Tid Bits

No real post to entertain you, just a few random thoughts.

1) Our church is doing a Secret Sister thingy, which I absolutely love. The purpose of course is to lift a sister in Christ up in prayer for a year. Along with that sending cards and little gifts of encouragement. The other week Husband and I were talking about this and how much I enjoy it and he made this suggestion: Why make it a secret? Why not know who your sister is, have her for 3 months and get together at least once a month for lunch or to bake cookies or something. Including of course the prayer, so that you are also prayer partners. I really liked the idea!! It reminds me of a program that a church somewhere had. The Ladies Ministry paired women based on the info that the ladies provided according to spiritual growth, in accordance to the scripture that calls the older ladies to teach the younger ones. That can't be done by age only because an older lady by age may be a new Christian.

2) In my cry for friendship I realized that Americans socialize over food. Again, in talking to my husband I commented about how much I enjoyed meeting and visiting, though I feared that if it continued to always be over a meal I was gonna get very large and broke very fast! He suggested meeting at a track or some place where we could walk and talk instead of eat and talk. What a concept!

Can we say burnt garlic bread?! Be back in a sec. ok, this time I set the timer, sometimes it makes a difference.

3) For some reason this keeps coming to mind. I know I've shared it with some before, but I shall again. We attended a church in North Carolina that was a growing church. What they did was invent Deacon families. Every time a new family joined the church they were assigned a Deacon. Once a quarter the Deacon would put together something, such as a BBQ to invite the members of their *family*. The part I liked the most is the Deacon had a small group to keep his finger on. His 'secretary' would send cards or make phone calls. I think this is such a great idea in all churches but most esp in a military church. (that being a church where a large number of it's members are military) You know how sometimes a person will join a church and after a couple months just disappear? Several people will ask what happened to so and so, but no one seems to know. Ideally, the Deacon would know. The only part that didn't sit real well with this idea is the Deacon's secretary was not his wife. Part of me can see how this could be. Deacons wives are usually the ones wearing the most hats; least in a little church. The other part of me thinks that the wife s the perfect person to gather the info as it comes, send cards make calls, share with husband and say prayers with husband. I'm sure I'm forgetting pertinent details, but that's the gist.


This has been a busy, emotionally exhausting week! I could never for a min even begin to post any of it. After a 2 hour crying jag and a wonderful healing conversation with my husband I feel better equipped to face the rest of the week. Course, it would be a whole lot easier if I could strike that 4 letter 'f' word from my life. I know I'm supposed to feel and that God created feelings for a reason. I never learned how to manage my feelings. I mastered venting them to a 'T'. God forgot the filter that belongs between the brain and the tongue. Or perhaps I spewed it to never never land in the midst of one of my venting sessions. OH to have learned at an EARLY age the art of emotional control. Not to be confused with stuffing and squashing feelings. Oh NO, please do not believe that is what managing feelings are! Those that stuff explode!! Managing is feeling, taking deep breaths with your eyes and mouth CLOSED! Then with a prayer analyse the feeling and determine what it is telling you. Pain, why? Anger, why? Real or perceived? Now what? Talk slow, ask questions. ask questions, ask questions.

My mother told me years ago that she prayed that I would have a quiet and meek spirit. Then not too long ago she told me that she thought I had it. Wow, did I gloat for all of 2 minutes. Not a week later she said she'd be praying for it again. Loud and wide open that' s me.

One summer I was in Alabama with my sister and her children. Her oldest, at the time no more than 5 yrs old, became very upset about something. My sister pulled her from the car, got on the child's level and told her to stop crying. If memory serves me right my sister told the child that she understood why she was upset but the crying was to stop. this. minute. I was shocked! I mean, com'on if a child is crying and has reason to be aren't we to hold and comfort them?! Sure, if you want to emotionally manipulated by that child later in life. I still feel that the situation was a bit harsh, but I now understand and applaud the concept being taught.

After my crying jag my husband looks at me and states, I don't know we must be in for something good; we sure are under attack all of a sudden. May I say to my friends, not my husband, that we are under attack because we are doing something right?! (to say it to him would sound like I was disagreeing with his statement, may be at another time) We have put a huge hedge, or should I say tight hedge around my daughter. The umbrella of protection has had it's holes repaired and we did it TOGETHER!! Oh, I had lots of behind the scenes praying going on, thank you to all, but Husband and I actually talked things out and resolved to stand together!

When Husband and I were talking through things in regards to my daughter I told him that we needed to be her anchor in the storm. As I shared in an earlier post the storm that I antcipated didn't come in the manner in which I expected. It caught me broadside in a whole different area of my life. My anchor is nothing more than a bouy. Thank God, and I do not mean that fisciously, my husband's anchor was solid and strong. There's a whole 'nother messege in that!!!

The very most important thing ever, that I was reminded of today is that my husband loves me. How could I forget? Satan dug in deep and gained a strong hold that just wouldn't let up. My husband is a very tender hearted man and loves me dearly.

Well, tid bit was a bit understated. :)