A Special Day

So, tomorrow is a special day for me,  and every year my family celebrates the day.

I was told by my Doctor many years ago, that the due date for the little life I was supporting  would be November 13th.

They tell you two weeks either way of that date would be normal.

I told everyone, “As long as my son is not born on Halloween, I’d be happy.” 

Guess what. I got a trick and a treat at 12:13 am on October 31st.

Before then, I had a couple of miscarriages, so I was afraid I would never be a Mama.

I feel so blessed to have my “Pumpkin.”

Thank you Lord for my son. In Christ’s Name I pray, Amen.

WWCWF

Worldwide Cat Wrestling Federation

At least this is the real thing. No choreography here.

I post this at the risk of being lumped into the same “Cat”egory as Michael Vick. But I promise you, I did not force these kitties to fight. And after fighting they do another type of “lickin” and then settle down for a cat nap.

Instant Messaging

Romans 12

12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

God already had an instant messaging system long before the internet.

Teenagers are experts at instant messaging. If given a moment to chat with a friend, in an instant they are chatting away. They email on cell phones with text messaging using only their thumbs.

There is One that wants that type of instant messaging with us. It doesn’t require a 4 bar reception or Hi-speed internet access. The line is always open.

Have a little chat with Him.

My Editor

This is Lizzie. my ruthless editor. She deleted a whole sentence I typed once. She specializes in Kitty Litter-ature.

I have trouble getting her to think outside the box.

She would love to try her hand, or should I say paw, at chick lit. It would put a whole new spin on “eating my words.”

Hanging Rock

My family visited Hanging Rock last weekend. I’m so out of shape. My 73 year old Aunt Mary Lee is in far better health.

It’s nice to take a day trip to someplace beautiful.

I dreaded going because I thought of all the writing I needed to do, but I’m glad I went.

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=88850400

Regrets

I REGRET….

• Majoring in Finance. Why didn’t I stick with science? I enjoyed that subject.
• not going to Spain in college
• some career moves
• not being able to stay at home until my son went to school
• transferring to UNCG from Brevard College
• not seeking God in my decision making
• spending money on things of no true value
• speaking my mind when I shouldn’t

I DON’T REGRET…

• being raised on a farm and learning that physical labor wasn’t for me.
• being raise by Christian parents who took me to church
• spending time learning the Bible
• going to Sunday School as a child
• teaching Sunday School as an adult
• waiting until marriage for physical intimacy
• believing Jesus is the Messiah and trusting in Him alone instead of my own failed attempts at being “good”.
• teaching in the public school system for a whopping 5 months.
• having pets
• making a decision not to drink alcoholic beverages
• joining the choir
• writing a book and a screenplay
• getting rejections from publishers and agents
• believing that prayer works

THE Blood Donor

 Blood gives life. We’re having a blood drive at my company in a couple of weeks. I’m a little nervous about it myself. I’ve never given blood before. I’ve had blood tests in the past and  one time I actually passed out BEFORE the needle hit my arm. I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to do it or not.

But knowing I can give someone else a better chance to live should spur me to action.

Blood is an interesting substance. I don’t know all the medical details, but I know this, Cain killed Abel because he brought a blood offering (at least that is why I think Abel’s sacrifice was more pleasing to God). Later, Abraham was going to offer his own son Isaac as an offering. Fortunately for Isaac, God provided a ram.

Then, the blood of a spotless lamb sprinkled over the doorposts of a household protected the occupants from the most dreaded of the plagues–death of the first born.

Once the tabernacle had been built, people came to have sins forgiven by the shedding of the blood of animals.

So, you see, it’s all about the blood. But the sacrifice had to be made over and over.

Until…

Jesus came.

He became the spotless lamb–the sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world. This time it was once and for all. It didn’t have to happen over and over again.

Some expected the Messiah to be a great warrior–a superhero to squash the enemy. But the Messiah was the ultimate sacrifice. THE Blood Donor for a dying world.

Pardon me while I paste a large chunk of scripture here. I think it tells what I’m trying to say much better:

Hebrews 9:19-28 

19When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”^[e] 21In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

 23It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Some Observations

The tooth fairy didn’t take my sweet tooth.

Cats and air mattresses don’t mix.

Beauty Tip #1

Warning: If you don’t like reading silly thoughts, then don’t read this entry

Cheap Moisturizer:  Mineral Oil

Cheap Body Loufah: A cat’s tongue licking the mineral oil off your skin.

How did I discover this trick? A favorite bath oil had mineral oil as an ingredient and I  loved the way it coated my skin. So I bought a few bottles (they’re cheap) at Wal-Mart.

After showering, I applied it to my legs. While standing at the sink brushing my teeth my cats licked the oil.

I was a little worried, because mineral oil has another “internal” use. I’ll let you discover what that is on your own.

Fortunately, the oil did not adversely affect the digestive tracks of those sweet kitties. At least I never found any evidence of it.

So, there you have it, free beauty advice. It was silly, wasn’t it.

Writing Advice

Published authors and editors give the same piece of advice conference after conference. To write well you need to write everyday. And I agree.

It’s like learning to play the piano. My mother made me practice the piano half an hour everyday after school when I was a child. The truth is, a half hour wasn’t enough. I needed more practice. Trust me on this.  I didn’t have the natural gift for the piano, so to make up for that deficit, I needed practice, and more than just 30 minutes a day.

I recently told my son who just started playing the trumpet at school (get out the ear muffs) that the difference between a bad musician and a good one is practice and the difference between a good one and a great one is practice. Only a few have a natural ability, a natural talent. But the more you put into it, the better you’ll be. That goes for most anything.(My son practiced for an hour tonight)

Writing is the same. I don’t have the natural gift to put beautiful words to paper to create a sensory feast for all who read. So to be better, I need practice. That means writing every chance I get.

I’m not saying I’ll write everyday.  After all, I’m a working mother, and to say I’ll write everyday would be dishonest. But I need to put more time into my craft than I give it right now.

So, where do you find the time? I’ve heard others say, get up earlier. I already get up at 5:00 AM to be at work by seven. And I believe I need eight hours of sleep to function properly. I get home in the evening after 5:00 PM,  sometimes an hour or two later than that. And I need that time to be with my family.

I wish I could say I could write on my lunch hour. That would be ideal. The trouble is, if I take lunch, then I don’t get home until much later, because I have too much to do at work.

The desire of my heart is to write full time, but at this point, it’s not an option for me.

If you have ideas on where to find time to write, please leave me a comment.

Thanks.