WHEN THERE'S NOTHING LEFT
I've been a Believer in Christ for about ten years now, & I'm just now learning what it means to feel Spiritually drained...And it doesn't feel good. My emotions are all over the place & the only time there is peace is when I'm in the Word, praying or sleeping.
I know I'm going through a Sifting process. The Lord places situations in our lives- good & bad. We have a choice on how to respond; giving praise & thanks to Him; relying on Him when there is nothing left, or choosing to follow our own human nature, which Eternally speaking leads to disappointment & ultimately destruction. Right now I've chosen to take the High Road, to rely on Him for His provision & to lean on friends who have chosen the same path. (Father, give me strength to always choose this way!)
Through all this, I still believe that the Lord is good. He walks through the valleys w/us & will never forsake us. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7) The answer is simply nowhere.
If that's the only Peace I rest on now, that's enough.
Thank You Lord for leading me through every circumstance...Amen
ALMOST
I almost went to the circus today, but I didn't. Maybe I should've gone...I went once as a child & was terrified. I should've faced my fear in the eye, but I wimped out to make cd's. That's like me...O-well!
MY WEEK OFF
I went to bed @ 3:30am last night & woke up @ 8:40am this morning & couldn't fall back to sleep...Figures...I attribute it to my mind racing on the events of my week off.
The beginning of the week started off on a somber note. Some of my friends had to deal w/loss of a loved one. Thanks to anyone who prayed. I was able to help out a little by cleaning house & babysitting. See? God knew! I stayed here in town for a reason, or something...I spent much of the middle of the week @ the park & @ Springfield Music. One of my close friends works there & now that I know how to play guitar, I go in & do it. It's nice. I spent over an hour there on both Wednesday & Friday. I played a guitar that cost somewhere in the range of $1799 or something. I'm afraid to touch anything more expensive than that...Yikes!
The ironic thing about the week is that I got to hang out w/friends more than usual, though the majority of my friends left town for Springbreak. A pleasant surprise is the fact that Janae came back to town unexpectedly from Connecticut. Very happy about that!
The reason I was up so late last night is b/c after Janae & I got back to my place after the Davis's @ 2:30am, we started messing around w/my Heart's Greatest Hits music book. Yeah, it was real fun. We're nuts, especially in the middle of the night w/a guitar & a keyboard.
I polished my guitar yesterday. I'd never done anything like that before. It was very gratifying. I've decided that I like the back of my guitar best b/c it sparkles. I never knew this. (Janae gave me this guitar b/c she's freakin' awesome! The guitar has been unofficially a part of my life for the past six years or so, I never looked @ the back of it...) I also attempted to transpose some music b/c I'm trying to not use a capo if it's really not necessary. Some of the songs worked & some didn't, so my friend Alan gave me like an hour crash-course lesson in music theory last night. Yeah, my brain still hurts. I get it a little more now.
I also started another Myspace page. (Talk about being a nerd!) Come & join if you want! It's called "Friday Night @ the Davis's!" Everyone comes, all the time...We're always ushering newbies in. There was a girl there last night that I'd never met before...It's the best place to be on a Friday night...Of course, unless you are somewhere else...
That's my week. Full of surprises. Now it's over & my roomies are coming home today. I'm ready for 'em. I've missed them much! (You know, like Janet Jackson? "Miss You Much?"...Never-mind.)
NUTSHELL
Have you ever had one of those days when nothing goes right? Yeah, well, today wasn't one of those days. Just thought I'd ask...
So I purchased this piano/vocal/guitar book a few weeks ago & just got it today. Okay, drum roll please...It's Heart's Greatest Hits. Can I actually play anything in it? Not really, but now I have something to work on. Heart is a COMPLETE guilty pleasure for me & I'm not ashamed. If I could single-handedly rock out like them...I would!
I spent the first half of my day w/my friend Jenette & her 8 children. Each one of them a complete joy. It was awesome, her oldest is 13 & youngest is newborn. I always forget how small newborns are until I see one (how profound). They are tiiiny!
After I left their place I took a nap & spent the rest of the afternoon playing piano & guitar. I think I'm probably driving my neighbors insane. But anyway, it kills time FAST! I then went for a walk & listened to a little Caedmon's & met a friend for dinner.
Then, I met more friends for dessert. (Rephrase: They had dinner, I had dessert...At 10pm!) I'll have to tell you, I'm blessed by my friends, even in all their weirdness. I think that the fact that the majority of them are men makes me a little weird, but I really don't care. Yeah, I think I've been dubbed "just one of the boys". Or the token female of the group. Tonight the comment was made, "Hey! It's 5 men & a little lady!" I'm almost always the token Asian, but that just comes w/my life...
Anyway, that was my day today. Not bad...Two more days of vacation & then back to the grind Sunday evening @ 5pm...Pray that I make the transition well...
Besides babysitting, I spent most of the day looking up scripture & marking it in my Bible. It was refreshing! I should do that more often.
What I've learned about myself today...I'm more apt to be a full-time mommy than a full-time house cleaner, though when the time comes, both will be a necessity.
PLEASE PRAY!
Please pray for two wonderful women from my church this week. They have both lost a parent in the past two days. As far as I know, they're parents were strong in the Lord, so they are in their intended home w/Him. But none-the-less, loss of a loved one here on earth is always difficult to deal with. My friends are Juli & Debbie...Thanks.
God's timing never seems to align w/our expectations, whether the situation is good or bad. That's why He's God, & we're not. His timing is always perfect! All we can do is trust, & live our lives day to day, knowing that He's in control. No matter what life throws @ you today, remember there is One Who knows exactly how you feel & He'll renew & restore you as long as you let Him.
THANKS FOR THE SURVEY JANAE
1. How tall are you barefoot? Five foot, no inches.
2. Have you ever smoked? Ewww, yech!
3. Do you own a gun? Not even a squirt one…
4. Rehab? Never been, but if you need it, go!
5. Do you prefer cooking or eating out? I enjoy both. It just depends on $ & how much time I have on my hands.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I’ve grown accustomed to microwaving them. Pretty tasty.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? My own homemade caffe’ mocha.
9. What is the last movie you saw? Music & Lyrics. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.
11. Are you vegan? Negative. I like meat too much.
12. What is the last book you read? My Bible, & my Beth Moore Daniel Study.
13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I don’t need any weapons. I’m good enough as it is.
14. Do you own a knife? Many, they’re in my silverware drawer.
15. What is your favorite physical feature in the opposite sex? I have two, eyes & smile.
16. How many of the 50 states have you been to? Twenty-eight. Ha! I beat out Janae by one!
17. What countries have you been to? Mexico, Haiti, Great Britain, Italy, France, Kenya & Guatemala…Oh, & here @ home in the US.
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought? Stuff @ Wal-Mart, lunch @ Jimmy John’s & dinner @ Cheddars.
19. Name four drinks you regularly drink.
1. Coffee
2. Water
3. Coke
4. Hawaiian Punch
20. What time did you wake up today? 8am, & believe it or not, that’s like 3 hours of sleeping in for me…
21. Current hair? Yeah, & last time I checked it was straight & black.
22. Current worry? What the crap am I gonna do on my week off?
23. Current hate? Questions like this that make me try to think of something that I don’t really do…Hate…
24. Favorite place to be? I have a lot of places I like to be, but I’m @ home in my room most.
25. Least favorite place to be? Probably Hell…Good thing I don’t have to worry about that one, but Wal-Mart seems pretty close.
26. Place you want to go? Disney World…Seriously!
27. Do you own slippers? Yup!
28. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? The Lord has taught me not to plan ahead…I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow…Sheesh!
29. Do you burn or tan? Tan.
30. Last thing you ate? Multigrain Tostitos.
31. Would you be a pirate? Sure! Why not?
32. Last nightmare? Last night I had a dream that I was driving around this old clunker car in unfamiliar territory…That’s as nightmarish as it gets…
33. What song do you sing in the shower? Whatever song is playing while I’m in the shower. Yes, I listen to my radio while bathing.
34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? I don’t know…Don’t remember having that fear. Probably bugs or something.
35. What's in your pockets right now? Nuttin’.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Janae’s answers to this same survey.
37. Best bed sheets you had as a child? Peanuts comic sheets!
38. Worst injury you've ever had? I hurt my knee when I was 10 & had crutches for a week. That’s about it.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Jennifer, hear her laugh, you’ll know…
42. Who is your most silent friend? My friends aren’t silent.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? I have no idea.
45. What is your favorite movie? The Wizard of Oz.
46. What is your favorite candy? Anything Sour Patch.
47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? Top Gun Anthem.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Another One Bites the Dust…Kidding, I have no clue…
49. What were you doing 12AM last night? Sleeping.
50. Do you like the pain associated with Tattoos? I wouldn’t know…Maybe one day I will…
Labels: Survey
SOMETHING NEW
I bought a new Bible this past weekend. The Archaeological Study Bible to be exact. I'd been eyeing it since I'd first seen it a year ago & found it on sale @ Mardel this past Saturday. I couldn't pass it up. I'd been using the same Bible since my Senior year of high school, which was like...Nine years ago (Woah!), so I thought I should "graduate" & move on to something new. It's exciting to read from. It's a strange phenomenon, it says the same thing that my other Bible says (most Bible's do, you know), but it has the "new book" feel to it. I love new books...And plus, there's pictures. You can't go wrong w/pictures...
I'm also reminded that...The Word of God is living & active! Yay! Life comes from reading it, accepting it & applying it to my life.
I encourage you to do so yourself!
