(in no particular order)
1. Sushi
2. Watching my husband get ready for work in the morning.
3. When RJ does the dishes.
4. Candles. All kinds.
5. Perfume. All kinds. :)
6. Getting a new eyeshadow.
7. Buying new beauty products, even if it's just a replacement of what I already had and was empty. I love opening a brand new bottle of shampoo!
8. Bucket's silly quirks (the way she snaps at you if you snap at her). :)
9. Hot showers. There is no better feeling.
10. Really fizzy coke.
11. Driving the freeway at night... especially if there is no one else out.
12. Frying potatos and onions. I love, love, love the smell.
13. Watching re-runs of Sex & the City while eating chocolate fondue and hot cheetos.
14. Getting new colors in my hair.
15. Shopping at old antique stores.
16. Thrift shopping.
17. Reading other peoples' blogs.
18. Getting a text message from an old friend.
19. Making money!!!
20. My husband. ;)
1. Sushi
2. Watching my husband get ready for work in the morning.
3. When RJ does the dishes.
4. Candles. All kinds.
5. Perfume. All kinds. :)
6. Getting a new eyeshadow.
7. Buying new beauty products, even if it's just a replacement of what I already had and was empty. I love opening a brand new bottle of shampoo!
8. Bucket's silly quirks (the way she snaps at you if you snap at her). :)
9. Hot showers. There is no better feeling.
10. Really fizzy coke.
11. Driving the freeway at night... especially if there is no one else out.
12. Frying potatos and onions. I love, love, love the smell.
13. Watching re-runs of Sex & the City while eating chocolate fondue and hot cheetos.
14. Getting new colors in my hair.
15. Shopping at old antique stores.
16. Thrift shopping.
17. Reading other peoples' blogs.
18. Getting a text message from an old friend.
19. Making money!!!
20. My husband. ;)
March 10, 2009
In no particular order:
1. Hearing people gulp.
2. Hearing people sneeze... especially if they sneeze loudly.
3. Too many "um's" or "you know's" in speech.
4. Pencils. I hate pencils.
5. Blue pens. I only like black.
6. Fake people. I'd rather deal with a rude person than someone who is "fake nice".
7. Salesmen. :)
8. Debt collectors. :)
9. Dogs who pee in the house. :) :) :)
10. People who say "I love you" to their 2-week-old boyfriend/girlfriend.
11. Being hot. I'd much rather be cold than hot.
12. Wrinkled money.
13. Crumbs at the bottom of my purse. And you KNOW they are always there!
14. Sleeping in quiet.
15. People who try to talk over the tv or radio. If you want to have a conversation, please put it on mute!
16. Most people on Craigslist.com = flakes.
17. Flirting with someone you don't know. These days, people make casual sexual advances like it's nothing. I wish it were the way it used to be years and years ago. Polite, appropriate and respectful.
18. Having to clean the kitchen multiple times every single day.
19. Cleaning out the bathroom drain = yuck.
20. Guys who walk like their non-existant muscles make their arms stick out. You know what I'm talking about.
I'll follow this post with 20 Things I Love so you don't think I'm a pessimist. :)
What annoys you?
In no particular order:
1. Hearing people gulp.
2. Hearing people sneeze... especially if they sneeze loudly.
3. Too many "um's" or "you know's" in speech.
4. Pencils. I hate pencils.
5. Blue pens. I only like black.
6. Fake people. I'd rather deal with a rude person than someone who is "fake nice".
7. Salesmen. :)
8. Debt collectors. :)
9. Dogs who pee in the house. :) :) :)
10. People who say "I love you" to their 2-week-old boyfriend/girlfriend.
11. Being hot. I'd much rather be cold than hot.
12. Wrinkled money.
13. Crumbs at the bottom of my purse. And you KNOW they are always there!
14. Sleeping in quiet.
15. People who try to talk over the tv or radio. If you want to have a conversation, please put it on mute!
16. Most people on Craigslist.com = flakes.
17. Flirting with someone you don't know. These days, people make casual sexual advances like it's nothing. I wish it were the way it used to be years and years ago. Polite, appropriate and respectful.
18. Having to clean the kitchen multiple times every single day.
19. Cleaning out the bathroom drain = yuck.
20. Guys who walk like their non-existant muscles make their arms stick out. You know what I'm talking about.
I'll follow this post with 20 Things I Love so you don't think I'm a pessimist. :)
What annoys you?
I got this in my inbox today and thought I would share it for encouragement if anyone else is struggling like we are:
March 9, 2009
What Is Happening in Our World?
by Barbara Rainey
Since the U.S. economy started its sharp slide last fall, I've done a lot of thinking about what this all means to me, to my family, and to our nation and world. While watching this downturn, my thoughts have gone from, "This is interesting" to "This is perplexing." If it keeps falling, the prevailing emotions could inch nearer to frightening.
For now, the word "perplexing" accurately describes my vantage point. My family has been affected in several ways. My husband, Dennis, is working harder than ever here at FamilyLife, putting in 50-hour weeks trying to find ways to cut expenses and increase revenue. I just talked to one of our sons who said they are living hand to mouth, barely making ends meet. And I know it's true. Their pantry was bare when we visited last month. Another son and our son-in-law are both doing the same, working harder than ever trying to keep their families fed and their payments made.
These are not "business as usual" days. What our country is experiencing clearly isn't a brief downturn where things will return to normal in a few months.
What complicates it even further is that the American economy is a global issue. This leads to the question, What is God up to?
While I do not have the answer, I think it's good that we ask questions like this. We who claim to belong to God must be measuring our experience against the truth. We know that God is not passive. He is not sitting idly by just watching. That is not His character. Instead, God is intricately and intimately involved in the rise and fall of nations and in the comings and goings of all people.
Yesterday in my Bible study class I heard a verse that I do not think I've ever noticed before. It was as if lights flashed around it, dramatically grabbing my attention. This one short phrase fits this season of our American life perfectly: "And He will be the stability of your times" (Isaiah 33:6).
That's the bottom line. No matter what God is up to in the world today, no matter what course the current economic crisis takes, no matter what the political leaders in Washington do, God is the stability of our times.
It reminds me of the first line of an old hymn: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Our hope cannot be in money, a job, our house, our friends or family, and certainly our hope cannot be in Washington, D.C. All of those will disappoint.
Our hope must be in Christ alone for only there will we find true stability as individuals, in our marriages and in our families. In Christ alone, and in the power of His Word, we can find the strength we need to face the challenges of today.
I remain perplexed at our current state. And at the same time I am cautiously optimistic and even hesitantly excited at what God might be doing. Could this be part of the end times? It's possible. Will our businesses and families be better for this pruning and winnowing work of God? If we cooperate with Him in this there is no question we will be better for having been pruned.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8 that he was "perplexed, but not despairing" when he was in the midst of trials and troubles. I have found great comfort in recent seasons of suffering in that short phrase. It is okay to be confused, baffled, and even mystified at the circumstances of my life. I can be perplexed and still be found having faith. Only when I move to despair, which means hopelessness, am I not living in faith.
We cannot know what tomorrow will bring but we know the One who will bring it. And that alone can keep us from despair as He brings stability to our times.
© Copyright 2009 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.
March 9, 2009
What Is Happening in Our World?
by Barbara Rainey
Since the U.S. economy started its sharp slide last fall, I've done a lot of thinking about what this all means to me, to my family, and to our nation and world. While watching this downturn, my thoughts have gone from, "This is interesting" to "This is perplexing." If it keeps falling, the prevailing emotions could inch nearer to frightening.
For now, the word "perplexing" accurately describes my vantage point. My family has been affected in several ways. My husband, Dennis, is working harder than ever here at FamilyLife, putting in 50-hour weeks trying to find ways to cut expenses and increase revenue. I just talked to one of our sons who said they are living hand to mouth, barely making ends meet. And I know it's true. Their pantry was bare when we visited last month. Another son and our son-in-law are both doing the same, working harder than ever trying to keep their families fed and their payments made.
These are not "business as usual" days. What our country is experiencing clearly isn't a brief downturn where things will return to normal in a few months.
What complicates it even further is that the American economy is a global issue. This leads to the question, What is God up to?
While I do not have the answer, I think it's good that we ask questions like this. We who claim to belong to God must be measuring our experience against the truth. We know that God is not passive. He is not sitting idly by just watching. That is not His character. Instead, God is intricately and intimately involved in the rise and fall of nations and in the comings and goings of all people.
Yesterday in my Bible study class I heard a verse that I do not think I've ever noticed before. It was as if lights flashed around it, dramatically grabbing my attention. This one short phrase fits this season of our American life perfectly: "And He will be the stability of your times" (Isaiah 33:6).
That's the bottom line. No matter what God is up to in the world today, no matter what course the current economic crisis takes, no matter what the political leaders in Washington do, God is the stability of our times.
It reminds me of the first line of an old hymn: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Our hope cannot be in money, a job, our house, our friends or family, and certainly our hope cannot be in Washington, D.C. All of those will disappoint.
Our hope must be in Christ alone for only there will we find true stability as individuals, in our marriages and in our families. In Christ alone, and in the power of His Word, we can find the strength we need to face the challenges of today.
I remain perplexed at our current state. And at the same time I am cautiously optimistic and even hesitantly excited at what God might be doing. Could this be part of the end times? It's possible. Will our businesses and families be better for this pruning and winnowing work of God? If we cooperate with Him in this there is no question we will be better for having been pruned.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8 that he was "perplexed, but not despairing" when he was in the midst of trials and troubles. I have found great comfort in recent seasons of suffering in that short phrase. It is okay to be confused, baffled, and even mystified at the circumstances of my life. I can be perplexed and still be found having faith. Only when I move to despair, which means hopelessness, am I not living in faith.
We cannot know what tomorrow will bring but we know the One who will bring it. And that alone can keep us from despair as He brings stability to our times.
© Copyright 2009 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.
Have you ever heard the song "Good Enough" by Evanescence? Probably not. Most of you probably aren't fans... and I know a lot of their lyrics are gothic and tragic, but I was listening to my iPod the other day and this song really hit home:
Under your spell again
I can't say no to you
crave my heart and its bleeding in your hand
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly
now I can't let go of this dream
I can't breathe but I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough for you
Drink up sweet decadence
I can't say no to you
and I've completely lost myself and I don't mind
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you conquer me completely
now I can't let go of this dream
can't believe that I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough
its been such a long time coming, but I feel good
and I'm still waiting for the rain to fall
pour real life down on me
cause I can't hold on to anything this good
enough
am I good enough
for you to love me too?
so take care what you ask of me
cause I can't say no
With help from my counselor, I'm figuring out that I let people tell me what to do way too much. I've lost my voice and sometimes, I don't even know what my voice sounds like. I have a pattern of being in controlling relationships/friendships, but those are what I seek out. It's almost like I need someone to tell me it's okay to do something... or not okay. Labeling me a push-over is being light about it. My feelings are easily hurt and I am constantly worried what someone is going to disapprove of. My husband has even noticed it's hard for me to make simple decisions on my own... even dinner plans... afraid that that might not be what he wants for dinner. It sounds silly, I know... but that's been my problem.
The question is why. Why do I give people such power over me and why have I let it affect who I am and what I want my life to be. What do I want my life to be? While I try to answer those questions for myself, don't be surprised if I start speaking up and even rebelling a little. I just need to find my voice. :)
Under your spell again
I can't say no to you
crave my heart and its bleeding in your hand
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly
now I can't let go of this dream
I can't breathe but I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough for you
Drink up sweet decadence
I can't say no to you
and I've completely lost myself and I don't mind
I can't say no to you
Shouldn't let you conquer me completely
now I can't let go of this dream
can't believe that I feel
Good enough
I feel good enough
its been such a long time coming, but I feel good
and I'm still waiting for the rain to fall
pour real life down on me
cause I can't hold on to anything this good
enough
am I good enough
for you to love me too?
so take care what you ask of me
cause I can't say no
With help from my counselor, I'm figuring out that I let people tell me what to do way too much. I've lost my voice and sometimes, I don't even know what my voice sounds like. I have a pattern of being in controlling relationships/friendships, but those are what I seek out. It's almost like I need someone to tell me it's okay to do something... or not okay. Labeling me a push-over is being light about it. My feelings are easily hurt and I am constantly worried what someone is going to disapprove of. My husband has even noticed it's hard for me to make simple decisions on my own... even dinner plans... afraid that that might not be what he wants for dinner. It sounds silly, I know... but that's been my problem.
The question is why. Why do I give people such power over me and why have I let it affect who I am and what I want my life to be. What do I want my life to be? While I try to answer those questions for myself, don't be surprised if I start speaking up and even rebelling a little. I just need to find my voice. :)
