The Duck And The Devil

Someone sent the following email to me and I thought the message was worth repeating so I decided to post it.




The Duck & the devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking


back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes" But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said, "Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help" She whispered again , "Remember
the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil
make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are
saved.

Blog Design Giveaway!

Everyday Mommy is hosting a blog design giveaway. How exciting is that? I would love to have a personalized design, but will be happy for anyone that wins. Go on over there and enter!

Refreshing

My mind has been so full of thoughts lately that everything just seems jumbled all together. There are so many needs and not enough people ministering (or so it seems) to those needs. I have been thinking about that last statement and feel compelled to ponder the "why not." Why are we not ministering to our brothers and sisters? I feel pretty comfortable in stating that there are countless reasons, especially when we bring it down to a personal level. Before this sounds like I am criticizing, I am totally NOT doing that, I want it to be known that I also realize there are many people/organizations that ARE ministering to the best of their ability. What I am referring to, is the the person sitting beside you on the church pew.

How well do we know that one that sits next to us? Do we know what they are dealing with day after day? Are we concerned? I have noticed that most of my friends and family that are serving the Lord, are kept so busy fighting spiritual battles, that they are constantly worn out. This alone has them beaten down and the thought of helping just one more is out of the question. Not because they don't want to, but because they feel there is nothing left to give or because they have let the devil convince them they are inadequate. How do I know this? I speak from experience.

I have sat on the pew and quietly thought about how I wanted to do more, but how could I? How could I possibly take on another burden onto my already overloaded "burden wagon?" Not that I would ever turn anyone away, verbally that is, but what about my actions? Were others able to see my almost flat, spiritual tires bending from all the pressure? Did this make me appear to be unapproachable? Dear Lord, I hope not. We are to carry things to Jesus, not for Him! I think this detail is forgotten somewhere along the journey.

So, as I am trudging along carrying all these burdens and just when I think I can't go another step, The Lord of hosts shows up! Suddenly our burdens are lifted away and we are refreshed and renewed by His Spirit! Nothing can compare to the presence Of God. This is exactly what happened in our Sunday morning service. The sweet presence of God surrounded us in His sanctuary and pointed us back to the cross and with "emptied wagons." I was reminded of the scripture in Acts 3:19 that I wanted to share.


19.Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.



Next time your wagon feels full, empty it out at the feet of Jesus. Don't try to carry it around needlessly. And by emptying it out, we will be able to minister to those that are hurting. I want others to see and feel the love of Christ in me. Only then will they be comfortable in letting me help carry their "load" to Jesus!

Beautiful Flowers

The cold snap we had at the beginning of the month was unexpected. I am thankful that we didn't lose to many of ours. I wasn't really happy about having to go out and cover my plants at night, but the results are worth it. I wanted to share these pictures of my light purple azaleas and my snowball bush.






Temperatures have been in the 90's for a couple of days until today. It is only in the 60's and sprinkling rain. Unbelievable. I am thankful for the much needed rain.

I'm Back!

Wow! Has it really been a week and a half since my last post? I have been very busy with dr. appointments, family activities and church functions. The weather has been beautiful and we have taken full advantage of it. This has not left much time to blog. However, I have tried to pop in and out to check on everyone. Thanks to all you for your comments and messages of concern. You all are the greatest friends!
I have lots of things to blog about, but today is going to be about our latest trip. I have pictures!

This, of course, is Nathan on our starting journey.


This is a shot of the water from the bridge.


This is the front entrance to Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium. Too bad I didn't get all the boys in this one that wanted to dip their fidgety fingers in the pool.


I didn't capture the shark too well in this picture. He looks more like a shadow at the bottom. Can you see him?

This was the largest turtle I have ever seen swimming the way this guy was. He made me think of Little Nemo. Hmmm...speaking of that, I didn't see a clown fish this time.


Much to the boy's delight, they were able to touch the stringrays at this little area. Needless to say, there was much handwashing going on afterwards.

There goes the turtle again. I had a pic of his belly, but I don't know what happened to it.

Here is Nathan and Amanda digging for shark's teeth. Hey, this is better than paying $3 for a couple of them in a small bag.


The boys are sitting around having our packed lunch. This piques the interest of a few friends below.


Caleb decides to feed them.
>

These birds were aggressive!! I would have taken a shot of that, but I was probably trying to protect myself and family! LOL! These only represent a few of the many!


This is the Amanda crab.


Caleb crab and immediately below him is the Nathan crab.





For some reason, I always associate these beautiful "sun behind the cloud" views with Jesus' return. I picture Jesus with his foot on the bottom cloud with hands raised calling us to "come up hither." Glorious!


This sunset appeared after a few more miles. Lovely, isn't it?


Nathan was worn out and slept all the way home.


It was a long day, but one enjoyed by all. I was especially proud of Nathan for being so well behaved. I thought I was going to have a problem keeping him in the stroller, but I didn't. Yay! Caleb got to romp and stomp with his buddies and he couldn't have been happier. I was probably as worn out as Nathan, but couldn't get my "snore on" until after midnight.

God has blessed us with so many wonderful things to enjoy. We all need to take the time in our busy lives to do just that. Enjoy!

About Those Steaks........

I don't think there has ever been a MORE beautiful day! I slept in for awhile this morning, but still was up early enough to have a very productive day. I feel like I started cleaning as soon as my feet hit the floor. Actually, I fixed Nathan's breakfast first and then it began. I took those steaks out of the freezer to thaw and went right to work. I wanted to rearrange my cabinet in the diningroom, but that will have to wait for another day. It was more of a day of straightening things up. I was able to get some things sorted that I have been planning to give away and that feels nice. They are in my trunk and ready to go! Yay for me!!

I had to take a short break to mail an important document that I had forgotten about. Since I live in the country, my mailbox is down by the main road. I got into the car and pulled down the drive to see the usually late mailman driving away from my box. Just seconds away. I proceeded to drive in his direction and caught him on the next road. Mail is mailed. *whew*

Have you ever noticed if you stop what you are in the middle of, it is hard to get right back to it? Well, this is what happened to me. Since I was already out, why not take care of a few other errands. I know, I was so anxious to get back and start scraping those rails! It was definitely on my mind. That is why I had to stop by walmart, ( I entered the lawn and garden area because I wasn't really dressed for shopping. Thus, I did not want to see anyone I knew. This is a sure fire way to see LOTS of people you know, take note to remember that next time.) and make my purchase of two, lovely geraniums. I mean, how could I have freshly scraped and painted porch rails without red geraniums to accent the work?

I finally got back home and decided to sweep my porch off while Nathan played outside. One thing led to another and pretty soon I was filling up the bird feeder, cleaning out the birdbath, and so on. I decided to trim the hedges and clip the underbrush from my river birch trees. This wore me out! It was starting to get late and I knew I wasn't going to get to those rails today. *sigh* I knew I needed to prepare the steaks for grilling. I have been looking forward to this ever since I mentioned it the other day. I marinated them while I prepared the potatoes and corn on the cob. Amanda wanted some BBQ bread and went to the grocery store to get some. I made a pitcher of tea and waited patiently for hubs to start the grill.

When he came inside and I knew something was amiss. Any wife that has been married awhile has learned to *read* their hubby's body language and didn't like what I was reading. I knew there wasn't going to be any grilling going on at our house. I asked anyway, you know, hoping I was wrong. Seems "the grill isn't acting right" and my thoughts of hot grilled steak faded quickly. Now, I really could have had a "field day" here as my grandmother use to say, but for the sake of keeping harmony and being a good wife, :) I restrained myself. I won't go into details, but let's just say that grills were on sale about two weeks ago and I pleaded with hubs to get a new one. The one we have is several years old and needs replacing, I reasoned with him. He informed me that our grill was JUST fine. Can you see where I'm going? :)

I got the broiler pan out placed our not going to be grilled beef on top, all without grumbling. Thank-you, Jesus. I lovingly finished preparing everything and we were seated and ate in peace. Thank-you, Jesus. I keep thanking Jesus because I could have blown it, as the usual act of my flesh and not heard the sweetest words of the day. After hubs had eaten and was resting on the couch I heard him make a softly spoken remark. I asked him to repeat it a little louder although I heard him the first time. "I wish I would have bought that grill" I don't know about you, but that sure tickled my ears! There is joy in serving Jesus! And honey, just in case you're reading this, I do too! You know I love you!







I presented the latter part of this post in a lighthearted way, but something can be learned here. Even though I have been in similar situations, sad to say, I haven't always used wisdom gained from my previous lessons. I have allowed the flesh to rise up and missed what the Lord would have me do. I am reminded of this when He tells us to "BE Still and know that I am God" He is always teaching us, if we are willing to learn, and again, I thank you, Jesus.

Star Wars And Crime Fighters

Who would've thought I'd have my very own Darth Vader?




Oh wait, or is it Batman?

ALL PRAISE BE TO GOD!!!!

NO PERMANENT DAMAGE!!!!!! ALL PRAISE AND HONOUR BE UNTO GOD!!!! THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPLE INFORMED US TODAY THAT UPON FURTHER EXAMINATION, (WE KNOW WHY!) HIS NECK IS NOT BROKEN!! PRAISE GOD!! HE IS FULLY RECOVERED!! I THANK GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS AND YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! I AM REJOICING OVER THIS WONDERFUL NEWS. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE PRAY NOW

I have an urgent prayer request. There was a celebration at school today for children who participated in a candy fundraiser. Upon picking my son up after school, I learned that one of the children had been injured. He fell off the back of another student during a relay race. He landed on his head. I knew the moment he said those words it was serious. I felt it in my heart.

After arriving home, I received a call from another parent who was concerned that it was my child from the description given. Thank God it wasn't. I have learned he has broken his neck. Please be in prayer with me. I would like to ask all that would, to please post this on your page so others can be praying. I serve a God that is able to mend this child's every muscle, bone, and spinal injury. Please pray that he will not be paralyzed, in JESUS' name! Also pray for the parents of the child. I don't want to even think of the anguish they must be suffering.

Mother's Day Giveaway

Ladies, can you believe I stumbled across THIS? Besides being a giving away, it is about TEA!!! I would be greatly appreciative to win. Wow! Wouldn't this be a lovely Mother's Day gift? I don't know if I can wait that long! I know! I know! I am just rambling on and on, but don't let me hinder you any longer. Go on over there and enter! Now Get!

Will They Or Won't They

I am ready for a get away weekend. I know it hasn't been that long since I was away on my anniversary, but it sure seems like it. It was soooo nice. Those treasured memories are strongly trying to persuade me to convince hubby to pack the bags and hit the road. It's funny how things change as you get older. He's usually the one wanting to spend time away and I am the one who reasons that we don't have the money to splurge.

I think I failed to mention this purchase from our last trip to the Biltmore House. Yes, my hubby purchased this lovely book for me from their gift shop. I was thrilled with this gift. I couldn't wait to get alone with it and devour every page. There are so many beautiful pictures and lots of recipes. I was also pleasantly surprised to find one of the same patterns I have collected, used in one of the tea settings.

Although the weather is suppose to be nice this weekend, I am sure we will spend it at home. We have unfinished projects that need our attention. My porch rails need to be scraped and painted. I can hardly wait to get started on that. (she said with sarcasm) Seriously though, I have plenty to keep me busy and I really enjoy working outside on nice Spring days. It also gives us a chance to crank the old grill up. I have some steaks in the freezer and a new marinade I want to try. Hmmm...... I am looking forward to it already.

End School Violence

As per Allison's request, at Simple Christian Living, I am posting this ribbon in memory of the students of yesterday's terrible events. All of the students, faculty, and families involved need our prayers.

Wal-Mart Burial Plots?

Have you ever had someone tell you, other than your spouse, they want to be buried right beside you when they die? My sister informed me of this particular wish just today. Now, you would have to know her to realize how BIG this is. She is actually my step-sister, but since I dislike the thoughts associated with that term, I do not refer to her as such. We have a close bond and always have. She has always been the "planner" of the family. She has a schedule for everything. She is presently living out of state, but when she lived here, in my town, you had to get "penciled" into her schedule. She had the weekends and all the family activities well planned and organized and she made sure her time was spent wisely.


I wasn't expecting to get a call from her this weekend since she was home for Easter. I had gone to Ross', (big surprise) to browse around their fantabulous aisles when the call came. It's only fitting she would call me while I'm shopping. Did I mention that we are the absolute bestest shopping buddies? We were once hailed the Wal-Mart queens, but since being introduced to Ross, by me, of course, it has now been lauded as one of her faves also. Since she doesn't have one where she lives she is anxious to enter the doors of the one here when she is home. I am more than happy to accomodate her. Anyway, she ask me if I had gotten her message. I told her that I had not. She nonchalantly proceeded to tell me what she had been thinking concerning this burial idea. She also told me she knew of a place we could get our plots and how cheap they were. Now of course, I'm thinking she is just adhereing to her normal "plan ahead" behaviour. This would only make sense considering since we both have turned thirty, our birthdays come faster than a jet propelled anything!


She begins to tell me about a place she remembers visiting as a small child. These were family gatherings that involved all the hide and seek you could handle, as well as some roughing up by cousins that made you glad it was once a year gatherings. Easter. She was saying it was Easter festivities that brought them all together. With the recent Easter weekend home these memories were stirred and she remembered the small cemetary located on the same property. Upon further investigation, she learned she could purchase two plots for a very reasonable rate.


By this time I am standing in the aisle getting all sentimental feeling my heart being squeezed to the moment of tears. I am soooo honored. I mean, she wants me. ME to be buried beside her. Not her spouse or any of her children. ME. What in the world have I done in her eyes to be offered such a position? My life has impacted her more than I realized. My mind is in a whirlwhind of thought. Was it something I said? A simple act of kindness? Just as I was about to start babbling like an idiot and right before the snot started to trickle down my face along with crocodile tears, I composed myself long enough to finish hearing her reason. WAL-MART. She found out that Wal-Mart had purchased the site of those family gatherings. Along with the purchase agreement, the cemetary was to be fenced in and maintained with members of the family having burial options at reasonable rates. As a kind of shopper's last stand, she wanted us to be buried together on Wal-Mart grounds. Now is that sisterly love or what???

Sucessful Surgery!

It has been a cloudy and drizzling day on the outside, but a wonderful day of praise and gratitude unto God. My cousin called me about 11:30 a.m. to inform me that my aunt was being taken to surgery 3 hours ahead of time. I was totally unprepared for this and was in a race to get to the hospital before they took her back.




The hospital parking area has been under construction for some time now. This means that parking has been redirected to a large lot a few blocks away where shuttle buses then transport you to the main entrance. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. By the time I pulled into the lot and parked, two of the shuttles had already collected their umbrella waving passengers and headed out, leaving the smell of diesel fuel behind.






I dropped my umbrella on the wet pavement trying to get to the bus stop. I was trying to hurry because I thought the next shuttle would be rounding the corner any second. NOT. I didn't bring a jacket with me cause I just knew it was going to be warmer out than it was. Well, it wasn't. It was cool and in the forties, and I was standing jacketless under a leaking shelter. Praise God! I am really not complaining here. Just sharing what happened. *smile*


I finally made it to the surgical floor to find my aunt's surgery in progress. I was a little dissapointed, but I knew I didn't have to be there. God was there long before I arrived and His presence is the most important. The surgery was to take between an hour and an hour and a half. Patiently we waited. It was two and a half hours before the doctor would come in and give us the report.





All is well. She sailed right through it. (his words) Didn't loose much blood so she didn't need to be given blood. He kept telling us how smoothly the surgery went as if he was surprised. I wasn't. I knew all along that the prayers of His saints had been effective. The Lord had been there from the beginning, guiding the entire process. Faithful is He, as always.




We were anxious to see her, but had to wait until the nurses had her stable and back in her own room. She was still very groggy from the medication, as expected, but she spoke immediately as we entered. I overheard the nurse expressing concern over the amount of visitors she had. I decided I would leave since I had "checked in" on her. As I was saying my goodbyes, her son and his wife decided to leave also. Then, her other son (the only one there) decided he wanted to go and get something to eat. This would leave no one there with her. He then asked me if I wanted to sit with her for awhile. I did. She would doze off and on to sleep. I just sat in the chair beside her bed looking at her face. I could see the relief she felt of having the surgery behind her. I could also feel the wonderful peace of God in that room. I can never thank Him enough for His care. Hallelujah!!

Trusting God

Update

My aunt had the stress test today. Praise God! She came through it just fine. Thank-you, my friends, for your prayers. She is feeling so much better today. I know that she feels more at ease about the surgery, which is now scheduled for tomorrow. I appreciate you all so much. It is so heartwarming to come to my "spot" and find the comments of concern and encouragement. It means more to me than you know.



It's never easy watching someone you love suffer in pain. My aunt, bless her heart, fell two weeks ago and broke her shoulder. She is sixty-five, long divorced and basically lives alone. Immediately after falling, she was taken to the hospital. This is when she was told it was broken. The shoulder was placed in a sling and she was told to return by fifth of April to see what was happening with it. She was informed at this appointment that it was not healing the way they had hoped it would. This would mean surgery would be necessary. Not what she wanted to hear.


She called me in tears with last Thursday evening with the news. Worry was all around her. "Can you please go with me?" she asked. She always wanted a daughter, but since she had all boys instead, four to be exact, she adopted me. A role that has been a pleasure. This is my mother's sister and one of the most unselfish people I know. My mother and father were divorced when I was four years old. Needless to say, it was alot tougher on single mothers at that time. The resources were not readily available as they are now. Money was not always there for the extras, but this aunt made sure I, and my siblings had plenty for Christmas. She ordered our presents from the Sears catalog right along with her boy's items. This secret was not revealed until recently.


Her surgery was scheduled for this morning. I knew she would have an anxious night of worry, so before bed I prayed for her. I prayed for peace, comfort, and rest to be unto her. After my time of prayer, I felt the need to call her and let her know that everything was going to be fine and that I would meet her at the hospital. One of her sons and his wife wanted to drive her there.


She was taken back shortly after arriving. The nurse told us we could go back and visit with her after the prep, two at a time, until she was to be transported to the surgical area. By this time, her other two sons had arrived. I wanted to go back and pray with her before she was taken out (I knew she wanted this too), but I didn't want to intrude on her children's time. I chose to wait it out and go in only if the boys suggested it. They did.


When I got back there to her, she was nervous, of course, and had been poked several times without success. Her veins had collapsed. I sat down and we prayed. She had a heart attack several years ago and this impending surgery was a concern. They came to take her to the surgical waiting area and took us to a larger family room. This cut the visitors to one. She was told only one person could stay with her until the anesthesia was administered. She seemed to be calmer, but this was temporary.


After the routine anesthesiologist questioning, her anxiousness returned. He was concerned that her heart doctor had not signed off her surgery. He told us he was going to call the cardiologist before proceeding. I knew this put more worry into motion for her. I tried to calm her. I told her that whatever happened we were going to look at it as God's will because we had placed it in His hands. He always knows what is best.


It wasn't long before the answer came from the cardiologist. NO. He wanted her to have a stress test before having this surgery. All the while, my aunt thought all of these concerns had been addressed before now. Here we were in pre-op, and there has been a change of plans. I have never heard of this happening before, but I know God was in it. Why not today? I can't explain that. I just trust the wisdom of God and know that He sees everything we can't.

My aunt has now been placed in a private room where she will be taken care of until the stress test is given. She is relieved, to say the least. Please pray for her to heal quickly either way.

He Is Not Here

We can rest in the promises of God. HE is not here. He has risen like he said. Praise God!

Jesus Loves The Little Children

You never know how much your heart can swell until one of your children does something to inflate it. I was sitting on the couch earlier tonight half heartedly reading the newspaper. Nathan was running around the livingroom turning it into a den of clutter. He is a one man show when it comes to strewing the place.

After he had pulled everything off the coffee table and ran around it about fifty thousand times, he stopped suddenly and came over to the couch where I was sitting. Still scanning the paper, I hadn't noticed he had laid his head down beside me.
"Mama, on-na pay." he said. I knew he was saying something, but I kept reading. "Mama! he called to me boldly as he repeated "On-na pay." You want to play? I asked him. ON-NApay he spoke a little bolder as he kept his face burrowed in the cushion.

It was then I realized what my little blessing was saying to me. He has been in the bedroom with me at times of prayer where we are kneeling at the foot of the bed. He was saying "I want to pray." I immediately stood up followed him to my room where he laid his precious, little head on the foot of my bed for prayer. There are no words to describe what this meant to me. Riches (earthly) cannot compare.

How Sweet.

Keeper of the Home: I Feel Honored has given me the "Thinking Blogger Award". I am so surprised and I accept graciously. Thank-you, again, Sharon. I came across her blog a few weeks ago and enjoy the time I spend over there.


Sharon has already tagged several of my favorites and with good reason. With so many great bloggers out there, I feel that I can't even classify myself as such, but I enjoy keeping up with everyone in my "family". And now I have to choose five ladies to keep the rules.

I will start with Beth. Her posts about her faith are ones that I really enjoy. She is a Pentecostal believer and not ashamed! I like that in her.

Lisa is another one. She is who she is. Not looking to please anyone, but her saviour.

Another Sharon. She is involved with her church and family. She keeps it real.

My dearly loved Sara, who is taking a break to care for her newborn. I miss her and await her return.

And then there is Everyday Mommy, now she will get that thinking cap on for sure! I don't comment there very often, but I look forward to the read.

IF you are tagged, please link to the post that tagged you, AND write a post with five links to blogs that made you think. There are two versions of the award. You may choose either one.

Celebrity Sighting

Can you believe I, the camera toting mama, had a moment of missed opportunity? I completely blew it today. How could I have not taken a discreet picture? Why? Why? Why? It's not so much that I wanted the picture for my personal collection, although it would have been nice. I wanted to have a picture to share with my friends. Awwwww......I know, how thoughtful of me, right?

Here's the story. I went to my mother's to take her to lunch. Nothing special, just lunch. We decided to go to Cracker Barrel. Big surprise, huh? Nathan was anxiously awaiting his grilled chicken and corn vittles and I was trying to keep him entertained until it got there. Have I mentioned how good those hot, corn muffins are? They are even better with a little promise spread on them. It was busy as usual during lunch and people were coming and going quickly.

After cutting up Nathan's chicken, I tried to eat mine as quickly as possible. Dining out with him is a lot better than it used to be and for that, I am thankful. Anyway, I noticed some "guests" (as we are called at C.B.) being seated. They sat down at the table across from us. It was two females and one male. The male was wearing dark glasses and carrying a new baby. Nothing really unusual about them until...........he slid his shades down to order.

I knew it was him. It was the American Idol runner up. Yes, it was. Clay Aiken, himself. He was trying to be oh so unnoticeable. It was working. No one else seem to recognize him, not even his server. I was surprised by this, not that I am a big fan or anything, but I know lots of people are. And I'm not saying that I don't admire his ability and work, (he works with children) I do, and of course, he's from the south. What's not to love about him? I didn't want to stare, so I played the game, until I got up. I was going out to the gift shop with Nathan while my mother and papa finished their meal.

It just so happened that he was getting up to go out at the same time. Should I say something or not, I pondered. I decided to. I spoke very quietly to him acknowledging who he was and I let him know that I knew he was trying to be incognito and I wasn't going to blow his cover. He then thanked me. My mother, on the other hand, God bless her,had already alerted the manager to his presence. Thus began a cycle of stares and whispers amongst the staff.

I didn't stay around to see what happened after this. I just hope he was able to enjoy his meal in peace. What I keep asking myself is why I didn't take at least one picture! I knew I was going to blog about seeing him there. I could have taken one with my cell phone or my camera, as I had it in my purse. Why? He would have never known and I would have proof of my celebrity encounter with pictures to prove it! *sigh* Maybe next time.

Thoughts

I listened to some convicting preaching tonight. The speaker was a younger fellow, full of the Holy Ghost and compassion. Definitely something the world needs more of. He spoke of missed opportunities to witness to those in need around us. One of the scriptures he used as a reference was powerful to me and I want to share it.

They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. Proverbs 28:4


Am I praising the wicked when I allow others to spew out profanities in front of me and my children? Or when they take my precious Lord's name in vain? How about when someone tells me how they "lied" to get what they wanted?(i.e. discounts, promotions, sympathy.) And then there is the occasional conversation with someone concerning immoral behavior. What is my reaction to these scenarios? Do I gently, but firmly ask the profanity to cease? And when another "sister" or "brother" in the Lord share their indiscretions without shame, do I soothe them (by not saying anything) and allow them to stay in their sin, or do I point them to the word and remind them what God says about liars and immorality? (all in love, of course) We have an awesome responsibility as Christians. I'm not advocating standing on a corner and screaming the wrath of God here. I am speaking of people we have daily contact with on our jobs, in our church. And I am not judging. We are to contend for our faith. I don't want to disappoint my saviour.