Confessions of a Blogger

That sounds so dramatic. Don't worry, this isn't going to be that exciting. : ) I just figure that since I actually have people reading my blog I should give you all something to read! : ) So here are some things I just need to let you know because even if I cheat when I'm playing a game I always admit it right afterward because I'm just like that. Here goes! Confession #1 - I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! Scary, huh? (But I don't really know who you are. So don't worry too much.) You see that little box down on the left side of my blog that says "sitemeter"? Well, it means the sitemeter people are tracking how many people are visiting my blog. The first time I clicked on that box on somebody else's blog I was quite disturbed to see their sitemeter page with a little map on it with a red dot on Fresno CA and if I moved my cursor to the red dot it said "comcast.net" which is my internet provider. Just a little freaky, people. I set up an account with them (after I got over the freaky part of it) so I could find out if anyone was reading my blog or not because if I don't get any comments I don't know if anyone is visiting my blog unless they tell me. And if nobody's coming, I might keep writing, but then again, I might not. Anyway, I have my sitemeter thing set so that nobody else can see my stats, but I at least know that there are a handful of you out there reading this. Someday you'll have to let me know why. : ) And I felt like I should let you know. Confession #2 - I HAVEN'T TOUCHED THE PUZZLE ALL WEEK. My husband would say that means I lied. I prefer to think of it as meaning I didn't keep my word which is different than intending to deceive you, but still not good. (Not that you are really going to be upset because I haven't done a puzzle, but still!) So I have decided I'm not going make commitments to "you" anymore because I don't seem to feel the same sense of accountability to "you" as I do to "real people" (not because you're not "real", but because I don't really know who most of you are.) : ) But by saying I'm not making any more commitments to you, I'm sort of making a commitment to you. SIGH. Confession #3 - MY KITCHEN IS A BIG MESS AND MY SON JUST TOLD MY DAUGHTER HE IS PREGNANT. Apparantly I need to stop blogging and tend to my motherly duties before things really get out of control around here. Bye for now!

25 Years Later...

And I've almost completely forgotten where half the states in our blessed country are!Yesterday at a yard sale across the street I bought a US (including Hawaii, Alaska AND Puerto Rico) puzzle. You know, the kind where each state (except those teeny tiny New England states) are each a piece and they all fit together to form a big map (with some little maps on the side for the aforementioned non contiguous states.) (I should look those words up and make sure I got them right but I don't have time because we're supposed to be somewhere in 15 minutes.) (And I'm on the computer. Good grief.)

This being the week we celebrate our country's Independence I thought I should admit I have forgotten everything my 4th grade teacher taught me about where Alabama and the Dakotas and Iowa and Illinois are. Forgive me for being from a state that is so easy to find, but those other ones all get mixed up in my brain. SO I am determined to play with this puzzle every day this week (in honor of the 4th and 4th grade) and see if I can learn it again. Because even if I'm "only a housewife" (yes, yes, I know... I'm not ONLY a housewife and I'm not married to my house, BUT!) I should know where Missouri is!

Happy 4th of July everyone! And God bless America!

What's Goin' On

Well, in case anyone cares, I thought I'd give you a mini update on life these days. (The challenge here is to see how short I can make this! 1,2,3,GO!) KIDS: This last week the kids attended the Avalanche Ranch Vacation Bible Blast (much more exciting than Vacation Bible SCHOOL, you know!) at First Presbyterian Church downtown. We went b/c we knew some people that would be there and it was the absolute best $25 I've spent this summer! The kids had such a good time and the program was great. They spent 3 hours every day learning about how God is REAL, WITH US, STRONG, AWESOME & IN CHARGE! I think we could all stand to spend a week focusing on those things, don't you? And they'll be singing along the the awesome songs on the CD for months to come I'm sure. Fun, fun! ADOPTION: We got the draft of our home study yesterday from our social worker so that's about done and he has recommended us for approval to adopt! : ) Not that we expected he wouldn't but it's nice to see the whole thing written up. We are still gathering papers for our dossier and hopefully will have that together so we can ship it to the Thai consulate in LA soon. Once that's all done, we will be officially on the waiting list. It could still take a year after that before we get to bring our new child home (but it could be faster, too.) HOME: We are still trying to get our new master bedroom finished. Today Lowell installed the 2 ceiling fans and I'm working on getting window sills ready to be painted. We still have the floors and clean-up and some other random things to do. This part is always hard b/c we stop caring about the details and just want to GET IT DONE ALREADY! A NEW CHALLENGE: I am working on writing an article/essay for the Christian Leader magazine about tv, movies, books, video games, etc. and how we as Christians determine what's ok to be entertained by and what's not. WANT TO HELP??? Either comment here or email me and let me know what are your family's standards for entertainment? What lines have you drawn that help you determine what's acceptable. I have to have an outline or draft to the editor this week so the faster you respond, the better. Thanks for any input you give me. Have a great weekend/week! More profound things to come next week I'm sure...

Yikes!

Now I know where the bad dreams are coming from...

Now, what do you say to that???

So what do you do after you have this conversation with your son?????? (asking about the VBS CD we got this morning...) "Do we get to keep this music forever???" ("Yes.") "Do we get to take it to our new house?" ("What new house?") "The new house we're moving to." ("Who told you we're moving to a new house?") "God." AND THEN! One of your hubby's co-workers tells him about a job he thinks he should apply for somewhere... Well, I actually know what to do. Don't panic. Trust God that He knows if and what He's telling Toby and Lowell's friends and that He'll talk to us eventually, too. : ) Be still and know that He is God. It will certainly be interesting to see what (if anything) happens!

This is My Story...

Do you know that hymn? Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! I love the chorus: This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long... Earlier this week I was thinking about how (like everyone and everything) I have strengths and weaknesses. I think one of my biggest strengths has to do with words. I love just about anything (positive) that has to do with words: singing and writing songs, journaling, blogging, talking, teaching, encouraging, word games, praying, reading God's Word, studying words, learning new languages... Words are my thing. (Keeping my house clean, cooking, being on time... not so much.) The same morning I had this realization, I had been reading Psalm 145. I went back to it and was blown away by all it had to say about what we can do with our words when they're about God. Here's Psalm 145:

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

There are two things about this Psalm that I love at this moment. First of all, it tells me what to do with my words. In as many ways as David could think of, he talks about talking about or talking to God and then in the middle, almost as if he can't keep it in any longer, he stops talking about talking and starts just talking about God and how marvelous and wonderful He is. Which brings me to the second thing. Look at what this psalm tells us about God. He is glorious, righteous, slow to anger, compassionate, loving, good to all, near to us when we call, He saves us, fulfills our desires, watches over us... If this were the only thing I knew about God I would want Him. I would want a relationship with Him. I would want to be one of the ones He rescues and loves. I would want the blessed assurance of saying "Jesus is mine."

So, I think in some ways, this Psalm is my story and my song. I want to use my words to tell others about God and to worship and praise and exalt and extol Him. Because He is worthy. If I can spend my life and my words doing that, I think I will have fulfilled at least one of my purposes for existing.

My Precious Jesus, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart and the posts on my blog be pleasing in Your sight. May they bring glory to You because You alone are worthy.

~With All my Heart, Melissa