Ruff Ruff

So, since God has created me and knows me very well....He knows that sometimes I need a simple visual....a little lesson to help me along this journey.

Today's lesson came from my dog, Graham....I told you God knows me.

I put Graham out on his chain to do his business. After a little while...I hear a small "ruff." I go to the door and Graham is standing out in the grass. His chain, which can usually allow him to come back to the door, is stuck on something out in the yard. Now Graham has no idea what he is stuck on...he just knows that as he was walking up to the door....his chain abruptly pulled him to a stop out in the grass. So, he "ruffs" for help.

I walk out and instead of releasing his chain, I actually move the object that his chain was stuck on and put it back where it belongs. I have not touched Graham's chain. I just moved what it was around. I walk back to the door and say, "Graham, come." He looks at me and cocks his head. He has not felt his chain be released and therefore, he is hesitant. I say again, "Graham, come on." This time Graham is looking me dead in the eye, and he leaps forward to come.

How many times have I been stuck in life....not knowing what I was even stuck on....just stuck. And how many times have I heard my Master say, "Trust me, come on." And how many times have I hesitated. Will I ever get to the place that when my Master says, "Come." I leap forward in total trust?

A national opinion poll

So, tonight I am washing dishes and the home phone rings. (Now let me just take a side bar here....nobody calls my home phone, well, nobody who really knows me....all of my friends have my cell phone number.) Anyhow, the home phone rings and David answers it. He listens for a moment and then says, "Mom, I think it is for you."

Argh.....now I know this is not a call that I want to take.

I answer, "Hello, this is Tammy."

At this point, a woman says, "We are the ___ ____ association and we are taking a poll of national opinion."

She then asks, "Is there a registered male voter in the household that I could speak to?"

Well, I have to tell you....SHE HAS MY ATTENTION NOW.

I say, "No, there is not a male registered voter in this household."

She then has the audacity to say, "Oh, okay, well then I will ask for your opinions."

Welllllllll.............this did not sit well with me.......

I say, "I am sorry. Based upon your first question, you have forfeited the right to know my opinion now. If you want the opinion of any respectable woman, I would change that first question."

And I hung up.

Strap me in

So, last night when I came home from work, Becky says, "Mom, I have to be at school tomorrow at 6:15am for the play." Wow...fun times, but this is our life right now.

Well, I sit down on the couch and Becky lays down on me and falls asleep....she has a crazy schedule right now with school and homework and play. While I'm sitting there David calls from his away soccer game and tells me the game is over and asks me to come and get him so he doesn't have to wait for the girl's game to end and then ride the bus home. I slip out from under Becky and leave her sleeping and go get David.

At 8:15pm, David and I get home from the soccer game and open the door and Becky comes running into the kitchen yelling at me...."Mom, oh my gosh....why did you let me sleep so late? I was supposed to be at school at 6:15!!!! Oh, Brink is going to kill me....oh she's going to kill me." I respond, "Beck, I'm sorry. I thought you said you had to be at school at 6:15 tomorrow!" She screams, "Oh my gosh, NO....it was today! She's going to be so mad." Then she runs upstairs.

David and I are left standing in the kitchen. David looks at me and says, "Where did she go?"

"I have no idea," I reply. We stand there for a minute and we hear the shower turn on upstairs.

David looks at me and says, "Is she taking a shower?"

"I guess so," I reply.

We stand there for a few minutes and then decide to sit down in the living room. David looks at me and says, "This is weird. Why would she shower if she was so late? She didn't look dirty to me."

I shrug my shoulders. David says, "Why don't you go up and ask her what she's doing."

I look at him and say, "No way...she already took my head off once. I'm not asking her...you go do it."

"NO WAY," he responds.

So, we wait....the shower turns off and she comes running down the stairs....hair dripping wet, and she is dressing as she comes down. She runs into the living room and says, "Are we going to get going?"

I jump up and tell her that I was just waiting for her. She then says, "Isn't David going to school today?"

"What? Why would David have to come with us?" I ask.

"Well, are you going to let him skip school today?" Becky asks.

I then understand what is going on....Becky woke up from her nap and thought she had slept through the night....she thought it was 8:15 am....but it was 8:15pm. When I told her that....as she was standing there with hair dripping....well, we all burst out laughing.

Oh....the joys of a teenage girls emotional roller coaster when sleep deprived!

When the lights go down in the city

So, my Becky is in this year's high school musical, The Wizard of Oz. She is one of the Lullaby League, a flying monkey and she is one of the featured dancers in the Jitter Bug.

I went and saw her perform last week...can I just say, I am so proud of my Becky.

She shines on stage....she is beautiful and when she smiles, the stage lights up.

I remember two years ago, when she wouldn't try out for the plays....instead she was on tech crew....coming out on the stage in all black only when the lights go out. But now, well now, she comes out on stage in beautiful costumes, when the spotlights are on her. She dances and sings and she shines.

I sat there and thought how far my Becky has come and how much she has grown up. No longer is she content to remain behind the scenes...no longer is she content to sit and watch the play happen and wait for the lights to dim. Now, she is confident and ready to face the audience.

It is how it should be....she's a junior now. I can see that she is getting ready to step out on the stage of life. Where I, as her mom, will become the spectator of her life...I am so sad, and yet so proud! You go Becky, I am your biggest fan! I love you!

Today's your birthday

So, today is my Katie's 19th birthday....she is 19 on the 19th.

Last year I had her with me on her birthday....last year was her 18th....and we had a cake for her and we gave her presents....

This year she is away at college....we didn't have cake....we had to mail her a card....no presents....

I know this is all part of growing up....and them growing independent and moving on....but, well, sometimes it hurts....19 years ago today....I saw her face to face and held her and began a love that has only grown stronger through the years....and today.....I can not see her face (because she won't be my friend on facebook) and I can not hold her.....but....I still love her....and it continues to grow.

Happy birthday my katie! I love you.

David and Goliath

So, this past weekend I spent the weekend in Cincinnati with my son, David, for a soccer tournament. My David is in the U-13 league...under 13, an interesting age in boys....

My David has always been tall for his age...he came into the world at 10 lbs. This year I have noticed that he is not always the tallest boy on the field anymore. As a matter of fact, at the start of one game, David was standing next to what I assumed was a man....maybe a ref or something....but he had on a uniform for the other team. David looks at me and rubs his chin and says, "I think he shaves." Then his eyes gets huge as he looks at this giant that he is going to defend.

David and I get in the car to come home and he falls asleep. The sunroof was open and the sun was shining in on his sweet face.....freckles.....peach-fuzz on his face...skin still baby smooth.....I look at him and smile. I think how much I wish he would stay like this....my sweet little boy.....no pimples....no straggly long hairs on his chin....no cuts from trying to shave.....just my baby boy's smooth little skin.

Then I think of him out on that field next to Goliath....David wanted nothing more than to stand up tall against this man....he wanted to be able to compete....he wanted to have hair on his chin...he wants to grow up.

Yes, it is how it should be....I can not wish or want to keep my David a little boy....he is becoming a young man....and soon, he will be the one on the field with facial hair.

Two plus two

So the other day, I had to call Sun Trust Bank. I dial the number and hear, "For hot sex now, stay on the line."

Needless to say....that got my attention....what the heck was Sun Trust up to. So...I'm sitting there wondering...do I stay on the line to find out....but if I do stay on the line...apparently I will get hot sex now......ohhhhhhh.....it's a dilemma.

Anyhow, I quickly hang up and realized what I have done....I transposed two numbers....so I called again and guess what, Sun Trust does answer their phone differently....."For great rates now, stay on the line."

Ohhhh....the irony of two numbers and two words!

Hey hillbilly

So, I find that God teaches me lessons from my own mouth...that I tend to be the illustration....I guess He knows that I need a very personal illustration.

Yesterday Becky and I were driving out of a parking garage in Lexington. I had gotten our parking ticket validated in the doctor's office. Becky pulls up behind the car at the toll booth....it is a typical eastern Kentucky looking car....with a typical eastern Kentucky looking hillbilly....er....I mean gentleman.

Well, he hands his parking ticket to the attendee and the attendee says something to him, and the hillbilly....er....gentleman begins to scrounge around his front seat for coins.....to which I announce, "Nice....hey hillbilly....it's always helpful to have the money out BEFORE pulling up to the toll booth."

It's our turn now...Becky pulls up to the booth, I hand her the parking ticket and she hands it to the attendee. He says, "That will be 75 cents." I say, "It was validated." He says, "Yep, it was, and that means that you get to park here for 75 cents.".....

So, as I begin to scrounge around the front seat for coins.....I begin to laugh and say, "Hmmm.....now who's the hillbilly who didn't have her money ready." Becky chuckles and says, "I wondered if you would realize that."

Yep....God has a way of teaching me through my own stupidity.

Paint by numbers

So, have you ever wondered how all the pieces parts of our life fit together in our spiritual journey? I do.

I am currently working through some spiritual formation material....one of the quotes that I ran across was this: "God has a holy will that draws every fragment of our lives into a beautiful mosaic of faith."

This caught my attention....just last night I was watching a Samantha Brown's travel show. She was visiting a city in Europe and she went to a shop that specialize in mosaics. Samantha was learning how to make a mosaic. She started with a drawing of a flower. Next, she began to break off pieces of glass....painstakingly breaking the right shade of color of the glass into the right shape and size....creating thousands of fragments of glass which she then began to place within the lines of the drawing. She asked the master why he spends so much time to make a mosaic instead of just painting the picture. He replied, "Look at the grand frescoes that were painted hundreds of years ago. The paint is fading, the color disappearing. But a mosaic made at the same time is still as vibrant and full of color as the day it was made. A mosaic does not fade. The beauty lasts."

Wow....so God prefers to create in a mosaic. He draws a grand outline....and instead of allowing me to quickly paint within the lines....using a brush to apply the color in one continuous stroke....instead.....He lets me create fragments....each one a different size and shape and color......and He is able to take the fragmented pieces of my life...each one just a fragmented piece on its own....but placed together....in His grand outline for my life.....and it is a beautiful piece of art that will not fade.

An Easter feast

So, here is an update on week 2 of my dog's diet. It's been a tough week on him....more growling over a bowl full of carrots....more barking at the treat door.....

But today...well today was a grand day for Graham. I had cooked a turkey with all the fixin's for lunch. I had put the grease and bones and fat from the turkey in the garbage bag....and I had pulled the bag out of the garbage can in the kitchen, and I set it on the floor to take it to the garbage can outside.

So, I got invited over to a friend's house for supper and quickly ran out of the house to be on time to supper. Yep....I forgot about the garbage bag on the kitchen floor.

Upon my return....I found my dog, laying in the midst of turkey drippings.....whiskers all greasy from the feast.....turkey breath.....and a very FULL belly. So much for this week's weigh-in.