The other day, while I was at Target, there was a woman on her cell phone. I heard her talking when I first walked in, and her conversation didn't sound very pleasant. She was griping...A LOT!
So anyway, I just took notice of that, and thought, "Hmmm...she doesn't sound like she's having a very good day."
Then about 15 minutes later, while I was rejoicing in the hair product aisle (see previous post) she came walking by, STILL on her cell phone, and STILL griping.
For a moment, I started to get sad because her griping was disturbing my exciting time that I was having shopping for hair products. And just as I started to think badly of her for her incessant compaining, I thought, "you know, I don't know what she has on her plate. I don't know what's going on in her life, and besides that, I've sounded like that on many occassions."
Then I thought, "might as well face it, I'm not going to be happy as long as I'm griping."
Have you ever thought about that? Often times it's our griping over situations that makes us almost more unhappy than the situation itself.
I don't think it's always healthy to just hold frustrations in. But there are certain situations that we've voiced our opinion about again, and again, and again. And we simply need to stop. Look for the positive, or in other words, count our blessings.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing" Philippians 2:14
Why?
"So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:15
The Message says that when we do things readily and cheerfully without bickering it is like a breath of fresh air in this polluted society.
Lord, help me not to pollute the air with negativity, but to be a breath of fresh air.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Might As Well Face It Mondays
I'm starting a new thing on my blog called, "Might As Well Face It Mondays." Where I post something about myself or maybe others (in general) that starts out with "might as well face it" and I post it on Mondays.
Like today for instance, it's this:
I might as well face it I'm addicted to hair products. Seriously. I am. I get really excited over new shampoo. Or hairspray. Or various other hair products. I've noticed my extreme love for hair products before, but noticed it again today as I stood all excited in the hair product aisle at Target.
They were selling shampoo and conditioner buy one get one!! YAY!!
So, if you ever have to buy me a gift...hair products would be great! Ha.
Okay, so I realize I'm posting this on Wednesday, and I've titled it "might as well face it Mondays". But you might as well face it, that's just the way I am. And you might as well face it that you may never ever see this might as well face it topic again, even though I said I'm starting it. 'Cause I DID start it, but might as well face it, I might not continue it. Ever.
Like today for instance, it's this:
I might as well face it I'm addicted to hair products. Seriously. I am. I get really excited over new shampoo. Or hairspray. Or various other hair products. I've noticed my extreme love for hair products before, but noticed it again today as I stood all excited in the hair product aisle at Target.
They were selling shampoo and conditioner buy one get one!! YAY!!
So, if you ever have to buy me a gift...hair products would be great! Ha.
Okay, so I realize I'm posting this on Wednesday, and I've titled it "might as well face it Mondays". But you might as well face it, that's just the way I am. And you might as well face it that you may never ever see this might as well face it topic again, even though I said I'm starting it. 'Cause I DID start it, but might as well face it, I might not continue it. Ever.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
I didn't expect this to happen while getting the oil changed in my car
The last couple of days my car hasn't been running quite right, so I flipped up the visor to read the sticker that tells me when my car is due for an oil change. I was overdue. So I took it in today to have everything checked out.
I took my laptop with me, and was looking forward to doing some writing while waiting. I just recently had a REALLY neat God thing happen, and I was wanting to put it on paper. However, just shortly after I got my computer fired up, I noticed a friend walking toward me. He sells cars at this particular dealership. Years ago I would see him frequently because I used to help with their television advertising. But anymore, I only see him when I get my oil changed...which is just a couple times a year. (synthetic oil...it lasts longer :-)
Anyway, he sat down to talk to me. He asked me how things were going in the television business. He asked about my family. He asked about my Mom. He reminded me of a time that he had come over and listened to our band play music...back when we were still playing in the bars...and then he asked me what was going on now.
So instead of typing my God story, I spoke it, and shared it with him. He was touched by it, and in turn, shared a God story with me...and now I want to share it with you.
He said, a few years back, he had this friend who was a preacher. He called to check on him one day, and his wife answered. The wife said that the preacher wasn't doing very well because his dog had just died.
My friend knew how much the dog meant to the preacher, and his heart ached for him. The wife said that he would like to have another dog just like the one that passed but it would cost $300 and they couldn't afford it. She had tried to talk her husband into getting one from the pound, but he wouldn't go for it. If he was going to get another dog, he wanted it to be like his last one.
So, my friend decided to make it his mission to find and buy this preacher the kind of dog that he wanted.
He said that he searched all over the Indianapolis area and could not find any pups of that particular breed that were ready to leave their Mama. So he looked and looked, and finally found some about an hour south of here.
The breeder had two dogs, so my friend got in his car and drove down to see the pups. By the time he got there, she had already sold one of them, and all she had left was the runt.
He picked the runt up and looked at him. He wasn't sure whether or not to buy him because typically the runt is not the "best" dog. And this particular dog, even though it was the same breed as the preacher's dog, had brindle markings on it's side, and my friend couldn't remember his dog looking quite like that. However, he had looked all over and not had any luck, so he decided to go ahead and get the runt.
On the way home he had to stop and let the dog out to do it's "duty", and he didn't have a collar or leash, so he quickly ran into a store to buy one so that he could manage the dog easier. He said all he could find was, in his words, an ugly, sissyfied, orange and purple collar...he didn't like it, but he bought it anyway.
When he got home, he called the preacher's wife and said, "don't tell your husband, but I've bought him a dog. How 'bout I come over Sunday for dinner, and I'll surprise him with it?!"
So when Sunday came, my friend went to the preacher's house, and left the pup in the car. He went inside, sat down, and started talking to the preacher. About 10 minutes into the conversation, the preacher said, "you brought me a puppy."
My friend looked to the wife and said, "Ah man, I asked you not to tell him!"
she said, "I didn't tell him."
The preacher said, "she did not tell me about the puppy. The Lord just told me that you brought me a puppy."
My friend was taken back, and he took the preacher out to the car to show him his new puppy. He said to the preacher, "I hope he is okay with you. He's got this brindle marking his sides, and I'm sorry, but all I could find was this silly looking collar."
The preacher said, "come here, I want to show you something."
He took my friend inside and showed him a picture of his dog that had passed away. Same exact markings, and same exact collar.
Now that is a GREAT story, but what made it even greater was God's presence while my friend was sharing it. Because about half way through the story, my friend started crying. He said, "I can't even tell this story without crying."
So he and I sat in the waiting room at the car dealership and cried together.
I ended up crying most of the way back to the station as I pondered both of our lives. When I first me him I was playing music in the bars, and he was frequenting them. But God intervened, and changed us to the point that today we sat and glorified God together by exchanging God stories...and crying.
I did not expect to experience God while waiting for my oil to be changed, but I'm so glad I did.
I took my laptop with me, and was looking forward to doing some writing while waiting. I just recently had a REALLY neat God thing happen, and I was wanting to put it on paper. However, just shortly after I got my computer fired up, I noticed a friend walking toward me. He sells cars at this particular dealership. Years ago I would see him frequently because I used to help with their television advertising. But anymore, I only see him when I get my oil changed...which is just a couple times a year. (synthetic oil...it lasts longer :-)
Anyway, he sat down to talk to me. He asked me how things were going in the television business. He asked about my family. He asked about my Mom. He reminded me of a time that he had come over and listened to our band play music...back when we were still playing in the bars...and then he asked me what was going on now.
So instead of typing my God story, I spoke it, and shared it with him. He was touched by it, and in turn, shared a God story with me...and now I want to share it with you.
He said, a few years back, he had this friend who was a preacher. He called to check on him one day, and his wife answered. The wife said that the preacher wasn't doing very well because his dog had just died.
My friend knew how much the dog meant to the preacher, and his heart ached for him. The wife said that he would like to have another dog just like the one that passed but it would cost $300 and they couldn't afford it. She had tried to talk her husband into getting one from the pound, but he wouldn't go for it. If he was going to get another dog, he wanted it to be like his last one.
So, my friend decided to make it his mission to find and buy this preacher the kind of dog that he wanted.
He said that he searched all over the Indianapolis area and could not find any pups of that particular breed that were ready to leave their Mama. So he looked and looked, and finally found some about an hour south of here.
The breeder had two dogs, so my friend got in his car and drove down to see the pups. By the time he got there, she had already sold one of them, and all she had left was the runt.
He picked the runt up and looked at him. He wasn't sure whether or not to buy him because typically the runt is not the "best" dog. And this particular dog, even though it was the same breed as the preacher's dog, had brindle markings on it's side, and my friend couldn't remember his dog looking quite like that. However, he had looked all over and not had any luck, so he decided to go ahead and get the runt.
On the way home he had to stop and let the dog out to do it's "duty", and he didn't have a collar or leash, so he quickly ran into a store to buy one so that he could manage the dog easier. He said all he could find was, in his words, an ugly, sissyfied, orange and purple collar...he didn't like it, but he bought it anyway.
When he got home, he called the preacher's wife and said, "don't tell your husband, but I've bought him a dog. How 'bout I come over Sunday for dinner, and I'll surprise him with it?!"
So when Sunday came, my friend went to the preacher's house, and left the pup in the car. He went inside, sat down, and started talking to the preacher. About 10 minutes into the conversation, the preacher said, "you brought me a puppy."
My friend looked to the wife and said, "Ah man, I asked you not to tell him!"
she said, "I didn't tell him."
The preacher said, "she did not tell me about the puppy. The Lord just told me that you brought me a puppy."
My friend was taken back, and he took the preacher out to the car to show him his new puppy. He said to the preacher, "I hope he is okay with you. He's got this brindle marking his sides, and I'm sorry, but all I could find was this silly looking collar."
The preacher said, "come here, I want to show you something."
He took my friend inside and showed him a picture of his dog that had passed away. Same exact markings, and same exact collar.
Now that is a GREAT story, but what made it even greater was God's presence while my friend was sharing it. Because about half way through the story, my friend started crying. He said, "I can't even tell this story without crying."
So he and I sat in the waiting room at the car dealership and cried together.
I ended up crying most of the way back to the station as I pondered both of our lives. When I first me him I was playing music in the bars, and he was frequenting them. But God intervened, and changed us to the point that today we sat and glorified God together by exchanging God stories...and crying.
I did not expect to experience God while waiting for my oil to be changed, but I'm so glad I did.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Compassion/Travis
Hey, I finally got back on line! Our internet has been rather moody lately. About the only thing it has let me access is Facebook. Weird.
Anyway, Friday, August 21st (I think that's the right date) Denny and I went to O'Fallon, Illinois over near St. Louis. Denny was working a table for Compassion International at a Travis Cottrell concert. And I was able to go too!!! Yay!
Travis and his team were AWESOME!! I was so impressed. It really wasn't a concert, but a worship service. And an awesome one at that! I had seen Travis lead worship before at a Beth Moore event, but this evening it was a straight two hours of worship...oh so good!!
And at the Compassion table they were busy!! Over 50 children were sponsored that evening. That's 50 kids released from poverty in Jesus' name!!!
Anyway, Friday, August 21st (I think that's the right date) Denny and I went to O'Fallon, Illinois over near St. Louis. Denny was working a table for Compassion International at a Travis Cottrell concert. And I was able to go too!!! Yay!
Travis and his team were AWESOME!! I was so impressed. It really wasn't a concert, but a worship service. And an awesome one at that! I had seen Travis lead worship before at a Beth Moore event, but this evening it was a straight two hours of worship...oh so good!!
And at the Compassion table they were busy!! Over 50 children were sponsored that evening. That's 50 kids released from poverty in Jesus' name!!!
It was fun for Denny too...working the Compassion table was fun, AND he had a special surprise of getting to work the table with Brian Seay. If you've heard Denny's story, then you know that he was initially drawn to Compassion by a group of bloggers that had taken a trip to Uganda and blogged about it while there. Well, one of those original bloggers that God used to draw Denny into this ministry was Brian, so it was a thrill for Denny and I to get to meet him. Brian is the one with the shaved head in the picture below. Just as a side note, if you follow Contemporary Christian music, Brian is a brother-n-law to Shaun Groves, and a brother to Robbie from the "Robbie Seay Band".
We also had a chance to visit briefly with Travis after the service...that photo is below too.
If you're interested in finding out more about Compassion International be sure and catch Denny or I at church, or leave a comment, and we'd love to talk to you about it!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)