Love Is The More Excellent Way

Verse 1
I could speak with the tongue of men and angels
Love is the more excellent way
But if I don't have love, I'm just a clanging cymbal
Love is the more excellent way
I could have the faith to remove the mountains
Love is the more excellent way
But if I don't have love then I have nothing
Love is the more excellent way

Chorus
Love is patient, Love is kind
Love is Humble, all of the time
Not easily angered, enduring the test
So never forget
Love is the more excellent way (unison)

Verse 2
I could have the gift of prophecy
Love is the more excellent way
But if I don't have love, does it profit me?
Love is the more excellent way
I could understand all my mystery
Love is the more excellent way
But if I don't have love it's not enough you see
Love is the more excellent way

(Chorus)

Verse 3
I could throw my body into the flames
Love is the more excellent way
But if I don't have love, I don't have anything
Love is the more excellent way
I could give to the poor everything I own
Love is the more excellent way
But a heart without love is just a heart of stone
Love is the more excellent way

(Chorus)

Love is the more excellent way (unison) (3x)

by Babbie Mason

Sowing the Seed

Changes of seasons in our lives or moving on with God can come with ferocity. Sometimes we find ourselves on the next step, unsure how we got there. Other times we fight with everything we have to get there. We must be willing to fight. The more Satan sees something crucial on that next step, the more he will fight you. Why does God allow such warfare? Sometimes God uses the fight to strengthen muscles we'll need at that next level. If yesterday's wimp is going to become tomorrow's warrior, something has to happen today.

In Psalm 126:5-6, it says Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves. Notice it says that those who sow in tears WILL reap with shouts of joy. You and I will never endure a season of tears that can't turn into a harvest of joy.

Beth talks about going to Angola and one of the frustrating things to people trying to help these people is that when they are given seed, they often eat the seed rather than planting it and bringing forth the harvest.

Why do some people see the results of the Word (seed) and others don't? Why do some study the word of God yet remain in their captivity?

Some just eat the seed and never sow it for a harvest. Examples? Why have many of us heard hundreds of messages on freedom, done every line of bible studies, wept over them, been blessed by them, and even memorized parts of them, yet remain in captivity? Because we ate the seed isntead of sowing it. Why have many of us read books on forgiving people, known the teachings were true and right, cried over them, marked them up with our highlighters, yet remain in our bitterness? Because we ate the seed instead of sowing it. Why have we repeatedly heard how Christ has forgiven our sinful pasts and sobbed with gratitude over the grace of it, yet we remain in bondage to condemnation? Because we ate the seed instead of sowing it.

Sometimes we don't even realize the difference. We'll think we accepted the teaching because we were so moved by it. But you see, the seed of God's word can fill our stomachs and give us immediate satisfaction and still not produce a harvest - that's when we eat it but don't sow it. Many times we apply biblical truth to our theologies without applying it to the actual practicalities of life.

God's word is meant to be applied to our reality. We can "Amen!" the pastor as he preaches sacrificial love. We can walk to the car and comment on the great sermon he gave, drive home, and march in as mean and cold as the person who pulled out of the driveway. We decide surely God did not mean us to apply His truth to OUR reality because He knows how difficult this or that person is to love. What just happened? We ate the seed instead of sowing it.

Many of us will eat the seed instead of sowing it. Then we charge God with unfaithfulness when we don't get the harvest He promised. God repeatedly says that a harvest is sown, not eaten as seed. We have to get down on our knees in the hardship of our circumstances and apply God's word to the most difficult places, believing God will bring a harvest. Forgiving others, for instance, is a beautiful theology but a difficult reality. Those who apply it have a harvest for the rest of their lives. We were meant to eat from the sheaves, not from the seeds.

Sowing the seed of God's word in a terribly difficult situation is not easy. But God promises you that if you do, you will receive a harvest. And not just any harvest but a harvest worth shouting hallelujah about!



I got all this from day 4 of week 3 in Beth Moore's bible study "Stepping Up".

It came out the same........interesting!

You Are An ISFP

The Artist You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now). You enjoy spending your free time in nature. You are good with animals and children. Simply put, you enjoy beauty in all its forms. You live for the simple pleasures in life. Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs. In love, you are quiet and sweet yet very passionate. You love easily. You have an underlying love for all living things, and it's easy for you to accept someone into your heart. At work, you do best in an unconventional position. You express yourself well and can work with almost anyone. You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer. How you see yourself: Sympathetic, kind, and communicative When other people don't get you, they see you as: Incompetent, insecure, and overly sensitive

What's Your Personality Type?

What is your personality?

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Remaining birthday gifts

My remaining birthday gifts all involve food or books! I'm getting a gift card to Olive Garden, gift card to Carrabba's, money to try a new restaurant, money for a brownie treat and a few more books. One of the books is by Stormie Omartian - The Power of a Praying Woman I believe and I don't remember what the other one was. My last two books for those who have inquired were wrapped in rain by charles martin and love as a way of life by gary chapman. I also just HAD to order "Same Kind of Different as Me" after seeing someone post about it on their blog. I've been given instructions that I am not allowed to read it until after our year-end rush at work is over with though.

I'm off to work on my bible study - I think. I am only a week and two days behind.

I'm ready for October to get here and all this craziness at work to be done.

Silly Quiz

You are the Sense of Touch

You are a highly sensitive and easily moved person. You love to get as close to other people as possible. Human connection is very important to you. You are also likely to be an animal lover who loves animals as much as humans. In fact, you like almost anything soft! You have expensive taste in clothes and furniture. It's all about the fabric.

Webkinz

Today's birthday gift was the pink google. These are the webkinz I've gotten for my birthday and few others I have gotten in the past few months. I had to get the manatee so I could have an underwater room! It is too cool. They are coming out with a dolphin in September so I will probably have to get that too along with the bald eagle.

Busy weekend!

CHECK OUT MY BATHROOM

This has been a crazy few days. I got up at 5am on Friday to be at work at 7am and then went straight to a scrapbooking crop but just shopped and visited for about an hour and then went home to clean until midnight! Got up at 5am again on Saturday morning to be at work at 7. I worked until noon and then came home to get the rest of my cleaning done and make some banana pudding for my company that was coming. Mom & Dad arrived around 2pm and we just visited and played with my Nintendo DS lite and the brain age game. My brother called about 5:30 and asked about bringing the kids over for a little while. We made hotdogs and mac& cheese and baked beans for dinner when the kids got there and played and ate while D&T went out to eat by themselves. The kids had their first soccer games of the season so they were still in their uniforms. Colin & Emma play on the same team which is mostly boys but Emma is quite aggressive and holds her own with those boys. I wish I had thought to get a picture of the kids in their cute uniforms. Colin had lost his first tooth since I saw him last weekend! Emma has a loose one but hasn't lost any yet. I can't believe they are old enough to be losing teeth already. After the kids all left I changed out a few things in my bathroom - finally. I really, really like the new stuff. Sunday morning I slept until 9am and could easily have slept longer. I made breakfast for Dad & I and didn't even manage to get a shower before Janet & Rose arrived. She remembered all of us this time since it hadn't been super long since she had seen us. I had a good visit with everyone this weekend. Oh, and I have a new piece of furniture now - a chair and a half Mom calls it. It is comfy I think. It was Mom & Dad's but they don't have room for it anymore so I decided that I wanted it.

Friday's birthday gift was a webkinz I think. I had originally drawn the Olive Garden gift card but put it back because I was supposed to do lunch with Mary but she had to cancel so TomKat and I went to El Palacio's instead. Saturday and Sunday were both books - one fiction and one non-fiction.

Catching up

Today's gift is a CD called Relentless by Natalie Grant. Yesterday's gift was money for a shake at Red Robin. I just LOVE their banana milkshakes. I also ate lunch there and had a crispy chicken sandwich. It was pretty good. I am not super fond of their burgers.

Went to water aerobics yesterday to do the deep water class which we like better than boot camp. It was a tough workout though. I was concerned at first after our first saturday class that I wasn't going to get good workouts there but it must have just been an 'off' saturday or something. Each class since then has been good and we have had classes with the two instructors that seem to teach most of the classes. This week's classes have seemed especially tough but it may partially be that I was already a little sore from my workout with the kids on saturday???

I think I am going to try and eat in today at lunch time. (If I remember to grab something on my way out of the house) I ate lunch at Shogun with TomKat on Tuesday. It was really good. I love their salad dressing. I got to eat two salads this time since TomKat really loves their soup and I really love the salad so we traded my soup for his salad. The only thing I don't like about the salad is that I tend to drop some on my shirt as it is very runny.

I am trying to get into overtime mode for work. I so do not want to work ANY extra hours. I have so much to do though and can't possibly get it all done without working the extra hours. Hopefully I will survive and somehow get some energy to do what needs to be done.

Dilemma

I gotta figure out how to get more rest and also get more done at home and at work. Somehow it seems so much harder this year than it has been in the past.

Today's gift is a littlekinz black & white cheeky dog. He is cute. I still haven't logged on my duck but maybe I can do those tonight.

Tonight is water aerobics - weather permitting.

Another gift

Today's gift is a WOW #1s CD. It has 31 songs on it.

My Brain age

.................. is 67! I have an old brain. A slow brain!

Ideal brain age is 20. Hmmm.

Scrapbooking

Today's birthday gift is a scrapbook kit to do quite a few double page layouts with. I look forward to using that at some point. I still need to get my challenge done for this Friday night's crop.

Catching up

What a busy weekend this has been. Yesterday was quite the busy day. I left home around 9am and didn't return until midnight!

Water aerobics was good yesterday. We definitely got a good workout. I was fighting the belt I had on - it kept wanting to tip me over in the water so in the future I will get the smaller belts. I finally went to where I could touch and did the rest of the workout there. After water aerobics Mary and I went to cracker barrel and had breakfast together. There was a little bit of a wait but not super bad. I learned how to play sudoko while we were waiting.

After breakfast I was off to Arab. There were toys and people scattered EVERYWHERE at their house! I went upstairs where Mom and my nephews were playing. They seemed to be playing rather calmly until I got up there. I'm not sure how it all started but not long after I got up there I started being attacked by the nephews. They were jumping on my back and trying to get on my shoulders and trying to tickle me. I would flip them over my back and tickle them and of course they would go and do it all over again. They are both now into this "I'm not going to be your friend anymore" which is my invitation to grab them and tickle them mercilessly until they say they are my friend. Of course that only lasts until I let them go and then they declare all over again that they are not going to be my friend anymore. They sure are a mess!

I left Arab around 5pm and went to walmart and sam's to kill some time. Of course I had to buy some stuff while I was there! It turned out to be an expensive time killer! I got a nintendo ds lite (red one) and a brain age game. (with some birthday money I got from my parents) I haven't gotten to play it yet but I am charging the battery now.

After my shopping trip I headed towards Hobbs Island road and the Huntsville Speedway. TomKat and Shades were already there. The weather was really nice to be sitting outside. I remember my Dad taking my brother & I to some races when we were kids. Not sure if Mom went or not. I remember enjoying it then and I liked it last night as well. I think each race ended with about half the cars that started the race! There were quite a few crashes and some pretty hard hits on some of them but nobody was hurt thankfully.

Today I am busy cleaning up around the house and working on my bible study so I can be ready for the study tomorrow night and I have company coming this weekend.

Crazy Saturday

Today's birthday gift is some things for my bathroom to redo it just a little bit. I think my original colors will still work except for maybe the Coral color towels I have but not super sure on that. I do not match stuff real well. Anyway, stayed tuned for some pictures later on.... perhaps tomorrow at some point.

Today will be a very busy day for me and I am not used to that on a Saturday. I've got water aerobics this morning at 9:30 at UAH and then I will either have breakfast/lunch out and kill a little time or perhaps drive back home for a good shower as the pool water at UAH has a VERY strong chlorine smell. Yes, they have showers there but I really do not want to shower there for a number of reasons.

Around 1 or 2pm I will be in Arab for a family birthday party for my 3 youngest nieces & nephews. The diddle diddles (as my brother calls the twins - not sure on how that is spelled) and biscuit the youngest. I guess someone thought he looked like a biscuit when he was a little younger and had more baby fat on him.

Then perhaps I will be off to the races again tonight since we didn't get to see any races last night. Not sure how long I can manage to stay awake though tonight since I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

I'm off to shower! Computer time is over.

Adventures!

One of my birthday gifts I got today. Thanks, Mrs. Goofy! You're awesome!

I only shot my blood sugar up to nearly 500 today with that super sweet cake I made. It had come down to the high 300s by the time I got to Olive Garden to have lunch with some friends. Had a great lunch and I think we may even get a new bible study going soon when we finish the one we are doing now! YEAH!

I will have to pay Mrs. Goofy and Bev back for letting them know it was my bday at Olive Garden today though. They are in BIG trouble! And, Mrs. Goofy has a birthday coming up soon too so I won't forget that quick!

Another first - riding with the top down IN THE RAIN!!!!!!!!! TomKat, Shades and I went to the races at Hunstville Speedway tonight. TomKat succeeded in blowing all the hairspray out of my hair by the time we got there! We didn't get to see any races though since it started raining and the track got too wet. :( So, if it does not rain tomorrow night we will try it again.

Thanks everybody for making my birthday a special day!

Breakfast, messes, and DROWNED cake!!!!!!!

I enjoyed my birthday breakfast. I had hoped those sausages were like the ones I used to get from winn dixie but they were not. Oh, well. They were still good.

I made quite the mess trying to get my cake and the icing made.

Here is my totally drowned birthday cake! I used the same strawberries for the icing that I did for the cake which was a mistake - too much liquid and so the icing did not get "fluffy" like it was supposed to. I even added flour (which helped) and more sugar but just didn't get to the right consistency for the icing. I should have started over but that would have meant showering and getting dressed and going to the store for more ingredients for the icing to start over with. The cake was still decent but thus far I still like the plain old boxed kind the best. Maybe I will try to make the icing correctly for next year and try it again!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I am awake already as I was up until about 1:30 or so this morning thanks to the caffeine I had at lunch yesterday.

Today's birthday gift is another book - Maggie by Charles Martin. Perfect timing since I finished my last fiction book last night and it was really good. I am currently reading two non-fiction books so I was hoping to not get another of that type just yet.

I think I am going to go frost my birthday cake. I made it last night but didn't frost it. I hope it will be good.

Today was a good day

I got an email from my old Sunday school teacher wishing me a happy early birthday. It was nice to get such a nice email from her with her well wishes.

Went to lunch with "TomKat" at Wings today. That was the first time I had been there. They really have a wide variety of things on their menu. Their salad was pretty good there I thought and the food was as well.

Another coworker gave me a card and $10. Hopefully it is real money! You never know with Monica. She joked and said it was "hot off the press".

Then I went to water aerobics and Laura, our instructor from the base class, taught the class tonight. It was good to see her again. I was there a little early so I got to talk with her a bit before class started. We really got a good workout tonight and got to use some of the equipment and we have not gotten to do that yet. We used some water weights and a kick board and we wear a belt that holds you up in the water. It will take a little getting used to that. We met a nice lady named Chris that works on the arsenal and she was encouraging us to try the "boot camp" class and telling us a little about the different instructors. The boot camp class is more challenging than the deep water so we will see how that goes. I think it starts next week but not too sure on that. Laura will start teaching next month several nights a week so I look forward to that.

When we left Mary walked out with me. I met her at class on the base. She got me a birthday present! I thought that was sweet and I sure wasn't expecting that. It was a little bath & body type basket. It had lotion and bath stuff and shower gel in it.

Got my usual card and $10 from my grandparents in the mail today and another birthday card from some people at my old church.

I think I am going to go and bake my birthday cake if I can stay up for a bit! I am a bit on the sleepy side but I should be able to sleep in a little tomorrow. I hope to finish up the book I got last weekend. It has turned out to be really good.

New CD

Today's gift is Nicole C. Mullen's new CD - A Dream to Believe In.

She sang some new songs on the cruise we were on so hopefully I will recognize several of these. The only one I recognize by the title is "Yo Mama"! It is a really good song. Usually when you hear that phrase it is meant in a negative way but this puts a positive spin on it.

More later.......gotta get ready for work.

Life With God

I'm reading the book "God is Closer than you Think" by John Ortberg. This comes from chapter 3 of that book.

"In Jesus' time on earth He relentlessly asked people to make a decision about their relationship with him. The fundamental decision involved this invitation: Follow me. Come be with me, and learn from me how to be like me. Now it is our day. Jesus has promised that He and his father will come and make their home in us, if that is what we want. For our part, the adventure of living in the presence of Jesus begins with a single decision. It can be expressed in the form of an ancient prayer. (May you always be covered by the dust of your rabbi) That is, May you follow him so closely that the dust His feet kicks up is what cakes your clothing and lines your face. Jesus himself called this decision choosing "the one thing needful".

When Jesus stayed with Martha and her sister Mary, Mary sits at His feet to learn from Him but Martha works in the kitchen and complains that she isn't getting any help. Even though she is in the same house with Him, they are worlds apart. She has proximity, but not intimacy. This story is about being with Jesus. People often assume that means that we have to stop doing in order to be in His presence. In saying that Mary "sat at the Lord's feet", it isn't just about her physical location in the room. To "sit at someone's feet" was a technical expression in ancient times to indicate the relationshiop between a disciple and a rabbi. Mary has made a fundamental decision about being with Jesus. In those times, to make someone your rabbi was fundamentally a choice about being with him. A disciple was someone who had chosen to be with his rabbi as much as possible in order to learn everything he could from him.

You can be "sitting at His feet" while kneeling in prayer, fixing your kids lunch, negotiating a contract or even watching a movie. All it requires is your asking Him to be your teacher and companion in the moment.

Dust of the rabbi represents how Jesus invites us to define the relationship: to intend to live so much in His presence that we are dusty disciples. That is the choice that Mary made. The "one thing" Mary had chosen was being with Jesus no matter what was going on around her. What if you were to wake up each morning and begin with this prayer, "Today I would like to be covered in the dust of my rabbi".

The great obstacle that keeps us from being with Jesus is distraction. Jesus says that Martha was "distracted" by all the preparations. He didn't say she was too busy or over-committed. Martha wanted to be with Jesus but she allowed herself from being with Him due to the pressure of providing hospitality. Martha is in the kitchen but doesn't have to be and Jesus doesn't want her there but she finds herself distracted. Martha wasn't doing bad things. She wasn't sinning. She was doing constructive work. She simply wasn't being with Jesus.

When Martha gets distracted from noticing and basking in His presence, she becomes worried and upset by many things. She is not defiant or rebellious, just distracted, worried, and upset.

What is it that keeps us from sitting at Jesus' feet, from being covered with the dust of the rabbi? What keeps us from living in the presence of God? Ironically, it is usually not that we have deliberately chosen to keep Him at arm's length. Many of us are like Martha. We have good intentions. We have invited Jesus into our homes. But we end up missing out on His presence - not because we have rejected Him, but because we get overwhelmed by preparations for life. We get distracted. We forget to look for Him. Sometimes in our Martha moments we live under the illusion that worry enhances our ability to control the world. Sitting at Jesus' feet does not mean passively waiting. Often Jesus' desire for us is that we will be acting, choosing, risking, stretching, and doing. But it does mean recognizing that He is present here and now and we don't have to pretend we control the universe anymore. The great danger of worries is not just that they make my life emotionally unpleasant. It is that they distract me from the presence of God in my life. They keep me upset in the kitchen instead of sitting at the feet of the One who loves me.

Part of life we may spend, as Mary did, in the living room during times of quiet and peace. But much of life will be spent "in the kitchen with Martha" - in our place of work. Your kitchen may be an office or a cubicle or a factory floor or a desk at school or a home where you watch over little children or a center where you volunteer. "The kitchen" is generally the place in our society where we are worried and upset over many things. But what if we decided to sit at Jesus' feet even there? Jesus will come into the kitchen - if we ask Him.

Sugar overload & more

Today I went to get my ice cream treat from Bruster's after my allergy shots. I got a brownie sundae and it was HUGE! I wish I had my camera with me so I could have taken a picture of it. It was pretty good too but I couldn't eat it all - too rich.

I finally decided on making myself a strawberry applesauce cake for my birthday. I think it has cream cheese in the icing. Went grocery shopping tonight and hopefully I got all that I needed. I will probably try to make that tomorrow evening even though it will be 8pm by the time I get home from water aerobics. But, I don't plan to work on Friday or at least not go in too early so hopefully I can sleep in a bit that morning.

I actually put in a good day's work today. I haven't done too well lately as far as that goes but I felt like I did good today and got some things done. I'm sure I will get pretty stressed real quick as they are piling on the work for the end of the fiscal year funding now. Of course part of that is my fault since I haven't worked very efficiently in awhile. I probably need to start working some extra hours but I don't know that I will be able to for the next two weekends.

I'm off to read a bit and do a little bit of work around the house before hitting the sack.

Lindt Lindor Truffles - Peanut Butter

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was my birthday treat today. Never had them before. I tried just one and it was really good.

water aerobics & other stuff

Today was a better day than yesterday overall. I think I have decided to name my webkinz duck after my nephew Colin. Colin is my little buddy these days so since I haven't thought of another name I thought I would name this one after him.

Had lunch at El Palacio's today and found something I could eat there that was good. They have the best white cheese dip around too. It is homemade and not out of a can either according to the guy we paid afterwards!

Water aerobics was good tonight. I feel like we got a good workout - MUCH better than the class was on Saturday I think. On Thursday we get to have class with Laura - our instructor from on base. She is really good so I know we will get a good workout that day and it will be nice to see her again. She really has a lot on her plate but she has the best attitude.

I still have not gotten my ice cream treat from bruster's yet. I was going to go after water aerobics today as it usually drops my blood sugar a good bit but today it went up. :(
Maybe I can get it tomorrow when I go out for my allergy shots.

I'm off to get a few things done around here and then hit the sack. I hope I can sleep tonight without any ambien. We shall see I guess.

Webkinz and meltdowns

Today's birthday gift is the webkinz duck. I have had him for a long time and just never registered him so I thought he could be a birthday gift. I just have to think of a name for him. I guess he is going to be a boy!

Yesterday was a rough day. It was one big emotional meldown day. I feel like I am totally drained mentally, emotionally and physically. At least I did sleep okay last night - with the help of an ambien. I am still tired though as I was up twice - the first time with a low blood sugar and the second time with an upset stomach.

This has been a tough year in so many ways but there are so many others that are suffering way more than me. I have been following this blog of a 23 year old young lady with cystic fibrosis who just got a lung transplant a little over a month ago. She had been on the donor list for over 3 years and her own lungs gave out right before she got the new lungs. With the exception of one day, this young lady has been in the hospital for over a year now. I honestly cannot imagine that. She has had nothing but complications with the new lungs and was just told that the new lungs are so damaged now from all the infection that she has had that they want to re-list her for another transplant. She seems to be in pretty bad shape and unless she gets another set of lungs soon I am not sure that she will make it. I have no idea if she or her family are Christians or not. There isn't any indication on her blog that they are. I can't imagine trading my life for hers.

Even though things have been tough for me this year, there have been good things happen too. I have stepped out and done things I never thought I would. I have made some new friends and discovered some amazing things about current friendships that I have.

I feel that God is trying to teach me some important lessons and I am a stubborn one. I don't want to "get" the lesson sometimes. I want to learn to hear Him on the whisper instead of waiting for the brick that it usually takes to get my attention. Why do I always make things worse and insist on doing things the hard way???

Brain test

Your Brain Usage Profile:
Auditory : 50%
Visual : 50%
Left : 55%
Right : 44%


michelle, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant with a balanced preference for auditory and visual inputs. Because of your "centrist" tendencies, the distinctions between various types of brain usage are somewhat blurred.
Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor, unless it requires total spontaneity and ability to improvise, your weaker traits. However, you are far from rigid or overcontrolled. You possess a degree of individuality, perceptiveness, and trust in your intuition to function at much more sophisticated levels than most.
Having given sufficient attention to detail, you can readily perceive the larger aspects and implications of a situation or of learning. You are functional and practical, but can blend abstraction and theory into your framework readily.
The equivalence of your auditory and visual learning orientation gives you two equally effective sensory input systems, each with distinctive features. You can process both unidimensionally and multidimen- sionally with equal facility. When needed, you sequence material while at other times you "intake it all" and store it for processing later.
Your natural ability to use your senses is also synthesized in your way of learning. You can be reflective in your approach, absorbing material in a non-aggressive manner, and at other times voracious in seeking out stimulation and experience.
Overall you tend to be somewhat more critical of yourself than is necessary and avoid enjoying life too much because of a sense of duty. You feel somewhat constrained and tend to sometimes restrict your expressiveness. In any given situation, you will opt for the rational, and learning of almost any type should be easy for you. You might need certain ideas explained to you in order to fit them into your scheme of things, but you're at least open to that!

ice cream

Today's birthday treat is an ice cream from either Bruster's or Cold Stone Creamery.

Yesterday's gift was the movie Bella. It was pretty good. I watched it late yesterday afternoon. It has been a long time since I have watched any movies.

Gotta go get ready for work.

book

Today's bday gift was the book "A Time to Mend" by Sally John & Gary Smalley. It looks like it will be really good.

I just got home from doing water aerobics at UAH for the first time. I wonder if the instructor used to be in the military or something. She was like a drill sergeant! I was the youngest person there and there were actually 3 men there!

God is Good

I recently joined the University Fitness center at UAH and was going to be looking at my budget to see where I was going to take the monthly fee from. When I got to work yesterday I discovered that I had gotten a small raise (step increase) and the difference in my check was almost exactly what I needed! I have had situations before where I wasn't sure how I was going to get the money to pay for something (a bill) and it always worked out but never quite like this where I got money I wasn't expecting and it was almost to the dollar what I needed. Too cool!

Shoes

Today's birthday gift was a pair of white sketcher tennis shoes. I would wear them today but my other pair of sketchers that are the same style were bothering my feet late yesterday so I will try to find a different pair to wear today that hopefully will be comfy. It is so hard to find shoes that are comfortable for me.

Yesterday's gift was bath & body works chocolate amber body wash and body spray. It smells really good I think.

Yesterday I also enjoyed breakfast at IHOP with some friends and I had a tomato sandwich for dinner with tomatoes that a friend from work brought me. YUM! Next year maybe I will try to plant a few things myself. I think I could live off tomato sandwiches.

I didn't get to do the deep water workout last night at UAH because they had pump problems with the pool and were shutting it down early. :( I miss doing the water aerobics since the one on the base ended. There is a class saturday at 9:30 that I plan to attend.

It was kind of weird driving on campus at UAH the other day to join the fitness center. It has been forever since I have been on the UAH campus. It seems like a lifetime ago that I attended school there.

Today's treat

..........an ice cream from Dairy Queen. Maybe that will be dinner!

I'm also going to join the University Fitness Center at UAH this afternoon with my new friend Mary. I look forward to doing the water exercises there and perhaps I will get brave and try another class or two.

Today and yesterday's birthday gifts

Today's birthday gift is a mocha joe at Burger king. I LOVE those things.

Yesterday's gift was Bath & Body works Blushing Cherry Blossom Body spray and shower gel. It smells pretty good. I think I still like the regular cherry blossom better but this one smells good too.

I'm off to work - late as usual.

Because He is my Creator

Ten Things God Never says
1. Oops!
2. What have I done?
3. How did I let that happen?
4. I made a mistake.
5. It was an accident.
6. I don't know what to do.
7. I'm afraid of what will happen now.
8. I can do better than this.
9. What do you think I should do?
10. Why didn't I think of that?

The reason it is important to know these things that God never says is because it means He never says them about YOU either.

God loves His creation just as a mother loves the child that is growing in her womb - sight unseen. She is already completely in love with that tiny person before he or she is ever born.
Your Creator loved you before you were born too. You were wanted. You were not an accident. You didn't evolve from a monkey. God gave you life, and you are a part of His plan. He created you and you are valued, precious, and priceless to Him. He loves you because He made you and He knows who He made you to be.
You are unique. There is no one like you. There never was and never will be. And God has a purpose for you that is unique as well. He has big plans for your life. God never makes mistakes. Therefore you are not one.

We also need to praise God for other people. Waking up every day and thanking Him for other people? They may not be our first thought, but they are His. When we praise God for other people, it helps us to gain His heart for them. He loves them. All of them. Each person that God created has a unique calling and purpose that is important to Him.

God loves all His creation. He surely doesn't love all that has happened to it, but He knows the way He created it to be. He sees its potential. He knows its purpose. He wants you to see that too. The same is true for you. You are His creation and He loves you. He may not love all that has happened to you or all that you have done, but He loves you and He knows the way He created you to be. He sees your potential, and He knows your purpose. And what He can create in your life now is without limits.

All of this came out of the first chapter of "The Prayer that Changes Everything" by Stormie Omartian.

Today's birthday gift

Today's birthday gift was a package of Dove Raspberry Caramel Dark Chocolate promises. They are pretty good. I have never had them before and actually prefer the milk chocolate to dark chocolate but I thought the raspberry caramel with it might be good. I also had some homemade banana pudding today. I actually made it for my company but we didn't eat any of it so it will mostly be thrown out I guess.

Gift#2

I can't believe it is August 2nd already! July seemed to fly by. Today's birthday gift is "The Prayer that Changes Everything - The hidden power of praising God" by Stormie Omartian. The intro to the book is "What is the prayer that changes everything"

Then The book is broken into two parts. The first part is Fifteen reasons to praise God now and the second part is Fifteen times when praise is crucial. The fifteen reasons to praise God now are:
1. Because He is my Creator
2. Because He is my Heavenly Father
3. Because He loves me
4. Because He laid down His life for me
5. Because He has forgiven me
6. Because He has given me his Holy Spirit
7. Because He gave me his Word
8. Because He is a Good God
9. Because He is Holy
10. Because He is All-Powerful
11. Because He is with me
12. Because He has a purpose for my life
13. Because He redeems all things
14. Because He is the light of the world
15. Because He Is.

This looks like a really good book. I don't think I will read more than one chapter at a time to give it time to digest.

It's like Christmas!

I have been cleaning up in the scrapbook room today because I have company coming this weekend and someone will need to sleep in there. I found a box of sizzix stuff I had ordered and never opened. No telling how long ago that was but there were about 10 things in there! So, I opened the box and put them away. Maybe I can actually use them in the semi near future. Back to the scrapbook room and my cleaning. I should have started cleaning much earlier this week. I am such a procrastinator. I guess I will be up awhile tonight. :)

The birthday fun begins.......

For my first birthday present to myself today, I took Kenna and she and I got our toes done at Lovely Nails. We both got the spa pedicure treatment and if you can't tell those are little fish painted on our nails. I will definitely go back to this place again. Afterwards we went to Starbucks for an iced caramel frappacino and a piece of banana nut coffee cake. I must admit I have never gotten anything at Starbucks before so that was a nice treat.