronic store can turn into a life or death situation, if you meet up with the wrong kind of people! There can be some bad spirits intermingled with obtaining Black Friday Deals! I'm starting to liken Black Friday with the second day of Halloween-trick or treat, a day when all the evil spirits come out! Black Friday can be a profitable, worthwhile adventure, if you are aware of who you are; if you are in control of what you value; and if you know the priority of your values; before heading out. If you don't have an understanding of your values beforehand, you can leave Black Friday broke in more ways than you anticipated! Just a little humor mixed in with some common sense.
How well we succeed in pleasing God in our actions, our words, & our faith here on earth will determine how well we will succeed in heaven after Christ returns. I keep going back to my original conversation with God where that in heaven, there won't be any pixie dust passed out. We are going to have to pass and master Christianity 101 before we get there. Jesus said he did all things to please the Father & that he imitated the things He saw the Father do. So I am more convinced, that those little sins the world says are just part of living life here on earth, & that God can't possible expect us to cease, or master, are actually expected by God to be mastered. And, that by doing so, I can live an even more abundant life with greater blessing than I thought were available. Because, God telling me not to do something in His Word is not Him being petty or picky, but about greater blessings in this life. It is about how we are expected to flow in His kingdom. When you live under someone else's roof, you are expected to act within the parameters they have established, in order for their household to exist, and ensue in an orderly manner. God's home is where Jesus will be taking us when He returns again for His righteous ones. It is time for me to prune myself of the little sins, always striving to please God, and in return receive greater blessings here on earth for an easy transition into His kingdom.
Today is our first frost. Which means everything in my garden is done for the season. So sad! I had the presence of mind to bring in my scented geranium yesterday before the frost hit last night. The building where I work was all a buzz talking about the end of the growing season and the first hard frost coming overnight. When my lil dog Caity and I were out early this morning you could see the effects. I salvaged 3 baby eggplants and 10 cherry size green tomatoes off my plants. I'll fry the baby eggplants and mini tomatoes for sure. They'll not go to waste. By the way I love fried green tomatoes and am on a hunt to find some much bigger ones salvaged. I have the best cornmeal seasoning ready to do its "thang."
Early this morning I put a cornish hen in the oven in my cast iron dutch cooker and a pot of green beans and potatoes on the stove top. Those green beans are good enough to make me stamp my foot and stamp it more than once. They are that good! I am so glad my mother and grandmother believed in cooking good food. I cook for nourishment and for fun.
Two household items I am buying me after the first of the year. One, is a new gas stove and the other is a front loading washing machine. I've put aside all year and it is time to buy. Tomorrow I'm going "looking" and see whats out there.
My oven knob keeps coming off and the stove is just too small. I've been without my washing machine for about 3 months now and have decided not to fix it. So I'm springing for a front loader without the "thingy" in the middle. That "thingy" is forever tearing my clothes.
Oh for the day of washing my clothes in my own home with dinner in the oven of my new stove.
O.K. Caity and I went out early a couple of mornings ago around 5 a.m. So I am standing around waiting for her to find her perfect spot that does not exist, as usual, and I look up and running at neck breaking speed toward us are what I think are 6 pitbulls without a leash or their owners! The "business owners" on the corner of my block own pit bulls. They are the kind of owners who are open 24/7, if you get my drift. So I yell, "In the name of Jesus you will get, as I point my red Maglight flashlight at them!" Well as they get closer & before I get my command out fully, I start to recongnize they are not pitbulls, instead they look like Whippets! Whippets are very docile dogs and would not hurt a flea, so I am much relieved. But as my eyes adjust better, I recognize they are 3 small deer and 3 adult deer! LOL But, I still am quite concerned, because I have never been charged by deer before in my life, especially since I live smack dab in the city! With my red maglight extended like a rod, I am speechless, however, the deer stop immediately! I'm like, alright Jesus, thanks for letting me borow You mighty name! Except all 8 of us are having a Mexican stand off and nobody is moving! So I get my biblical "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed and I then say, "You will not disobey." Next, the funniest thing happens, they look around at each other as though conferring as a group, then take off running across the street, and down my dad's empty lot!
With my red Maglight flashlight still extended and pointed in the direction they were to go, I am completely speechless, no words forthcoming! Caity and I just stand there in awe!
I'll have to tell you later about the falcon/hawk I found perched on my mailbox facing my front door one day last month. LOL That was an odd experience as well! LOL
Flipping thru a LL Bean catalogue (deciding whether to keep or throw) and remembered a conversation last year around Christmas or Fathers Day. Mom and I shop LL Bean when buying for dad for the free shipping, and there is one catalogue where they offer radical great deals before the holidays. Mom had ordered dad some clothes and they were all shades of brown. Earlier in the year, I had asked dad what his favorite color was. He said navy blue and light blue were his favorites. He has this one shirt that he found after the house fire to wear at the Dollar Store, that Sista absolutely hates! Its a Bugle Boy sweat shirt and it is light blue. He wore it every chance he could. It has Bugle Boy on the front. I think Sista does not like it because she does not think Bugle Boy written across his chest is age appropriate. But its blue. This one particular occasion, I guess he made up his mind to make a stand! "These are all brown, or different shades of brown. I don't like brown and I don't like Khaki, I like blue, navy blue and light blue. Why can't you buy me some blues?" Of course I was cracking up, because mom was so shocked that he had a preference of any kind, because he had never been really vocal about it before. I remember telling him, when asking what color t-shirt he wanted for his birthday, (which is another issue Sista and mom have, I keeping buying him his favorites, T-shirts with cool logos) "Dad, if you prefer blue, then tell people blue is your color!" "Its not that difficult to find what you like in blue." So essentially, I was responsible for the little outburst that liberated my dad from browns and khakis last year. In flipping thru the LL Bean catalogue, I found a light blue sweatshirt with LL Bean written across the front for dad for Christmas! I guess since I started my dad's liberation, I'll make peace with the heads of state and replace the Bugle Boy sweatshirt with the LL Bean sweatshirt! Light blue of course! LOL
"If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak." http://bible.us/John12.47.ESV
It just hit me! Jesus IS SAYING, He did not come to judge the world, but if we choose to NOT follow what God spoke in His Word-the bible, NOT follow Him and repent of our sins, NOT commit long term to Him being Lord of our lives, that it will be us who will condemn ourselves to eternal life without Him! He is letting us choose!
Even today, we choose. Jesus Is here to save. He is one of our choices. It is His first order of business-His assignment from God. We condemn ourselves, and we condemn others, but Jesus offers us a free-will! Jesus will judge us all in the End, that is His second order of business.
As believers, God's Word and His laws judge us now. We are to honor our commitment. We've taken that next step with God! Following God laws written in our Bibles is what keeps us out of the quagmire of the consequences of our contrary actions. His written Word is our blessing, not our curse.
Unbelievers feel as though the Bible is of no consequence to them. They choose not to accept Christ, and they choose not to follow God's law. They feel they are not effected. But that is faulty logic. The consequences still exists. That is where the curse comes from. Whether unbelievers or believers choose to follow God's laws or not, the consequences of not following them remain unchanged.
As believers and unbelievers, understand this, Christ and the Father are not beggars. They appeal to us and they offer us a choice. Choose Christ! Who else do you know who will die for you? Be blessed!
Securing your private thoughts with God can be quite liberating! You can be apart of a world gone crazy and have peace in God and your thoughts. Once you understand you will be misunderstood, you won't always be liked, and that you will be unjustly criticized by others at times, you then move on to a level where your main goal is to not impress, but be impressed by God, and what He has to say and ask of you. It is here that the drama of life begins to decapitate. I am learning to commune more with God and receive more of His inner peace. God is teaching me and I am learning. Proverbs 3:5 & 6 "Lean not on your own understanding, {or that of others} but trust in the Lord; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make you path straight."
In my recent study and walk with God I have been changing things up in how I commune with God. So day before yesterday I asked God to teach me Prov 3:5 & 6. Well yesterday was the day from Hell where nothing went well. I was not liked, misunderstood, and critizised, but I kept my thoughts on the matter to myself, chose not to defend myself, with an expression of I am sorry...but that's just the way it is and moved on with my day! I had to reign my anger in, and you know what, it was doable! I ignored a lot of disagreeing comments, and facial expressions, and I am sure hand expressions as I walked away! Guess what, at the end of the day I was tired, but I found out I could do things God's way as He requests and advises to live an abundant life.
Just like rule #2, I am, as hard as it may be, going to incorporated this into my walk with God too. I won't nail it down perfectly, or one hundred percent of the time, but I got a goal to accomplish, in the name of Jesus!
When the end of my days come, I am going to enter the gates of heaven with my eyes wide open, with as much of God's Word and will incorporated in me on the front end. No way am I going to miss out, and be deceived by the devil thinking there will be pixie dust to straighten me out once I get there. LOL Nope, nope, nope, I plan to work The Plan and have IT work me, so I can sail past the gates of hell and through the gates of heaven!
It's not officially "Love Your Pet" day, but it is in my home! Caity and I are just in from the park. We had a blast! She ran, and ran, and ran some more! She tumbled, and flipped, and jumped all over the park. Earlier this month I bought her a retractable leash fit for a 77 pound dog and it pretty much contains her, or does its best. After all of that, we sat on the new benches the state provided, and boy they are nice to sit in. We sat by the french door, and enjoyed the view, as well as, the nice breeze.
Oh, for those of you who have been following my training Caity to ride around in the car, she did great today. Only once did she finagle her way out of the car. After that, with lots of, "No s " and firm, "Sits" she finally caught on.
We went to Micky D's drive thru and got ourselves ice cold liquids before we headed out to the park. It was so funny! I always get us drinks to wet our whistles before we walk. I usually get ice tea and Caity gets just ice or this time ice water, "You can keep the straw," nice person working the window. Today Caity was extra thirsty, just panting away. So I pull off to the side, and I only have one cup holder that works. Actually if you own a Ford Mercury, no matter how old or recently purchased, you know that after about a year that flimsy so called cup holder breaks. I created a makeshift cup holder for my drink, but now that you know who is riding shotgun, that is where she has decided her ice water goes, right at doggie nose level. I take the lid off and she drinks till her heart is content while I hold mine as I drive. Car rides with Caity are a give and take experience.
When we came into the bedroom, Ziggy was relaxing in the best seat in the house, the faux leather club chair, I had the audacity to ask if I could have for free; from a business that was closing its doors, for good. Sista says I never post pictures of Ziggy, so that's him with Caity placed at the beginning of the blog.
Not much else going on! COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again and we'll find something to chat about.
PEACEout, LOVEya, and stay BLESSED till we chat it up again!
There is a such thing as generational curses and generational blessings. Thank goodness I have a generational blessing of found money. I can find money in a budget, clip some coupons, find a sale, buy second hand, attempt to negotiate a discount, or make and sell some stuff. But the one thing my dad and my sister are blessed with is finding actually bills of money on the ground, next to their car, or blowing in the wind. Well, my dog Caity found some money and it stayed there 2 days snagged in my hydrangea bush by my front door. Yes, she did. Day before yesterday in the evening she was nosing around my bush instead of going up the front steps to go inside. Her command to go home is "home, home." I gave her command and she kept nosing around. I kept giving her command and finally she complied. Yesterday, same thing. Today she had moved on to a new spot to delay going in. I got curious and decided to see what was once so interesting, but abandoned today. What did I see? A twenty dollar bill just waiting to be discovered at about doggie nose high from the ground! I said, "Caity we got $20, found money! I'm sure her response was, "Oh that, I found that days ago, and what do you mean we found $20?" I gave her a good dog rubbing and we went inside to put it away for a rainy day. So far I, I mean we have a $20 bill and a $10 gas card sent to me from BP gas station for shopping there four time for gasoline. Plus, I have an envelope full of coupons Kroger's sent me I haven't taken advantage of yet.
I going to add finding actually dollar bills to my list of generational blessing from God. See my grandfather on my dad's side of the family had the blessing of finding money and the ability to live within a budget and be able to cut corners and find money in a budget too. On my mom's side of the family they have the gift of stocking a pantry, make and save, and buying only on sale. My uncle on my mom's side of the family always would tell Linda and I about how to buy cars, and to never live within your actual budget, but to always live under budget. Then you take your savings and buy what you want. But you can't get everything you want all of the time. You got to find out what it is you really want, lay-away it or tuck the money aside, and every penny, nickel, dime, and dollar counts that much closer to getting what you really want.
The one thing both sides of my family did and instilled in us, whether we were their kids or not was to always pay tithes. I was forever losing my tithe money between them giving it to me at home and the offering plate. Finally daddy came up with this idea of tying my coins in one end of one of his handkerchiefs. Then when turning flips in the grass before Sunday school, it was much easier for me to find my tithe money! They had to be quite creative with me as their child! One day I'll tell the story of how I ended up with more candy money than Linda did when we were kids. It was quite ingenious of me, but I got in trouble for it. Smile.
Now it is your turn. Think back over your family history and come up common blessings that flow through your bloodline. It is very interesting stuff. One person prays for a blessing and that blessing keeps getting passed down.
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR with FLOWERCHIC again and we'll explore the many wonders of life together.
God never leaves his throne unattended, He never loses focus, He never looks the other way. He never blinks in the midst of man's plans. He always, always, always is on point, and on time, and He has the final say in all things. Man makes his plans and God just shakes His head, moves His finger from side to side, and laughs out loud! No man, no woman, no nation, no mob, no government is greater, nor more powerful than God. Dictators come, dictators go, nations rise, nations fall, people lose their direction, God leads them back. Like a boomerang, it all comes back to God. We think we got it all figured out, down to a fine science, but God is the Creator of all things, how we gonna get around all That? Loathe Him, Hate Him, disrespect Him, He'll wrap you in His mighty arms and love you till the end of time. Won't nobody else do that for you in your brokenness. Can't nobody but God! He got your back. It's all under control. Just show up when the time comes and do Your thing! God's got this! He had IT then, but we didn't all do our thing.
Please click on and view the link below. It is a wonderful, thought provoking video.
It's true. Actually, I believe every "gurl" is made with glitter in her veins. It twinkles in my veins when in the groove with Dianne's kind of music, when I am being creative and making a special, one of a kind greeting card for a friend or family member, when I am putting together a photo book for my family reunion, when I am writing a poem and lose track of time and its just me and God, when I'm cooking up a storm in my kitchen, it is in there when laying on my bed napping and all my animals jump on the bed at once for belly rubs, hugs, and kisses, and affirmations. It runs through my veins when I am laughing and giggling, and not all is perfect in my world.
Pastor Pinnock said something on her wall once, about being watchful of who you allow in your circle. I have a personal saying, "Dianne, be your own best friend by making conscience choices of what is best for your life." A few years back I worked for a company where everyday was a nightmare to show up to. I had a four supervisors as my nemeses. They were the most miserable people I have ever had the misfortune of being around. So one day I decided to pray over this particular one individual on a continues basis at work and during devotions. It was so weird, because I said to God, "This guy would make a great Christian." Haven't you met unbelievers that have good qualities that are being used for Satan, and if only they could grasp hold of God, their lives could miraculously change for the better, and be an asset to the Kingdom? Well months went by, and then one day he just walks up to my desk to tell me he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I was like, "What did you say?" I mean I obviously heard him, but I was just shocked. Cause I was thinking it would take God a lot longer to turn him around. He said he was tired of it all and wanted something better. So I'm thinking one down and three to go. Well the other three did not turn their lives around before we all parted ways.
But this one supervisor taught me so much about how not to let miserable people and situations suck the life out of me. I had this one that would come in my office area and yell and scream, and leave crying every time. After she left, I would open my bible and read a Psalm or something out of Proverbs and make a point of going about my day. It was a tough habit to develop, but I eventually started seeing results. He and another Christian supervisor would come in later and tell me to keep doing what I was doing, and eventually she would figure out it was harming her more than me, to act out. The nemesis turned mentor, had been a tormentor of others for so long, he knew the one thing a miserable person cannot handle is your ability to hear what they have to say, the way they say it, and not internalize it. Do what you are supposed to do, and live your best life. "You choose your drama, but I don't have to, I can take another path. I always have a choice. No one can take my choice away from me."
That company eventually closed its doors. On the last day, I hugged my nemesis turned friend in Christ for the last time. I turned off my light, closed my door with a smile inside out, and drove out of that parking lot without a backwards glance. My satisfactions was finding out how to use Godly principles with God by my side. God had used my enemy to bless me.
That is why my iPod with my Jesus chic music on it, and my podcast of different sermons, and why I wanted my iPhone with my bible application so badly, and was important for me to obtain. See I am not your business as usual person. I don't play reindeer games. I did not have a "feeling" as the song says, I knew God was watching me. To turn from business as usual, you have to have Godly tools to turn to.
From that experience forward, I have the realization that this "gurl", has glitter in her veins.
I bought a pack of that gum that changes flavors mid-stream while you are chewing it. It's called Stride Shift, berry flavor. As Forrest Gump would say, "It's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get!" It costs $1.29 for a package of 14 pieces of sugar-free gum. Wow. That buck twenty-nine goes towards not only the gum, but the nifty package it comes in. Nothing like the old, easy to open Spearmint gum packaging. It comes in a star burst of bright, cheery colors with slots for holding individual pieces, and get this, a lid with a close slot to keep your gum inside the package, instead of all over your purse/pocket. When you open the special packaging, you get a whiff of wonderful smelling berries. Talk about the Full Monty experience. This piece I'm chewing right now tastes totally different than the last piece I finished. You can even blow mini bubbles. I'm having a much milder version/experience than those in the commercial though. (:
I used my iPhone to follow the scriptures in yesterday's church service. While waiting for church to start after set-up, I opened my iPhone and did my reading plan from my Holy Bible application on my phone. This is a great application you can download for free. Mine, the YouVersion is set-up in The Message version. It has highlight capability, note taking, which I used today in my bible study to jot down things God enlightened me on, notes of others who commented on maybe that specific verse, and it awards you a badge at the end of your studies, if completed. Too cool. I can do my bible study anywhere, anytime of the day, and it fits in my purse. Easy and no excuses. That is one of the reasons I wanted this phone. Technically, I can have my own praise and worship service with my iPod and my own church service with God on my iPhone. Is God smart or what! Get out!
I found something in the Word today. Of course we all have read it more than once, especially if you take renewing your mind as a life long commitment. But each time I read His word, things become clearer.
Luke 6:22 "Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort, and that that person is uncomfortable." I meditated on that and said, "Yet, we always take it personal God. Like their rejection of us is due to something wrong with us, how sad."
Verse 23 says, "And know that you are in good company, my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this." To me, that is Jesus saying, "Pfft...get over it, know it, and don't let it bother you!"
Verse 31 "Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!" This is where JFK got his "famous" line.
Verse 35 "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never-I promise-regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we are at our worst. Our Father is kind, you be kind."
My favorite is Luke 6:26 "Popularity contests are not truth contests." Now is that something to chew on or what? (:
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR WITH FLOWERCHIC next time, because we discuss profound stuff here! Enjoy your life till next time!
I finally figured out how to download ring tones on my iPhone and assign them to my contacts. Whew! Actually it was more of a "stumblin fluke" that I managed to do this. But, "It is finished!" I assigned to my mom and dad, I WILL FOLLOW, by Chris Tomlin. For Sista, I assigned, PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM, by Casting Crowns. And, for alerting me to all other calls I assigned, FREE TO BE ME, by Francesca Battistelli.
Boy, finding Christian ring tones was not easy. But I am satisfied with my selections. Each one holds a personal story behind them, which is why not just any ring tone for each would do. Gee, am I deep or what? LOL!
Not only that, but I downloaded a couple of songs to my iPod for listening to as well. I got my favorite, TEN DAYS by Missy Higgins! Absolutely love that song, as well as STEER, WHERE I STOOD, and CACTUS THAT FOUND THE BEAT. I downloaded a song from Skillet too, COMATOSE. Then...my funds ran out, so I'll have to wait till "found money" comes my way again. Hah!
Yesterday was dinner at the parent's house. My mom laid out the dog and served the best baked chicken ever, huge baked potatoes with sour cream, cabbage, broccoli, and corn bread. It was so good! After dinner, I gave them Valentines and their favorite candies. I know, we're all family, but I love to give and I love to see their smiles! :)s My dad loves gummy anything, so I got him gummy lifesavers, mom loves chocolate anything that is sugar free, so she got Russell Stover's chocolate covered coconut , and Sista's favorite is Hot tamales.
Finally, I exchanged my bluetooth for the one I wanted, but I have not got around to syncing it to my phone yet. But I will! No getting stopped by the PoPo for me. I'm keeping my wallet sealed shut for a while. Sista asked if I wanted to go shopping at bargain places to look for finds yesterday, and I told her my wallet has a mental (mind) lock on it and cannot be opened for an undisclosed amount of time.
Let me tell you what happened to me yesterday. Driving down the road, and looked out the front passenger window, and what did I see? A piece of rubber flapping off my windshield wiper blade. So, no problem, I was planning on replacing them before winter hit anyways. Note to self after running errands, "get it fixed." I get there and tell my buddy mechanic to also do an oil change too because I am long over due, just the basic change. He comes back and shows me my air filter. Well I'm over due for that too, so O.K. But then I get the mother load, my belt that makes everything work is cracking. I am like, that's it, forget it, I'll take my chances, let it go for later. I like my buddy the mechanic , the last time I tried this, he folded his arms and refused to budge and told me my car should not leave there without the part being replaced. Well I could see he was gearing up for a repeat performance, so I told him to fix it as well. By the grace of God, the funds were there to provide for all that was needed. I was a little sad, but God is good. I could have found what all was wrong on the side of the road somewhere.
My last words before I went to sleep last night were, "Lord, please bless my tithe and provide for all my needs!" He (God) is really good at that! Not only that, He loves me a awful lot (smile.)
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR WITH FLOWERCHIC again, for who knows what will be happening is this crazy world of mine. Little bit of something, and maybe a whole lot of nothin.
Here is my Valentine to you to enjoy! A YouTube video of STEER, by Missy Higgins!
I got it! It came early! The iPhone is here! I've got my contacts transferred, Facebook added, my bible downloaded, I've sent e-mails and taken pictures and uploaded them on my fb wall. I am having a ton of fun. The only thing is, I will be returning the bluetooth at Best Buy and getting the one I returned at Verizon. Back in the day I would have just settled with what I had, but did not like. But now my view has changed. When I find out what I like, want, and/or need, I realize I have my whole wonderful life before me to get it, whether it be a day, week, month, year, or years. Since I, nor any of us, know how much time we have, I'm going after what I want for a quality life. If I'm not here 24 hours from now, at least for 24 hours I made an effort to receive God's best for me.
Snow, snow, snow, and nothing but more snow here in small town America. It was pretty for "little dog" to play in though. I'm usually game, whenever my dog is game for a few extra minutes to play in the snow. But this morning I was over it. I was like, "Caity let's go, hurry it up." She of course was not interested in cutting down her 5 minute allotment. See, Caity gets 5 minutes total for "business time" and play time. From the time I brought her home, I trained her to "potty" in this manner [I learned how to do this from reading a dog trainer manual]. Any time left over is play time. When it rains, she gives up the playtime, but when it snows and it's pretty out, forget about it. At 4 minutes and 15 seconds, she starts looking for the perfect spot for "business." Frustrates me horribly.
Sista just called and asked me if I downloaded Farmville on my iPhone? I told her, "I am not a slave to Farmville! I do not need to play FV every minute of my life!" O.K. that's me talking "smack!" Because that game is addictive!
I am making dinner tonight for tomorrow. I'm making comfort food. Cabbage with my world famous mac & cheese. I love mac & cheese.
Not much else going on in my world today. COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR next time and hopefully...our winter wonderland will be sunny and a lovely 45-50 degrees. Wouldn't that be nice?
I got up later than usual this Sunday morning in order to get my taxes done for free! The State of Illinois has a grant that provides free tax service on a first come, first serve basis every year on Super Bowl Sunday. I got in and out pretty quick once they got started. Thats another checkmark off my to do list. So, 2010 is officially over. Gooooood riddance!
Sista had to go to Wal-mart, so I tagged along for the ride. We got groceries, and we both got our hair cut while we were there. Very convenient that Wal-mart.
Ziggy and Caity are sprawled out in front on the heater as I type. They are staring at the heat coils, together. Who would have thunk, they would have become buds, when I first brought Caity home. Caity hates cats, she has grown to like Ziggy, but only because he lets her chase him. The other day, Ziggy turn the tables on Caity. He started chasing Caity though the house. For a split second, Caity turned around to make sure she was really being chased by the cat (to her surprise.) Then turned back around and ran for her life! As if to say, "This is new, whats gotten in to you? You'll never catch me!"
Sista does not have any pets. She is amazed that the pets and I know what each other are thinking. My friends with pets are amazed that she is amazed. They are like, "Duh, of course we do!" And, I am like, "I know!" "How can she not know this!" Yesterday was Girlfriend's Day Out. A group of church friends get together when we each can once a month for lunch. As we started getting our coats on, we were saying how we had to rush off to let the dog(s) out, or feed the pets, while Sista just shook her head. She thinks we are pet whipped. I guess we are since my friend Suzanne and I took doggie bags home to share with our animals, Red Lobster, no less.
I've been invited to a Super Bowl party for non-super bowl fanatics, where instead of watching the game, we play cards and board games. I should have left 30 minutes ago. But all I want to do is enjoy a Sunday siesta and read some more of my book.
A good rest is what I've decided to have. So sleepy. COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR WITH FLOWERCHIC next time...and I have no idea what we'll talk about.
Yesterday was a full day. Ran around Paducah and Metropolis taking care of business and buying my Otter cover to protect my IPhone.
This Otter cover is the coolest phone cover ever. You cover you phone with a hard case cover, then enclose both in a silicone cover, which also protects your phone in case you drop it on a hard or wet surface. Then there is a semi hard plastic cover to cover your screen. Then it has little doors on the silicone cover that cover all your phone buttons and jacks. I must say, when I started looking at this my first thought was, "Oh boy, here I go back into my MacGyver mode, where I totally over prepare for life's mishaps." But I got over it, and decided on the blue one. Pretty neat. Then I went to Big Wireless, just off Jordon Crossing road, to get my phone charger, half the regular price everywhere else. Yay bargain. Then I found my bluetooth at Best Buy. I've never had one of these, but figured with all the new cell phone laws out regarding driving and talking, it would be wise to get one. So, I am officially accessorized, and just waiting for the phone to be delivered.
I tell you what, this saving up your nickel, dimes, and pennies, along with Christmas money, found money, and Birthday money sure makes life funner (I not sure if funner is a real word, but spell checks seems to like it. Hum...) I have been planning and saving for this a full year.
I found another blog to follow for a total of three. They are TAKE THE CANNOLI, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES, & THIS MORMON ARMY WIFE.
Take the Cannoli is by a pregnant blogger who is married to a guy, whose culture is Latin. They have a cute little girl, and she has great unhealthy recipes. The Journey Continues is blogged by a married college professor from New York who is also a grandparent with a farm outside of New York with a garden he and his wife are starting. Lots of maintenance upkeep on this farm. But it seems worth it, because it is the one place that accommodates all their kids and grandkids for the holidays. Next, This Mormon Army Wife is just what the blog title says. She has a small child, a boy, and is big on not eating sugar, and has neat cooking alternatives.
So I am getting healthy recipes, and no where near healthy recipes, and farm, and garden ideas. Smile.
That's it for now, COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again, and next time we'll either talk a little or a lot about nothing, or maybe...something truly profound.
I have finally gotten all my clothes organized by seasons. I have one bag ready to go to the salvation army, two tubs stored away, one for summer/spring and one for winter. Then there is the pile we all have and cannot bear to part with. Clothes we love for sentimental reasons, for the sake of comfort, but are way past wearing outside the house, and those clothes we can no longer fit in due to our love of DQ and McDonald french fries. For instance, I have this gorgeous red dress and long coat to go with it that if I could refrain from pulling into DQ or Micky D's, I could actually fit into by spring. In case you have not noticed by reading my blog, red is one of my favorite colors. Except for red roses. I don't know if I un-consciencely have an issue with life long commitment or if I just like pink and tropicana orange roses best. For what ever reason, red roses are not my favorite.
So the salvation army bag is off the the front entryway. Yay me! The two tubs are stacked in the corner and other than Caity the dog, nothing at all exists under my bed. Boy, that has been on my bucket list forever.
Next up, the dreaded bedroom closet. Ugh.
Back from Verizon after ordering my iPhone, so I won't have to wait in line at the Verizon store on the 10th. Buying an iPhone is like buying a car. I had to buy a special car charger for Apple products only, a hard case cover, then if you bought a bluetooth you got 30% off. So the bargain guru that I am, I bought all three. Then to order the phone you have to remember your Verizon password, which I just changed yesterday that did not work tonight, so I had to change in while at the store. Plus I road around with Linda while she got her phone activated and set up with a special cover to protect her screen and a nifty cover. Whew, I'm worn out!
Hopefully I am smart enough to activate and download my applications I want. And, I cannot wait till I get to take pictures and upload them for my blog and facebook.
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again, because who knows whats going on in FLOWERCHIC's world to talk about. Ciao for now!
O.K, this is quirky, so I warn you that I felt the same way the first time I saw this! Rachel Ray, Cooking with Lydia, and The Test Kitchen have all cooked this recipe and each time I thought, "Yuck."
Cook spaghetti till al dente, then drain leaving in a small amount of water. Add grated Parmesan cheese and set aside. You take a garlic clove and saute it in olive oil in a skillet. Remove the slightly toasted garlic from the oil, and add two eggs. Do not scramble, fold in noodles on top of egg mixture continuing till cooked the way you like your eggs. Add fresh grated peppercorns. Serve for breakfast or any meal. Delish!
I substituted drained Romain noodles and added half the seasoning packet (shrimp) along with Parmesan cheese and a little water. Stir together before adding to the egg mixture.
I have made the above original recipe without the egg and it is delish too.
My dad fixed this for years separately and never knew he was a Top Chef, until I told him I saw it fixed on the Today Show. He would eat fried eggs and a bowl of Romain noodles.
I was so surprised that I liked this. If you are adventurous, give it a try. I warn you, it is bland to look at, so add a sprig of parsley or green onion blade to jazz it up.
The decision has been made. I feel as though a drum roll is necessary, because it took me till now to make my final decision. I'm going with Sista to pre-order my iPhone at the Verizon store today. I would like to have a white one, but black may be the only color available. Either way, I am definitely going to buy some sort of case to cover it. Way too many friends have dropped their phones, and this puppy is an investment for me. I'll take a pic of something and upload it for my blog.
I mainly wanted an iPhone for picture taking and video, music and going online. I really don't talk on the cell phone that much at all. I have the basic, basic, minimal plan as it is.
I should be able to download the Bible application, which will make room in the teeny, tiny, red purse I carry. Also ditch the address book. Then I'll have more room in my purse for more necessary, uh...ummm, "stuff".
Part of being my own best friend is making conscience decisions that will simplify my life. This is one more quality decision made in the right direction.
My blog allotted time is up, so I must get back to sorting spring, summer and winter clothes, and getting a bag ready to take to the salvation army. I am still doing my spring cleaning early a little bit at a time. Just think, when spring actually does get here I can do fun stuff instead with my organized and deeply cleaned home.
That is all for today. COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again and we'll see what creative things have happened since the last time. Oh yeah, I found two other blogs to follow yesterday and I am having fun reading whats happening in their blogs too. If you want to join me as a follower, just hit the "follow" button on my blog and sign up, if you don't have a Google account already, you can register for an account on there too. I obviously like my blog, and there are other blogs to enjoy as well. Bye till next time!
Sista and I went shopping for cell phones yesterday! It is time for us to upgrade our cell phones if we choose to. I can't decide just yet what I want, but we are trying to shop around. By trying, I mean to not outright buy the phone we are leaning towards. That is why she and I are going shopping as a team. We both have our money ready to spend. She has more money than I do, so she is more free Willy to spend first time out of the boat. I had to hold the girl back. Since we are sisters, and I am the youngest, I try and return the favor over the years and watch her back for her. She was lamenting about not buying her phone last night. So I kept telling her, "You do what you want, but I think you should wait and shop around a little more." We usually buy the same identical phone, but I am leaning towards a iPhone and she is leaning toward a Droid Incredible. I am very fugal with my money and so is she. The Droid Incredible is very reasonable priced, but obviously does not have the amenities that the iPhone offers.
I am at the stage, where I am willing, in some cases, to pay a little more in order to get more conveniences. Sista says all she cares about is that the phone be able to ring when a call comes through, and she be able to communicate with the person on the other end. Which is not true, she talking "smack," she likes to text, likes ring tones (I don't even use those), like to go online with her phone (once again, I don't even pay for that). The only thing is, she hates to spend the money. Like I said before, we both fugal AKA cheapskates.
The Apple iPhones don't come out until the 10th of this month. That's nine days from today. So I go online this morning at 3 a.m. at apple.com to check the specs out on the iPhone. I just e-mailed them to Sista so we would be on the same page. I will post this most monumental information of which phone we end up buying later.
I will digress here. Did anybody wonder why Flowerchic woke up at 3 a.m.? Well Flowerchic has wondered about this herself. I took an intercessory class that was taught at my church. And the intercessor who taught the class had us to do a homework assignment, which was to ask God what time He would like to converse with us. She says God will choose a time in your day when he will be most be able to have your undivided attention. Well Flowerchic's time is 3 a.m. When it is time to write a poem or story, the ideas usually come around 3 a.m. I need to pray about something I can't decipher on my own, I'm up at 3 a.m. I make a lot of decisions at 3 a.m. That does not mean you can call me on the phone at 3 a.m. just to chat (smile.)
Most of my friends are Christians and a lot of them are in ministry and have been for many years, actually all Christians are, except they carry the administrative duties that are apart of ministry, and some of them attended this same class. So I know when a few of their prayer times are. Plus as you make new friends the topic comes up in conversation and you find out that way too. Sometimes I'm just curious and I'll ask out right when their time is. It comes in handy.
One day I woke up in a panic, totally stressed to the max and I no sooner had opened my eyes. It was so bad that felt my prayers were not enough, and the scriptures I needed I could not remember or find in my bible, and the ones I did find didn't fit in my mind. I knew I needed help and someone to pray for and with me. So one of my fb friends, who is in ministry starts posting scripture on her wall about this time. So I get on fb, get on Chat and she is online. So I am crying, in a bad way, and trying to type what is going on. She types back, Lets pray/type The Lord's prayer. I'll start out typing and then you'll type." I was in such a state, she ended up typing the whole thing out and proceeded to minister to me online.
It had been many years since I have woke in such a state as that. But, I had let my situation build up against me with only a minimum amount of Word going into my mind, and that was the result. I had let my guard down, and opened the door, by not digging in the Word. Thankfully I had a Christian friend who I knew, that was able to help me when under attack.
You never know what you'll read when you COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR WITH FLOWERCHIC. Sometimes neither does FLOWERCHIC! Well come on back next time and we'll ponder life's subject matter of the day once again. Maybe Sista and I will have made up our minds on which phone to buy!
I tell you what, that Caity is something special! I learn life lesson from Caity the dog quite often. You're thinking, "What new feat has Caity the Wonder dog done now in her biased owner sight?" I know, I think quite a bit of my little dog and hardly cease to tell any and all about her many extraordinary qualities. For example, every morning I take Caity out of her crate to go outside, she is so excited. She's got her doggie smile on, she dances, she lavishes everyone and everything in sight with doggie kisses, and she tears through the house as if to say, "This is going to be a great doggie day! I have often thought Caity would make a wonderful addition to our praise and worship team at church. She'd tell the audience, "Everybody stand to your feet, hug and kiss you neighbor, greet them with a smile, get excited for the Lord, then run around the sanctuary and express the joy of the Lord in you!
We have a great praise and worship team already. Of course, after adding Caity, it could be said, "That HHC worship team sure has gone to the dogs!" But that would be a true compliment! Well, I'm not so sure how they would take that, so maybe we'll think on it more before putting it in the suggestion box that Caity be allowed to join!
I'm not much on doom and gloom, there is enough of that going around and my life decision is to not dwell too much on it. I am learning to pray about things going on in my world and then turn things over to God more and more. Sometimes I slip up and have to back track myself and correct my thoughts and words, but that's O.K. I'm a work in progress. I once read a book about Nelson Mandela where he says he always leaves himself the option to change his mind. He was criticized for changing his position in his own life and as South Africa's first black President. But he never let that deter him from changing his mind about something. Its not about approval, its about the personal journey and not letting yourself be confined to a tiny square box created for you by others.
That's all so far today, but the day is far from over. I'll add more as the day goes on and re-post if something unique or funny happens.
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again and we'll see what's shaking in world at that time. Until then, FLOWERCHIC.
I love rainbows, sunset and sunrises. They are God's kisses from above. Many years ago I worked the 11-7 shift at Best Inns. I had a couple from Waterloo, IL that used to come downstairs for coffee and donuts to watch the sunrise with me. We would look out the hotel windows, sip coffee and when the sun would rise, we would be like, "Awww, we get another day!" I forget what their names were. He would always get a kick out waiting for the mailman to drive up to the mailbox to deliver the mail. Then he would go get it and bring it in to me, or leave it on the counter! Sometimes its the little stuff makes you smile when you look back!
They also taught me a secret on how to save money! But that is another story for another day!
This was a short post this morning, but that's how it works out, sometimes there is a lot going on and other times not so much.
COME TO THE PURPLE DOOR again and we'll see what we can ponder together next! Never miss an opportunity to enjoy a sunset, or a sunrise. Next time you see a rainbow blow a kiss to God, and tell Him thank you for keeping His promise.
