I can't wait! I don't know if any of you ever make it all the way to the bottom of my blog posts, but if you do, you've been watching the countdown. Fireproof hits the big screen this Friday! I hope you all go see it.
Because:
1. Christians need to send a message to the big wigs in the motion picture industry that says, "We want wholesome, moral, God honoring entertainment!" The better this picture does on opening weekend, the louder our voice will be.
2. The message of the movie is one we all need to hear.
3. We can have something to talk about here. (That is, if you will hit that little comment button at the bottom of the post and leave your thoughts for me and everyone else to read.)
Just in case you have not done any research (follow the link and click on the about link) or read the Fireproof Blog, this movie was made by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. They've done a movie called Flywheel and they also made Facing the Giants. I've seen both of their earlier movies and have enjoyed watching their skills as a movie making ministry increase. From script writing, acting, directing, make-up, you name it, these people (non-Hollywood-professionals) have done a great job. It is obvious that God has put together a group of people for His purposes.
We went to church in Baton Rouge this morning. It has been months since we were able to go to church anywhere. It was so good to get to participate in corporate worship again! Anyway, the church we attended had tickets for a private screening next Sunday afternoon. So next Sunday at 4:00, don't call me. I plan to be at the movies!!!! I hope you make time next weekend to go see Fireproof too. Check out the Fireproof web page to find the theaters where the movie is scheduled to open. Then, let me know what you thought about the film.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A Foggy Day and Wet Clothes
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the fizz in the Fresca was just about the high point of my week!
Yesterday I did the laundry and there was not anything exciting there except that one of the washing machines has a glitch. It is a good glitch, because (shhh, it's our little secret) it will start with only one quarter rather than the whole dollar that the sign recommends you to feed into the thing. I was glad of that because when it came to drying, I didn't do so well.
The little laundry room (6 washers and 6 dryers) was a busy place yesterday, and folks were pushing and shoving and threatening to throw clothes out for their turn at the dryers. I managed to get dryers for my three loads, but they were not all next to each other.
Now you have to realize that the day I turned 43 a deficiency of certain hormones started a mental fog rolling in, and it has never lifted. Some days it is denser than others, but I'm always having to go with my headlights on dim now. (It's a good thing because I don't think they could be bright anymore if I wanted them to.)
Anyway, all dryers look alike to me, and after I got my loads started, I couldn't remember which dryers contained my clothes. So, I did the little open the door and peek thing. I forced my brain to remember--first, second, and fourth dryers, starting from the right end.
All was well and I went to the camper to wait out the 45 minutes until the machines were finished melting and wrinkling my nicer clothes. Thank goodness they leave the towels and jeans good and damp! At least everything is not ruined!
I was not going to let anybody throw my clothes out, so I returned to the laundry a little early. I also wanted to hang Rick's work clothes while they were still hot. One man and a woman were eyeing my dryers like a couple of buzzards ready to jump on the last morsel of roadkill. "We thought you would never get back!" The guy was standing there with a Bounce sheet in his hand.
I smarted off and told him I took a nap while I was back at the camper. Then I pulled open the dryer door to start hanging Rick's pants. Well. What'd ya know? I must have forgotten to start the dryer back after I peeked in on them--almost forty--um--humph. Sheezzzz! It was that mental fog again!
You know the timer just keeps on ticking down time even if the machine is not tumbling. So there I was with an expired dryer full of wet clothes and Mr. and Ms. Gotta-Dry-Mine-Now racing to see which one of them could shove their stuff in that little cold opening first!
Sometimes it is hard to grin, but you just have to. So I did. I decided to be cool about this--I nonchalantly pushed the start button and the tub began to turn. Good thing I came back a few minutes early! There was just a couple of minutes remaining on the timer, so I left it going while I tended to the other two loads.
As soon as I emptied dryer number one, I had to duck to get out of the way of the Bounce sheet and an armload of wet socks. I don't know who got dryer number two, I couldn't bear to watch.
When I was finished folding and hanging the first two loads I turned back to dryer number three which was being closely guarded by the woman, who, by the way, was still in need of a dryer. It was no longer running.
At the speed of light I thought through my options. (I may be driving in the fog, but I do it as fast as I can.) With that hard-to-muster grin on my face, I pulled four more quarters out of my pocket, put them in the coin slots and gave the plunger a shove, then pushed the button. She looks just as far over the hill as I am. Surely she will understand mental fog, I thought.
I explained to her that the load was not dry because--well... She didn't understand as well as I had hope.
"You didn't start it?" She was frowning, and suddenly I wanted a Fresca--and a nap. I headed back to the camper to hide out for another 45 minutes.
I thought I'd never get all the laundry done yesterday. It seems like it took me all day. I think it had something to do with the fog.
Yesterday I did the laundry and there was not anything exciting there except that one of the washing machines has a glitch. It is a good glitch, because (shhh, it's our little secret) it will start with only one quarter rather than the whole dollar that the sign recommends you to feed into the thing. I was glad of that because when it came to drying, I didn't do so well.
The little laundry room (6 washers and 6 dryers) was a busy place yesterday, and folks were pushing and shoving and threatening to throw clothes out for their turn at the dryers. I managed to get dryers for my three loads, but they were not all next to each other.
Now you have to realize that the day I turned 43 a deficiency of certain hormones started a mental fog rolling in, and it has never lifted. Some days it is denser than others, but I'm always having to go with my headlights on dim now. (It's a good thing because I don't think they could be bright anymore if I wanted them to.)
Anyway, all dryers look alike to me, and after I got my loads started, I couldn't remember which dryers contained my clothes. So, I did the little open the door and peek thing. I forced my brain to remember--first, second, and fourth dryers, starting from the right end.
All was well and I went to the camper to wait out the 45 minutes until the machines were finished melting and wrinkling my nicer clothes. Thank goodness they leave the towels and jeans good and damp! At least everything is not ruined!
I was not going to let anybody throw my clothes out, so I returned to the laundry a little early. I also wanted to hang Rick's work clothes while they were still hot. One man and a woman were eyeing my dryers like a couple of buzzards ready to jump on the last morsel of roadkill. "We thought you would never get back!" The guy was standing there with a Bounce sheet in his hand.
I smarted off and told him I took a nap while I was back at the camper. Then I pulled open the dryer door to start hanging Rick's pants. Well. What'd ya know? I must have forgotten to start the dryer back after I peeked in on them--almost forty--um--humph. Sheezzzz! It was that mental fog again!
You know the timer just keeps on ticking down time even if the machine is not tumbling. So there I was with an expired dryer full of wet clothes and Mr. and Ms. Gotta-Dry-Mine-Now racing to see which one of them could shove their stuff in that little cold opening first!
Sometimes it is hard to grin, but you just have to. So I did. I decided to be cool about this--I nonchalantly pushed the start button and the tub began to turn. Good thing I came back a few minutes early! There was just a couple of minutes remaining on the timer, so I left it going while I tended to the other two loads.
As soon as I emptied dryer number one, I had to duck to get out of the way of the Bounce sheet and an armload of wet socks. I don't know who got dryer number two, I couldn't bear to watch.
When I was finished folding and hanging the first two loads I turned back to dryer number three which was being closely guarded by the woman, who, by the way, was still in need of a dryer. It was no longer running.
At the speed of light I thought through my options. (I may be driving in the fog, but I do it as fast as I can.) With that hard-to-muster grin on my face, I pulled four more quarters out of my pocket, put them in the coin slots and gave the plunger a shove, then pushed the button. She looks just as far over the hill as I am. Surely she will understand mental fog, I thought.
I explained to her that the load was not dry because--well... She didn't understand as well as I had hope.
"You didn't start it?" She was frowning, and suddenly I wanted a Fresca--and a nap. I headed back to the camper to hide out for another 45 minutes.
I thought I'd never get all the laundry done yesterday. It seems like it took me all day. I think it had something to do with the fog.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Fizzy Day
So what happened to YOU today?
The most stimulating thing going on around here today was the fizz in my Fresca!
Some days are like that. The whole day, now history, just taking up space on a calendar page. But let's look on the bright side. At least my Fresca had fizz! That made it a good day. Tomorrow will be even better. Maybe. But I'm not sure--I drank the last of my Frescas today. Tomorrow I'll have to look for new excitment. I'll let you what happens.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Floatin' In A Storm Surge
The world is a crazy place
Have you read the news or watched the TV lately? It's enough to make me want to move to Mars. Democrats and Republicans, the Left and the Right, wars, storms and destruction, the price of crude, and now the news about AIG and more devastation on Wall Street. I wonder if there will be anything left of our 401K when we get our next quarterly statement. I doubt it. I used to work for AIG, so I know how bad things are when a company like that needs a bailout. When a giant stumbles and falls, I promise you, the earth will shake.
I try not to think about it because doing so gives fear a big spot to stick its foot to climb all over me. It is not easy to be a concerned citizen without being a fearful one. I catch myself asking what are we going to do? Really, what can we do? I can't change the price of oil. I can't tell the banks how to run their business. I don't understand most of what is going on down on Wall Street, and if I did, what difference would it make? I can't change the hearts of men nor the policies of nations, so therefore I can't bring about peace on earth. What can I do?
The other night Rick and I were watching The Weather Channel (are you surprised) as Ike approached the coast of our beloved Texas. The guy holding the microphone and repeating himself every 15 minutes started talking to the not-to-bright but gutsy Texans along the coast who chose not to evacuate. He told them that after 9:00 p.m. no emergency calls for help would be answered. He was blunt when he said something like this. "After 9:00 if you decide you need help, you had just better find something that floats, tie yourself to it, and ride out the storm."
That's exactly what I can do! I can't evacuate to Mars, and there is only one thing that I know for sure will float. Psalm 102:25-28 says it like this. "Of old Thou didst found the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end."
God alone will float when life's storms threaten to wash us all away. So, I think I'll tie myself to Him and do my best to ride out the storm. I'm not sure what time it is, but I don't intend to wait until after 9:00. Excuse me while I go find some rope.
Have you read the news or watched the TV lately? It's enough to make me want to move to Mars. Democrats and Republicans, the Left and the Right, wars, storms and destruction, the price of crude, and now the news about AIG and more devastation on Wall Street. I wonder if there will be anything left of our 401K when we get our next quarterly statement. I doubt it. I used to work for AIG, so I know how bad things are when a company like that needs a bailout. When a giant stumbles and falls, I promise you, the earth will shake.
I try not to think about it because doing so gives fear a big spot to stick its foot to climb all over me. It is not easy to be a concerned citizen without being a fearful one. I catch myself asking what are we going to do? Really, what can we do? I can't change the price of oil. I can't tell the banks how to run their business. I don't understand most of what is going on down on Wall Street, and if I did, what difference would it make? I can't change the hearts of men nor the policies of nations, so therefore I can't bring about peace on earth. What can I do?
The other night Rick and I were watching The Weather Channel (are you surprised) as Ike approached the coast of our beloved Texas. The guy holding the microphone and repeating himself every 15 minutes started talking to the not-to-bright but gutsy Texans along the coast who chose not to evacuate. He told them that after 9:00 p.m. no emergency calls for help would be answered. He was blunt when he said something like this. "After 9:00 if you decide you need help, you had just better find something that floats, tie yourself to it, and ride out the storm."
That's exactly what I can do! I can't evacuate to Mars, and there is only one thing that I know for sure will float. Psalm 102:25-28 says it like this. "Of old Thou didst found the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end."
God alone will float when life's storms threaten to wash us all away. So, I think I'll tie myself to Him and do my best to ride out the storm. I'm not sure what time it is, but I don't intend to wait until after 9:00. Excuse me while I go find some rope.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Passing Storm
The clouds are still thick, heavy, and on the move, but the wind is calming. We made it through just fine with only a few strong gusts of wind and (at this point) only a little bit of rain.
Our daughter in Houston made it through the storm as well. She's without water and power right now, but that is only an inconvenience compared to what many in the area are facing. She still has her windows and doors and flooding is not an issue in her neighborhood.
We've not been able to get in touch with Rick's brother and his family, but we are hoping all is well with them too.
I'm thankful for God's care and protection. My prayers and concern are offered for all the folks whose lives have been drastically altered by Ike. I also pray that God's presence be known and His grace and love manifested through His children as clean-up and recovery take place.
Too bad we are working here in Louisiana at the moment. It would be cool to get to work in an area where we actually have family. But not this time I guess.
Life goes on. I know it does because there are dirty dishes piled in the sink, patiently waiting for me. So I guess I had better stir up some of what my granddaughter calls "Mimi's bubbles" and get them washed. So until next time, keep looking for the Son, knowing the storms of life will soon blow on by.
Our daughter in Houston made it through the storm as well. She's without water and power right now, but that is only an inconvenience compared to what many in the area are facing. She still has her windows and doors and flooding is not an issue in her neighborhood.
We've not been able to get in touch with Rick's brother and his family, but we are hoping all is well with them too.
I'm thankful for God's care and protection. My prayers and concern are offered for all the folks whose lives have been drastically altered by Ike. I also pray that God's presence be known and His grace and love manifested through His children as clean-up and recovery take place.
Too bad we are working here in Louisiana at the moment. It would be cool to get to work in an area where we actually have family. But not this time I guess.
Life goes on. I know it does because there are dirty dishes piled in the sink, patiently waiting for me. So I guess I had better stir up some of what my granddaughter calls "Mimi's bubbles" and get them washed. So until next time, keep looking for the Son, knowing the storms of life will soon blow on by.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Outer Band Action
The Gulf is full of Ike. We started feeling him last night. The winds are kicking up and rain blows against our windows occasionally. We are under tornado watches and warning. Water is standing in some places around the campground, and the little lake behind our camper has white caps. The swans are on the bank with their heads tucked tightly beneath their wings. We've packed away all our loose camping gear, firmed up the stabilizing jacks, and have the weather channel on.
Rick is trying to get as many inspections done today as he can because we expect the next few days to be rainy. I took a walk up to the dumpster to carry out the trash. I wanted to get out while I could. All my life I've called the Texas Panhandle home, so 30 and 40 mph winds don't bother me, but as the winds and rain increase, my desire to take a stroll diminishes.
Our big concern is for family living in Houston. We appreciate your prayers for their safety and well being.
We've had a few power surges this morning. Many people in the Baton Rouge area are still without power from the last hurricane. If we are able to keep power and don't blow or float away, I'll try to keep you posted through the weekend. But until you see a new post, know we are doing all we can to stay safe, cool, and dry. You do the same!
Rick is trying to get as many inspections done today as he can because we expect the next few days to be rainy. I took a walk up to the dumpster to carry out the trash. I wanted to get out while I could. All my life I've called the Texas Panhandle home, so 30 and 40 mph winds don't bother me, but as the winds and rain increase, my desire to take a stroll diminishes.
Our big concern is for family living in Houston. We appreciate your prayers for their safety and well being.
We've had a few power surges this morning. Many people in the Baton Rouge area are still without power from the last hurricane. If we are able to keep power and don't blow or float away, I'll try to keep you posted through the weekend. But until you see a new post, know we are doing all we can to stay safe, cool, and dry. You do the same!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Be Careful Who You Choose as Friends
I made friends with the swans yesterday. Even Snowflake. I sat at the edge of the lake, chatting with one of my girls on the phone. The birds came closer and closer until finally they were out of the water and within reach. Snowflake hissed at me then reached out and bit me. I smacked him (not hard) and threatened to break his scrawny neck. After that, we were great friends. He and Midnight had that look that said, "Please feed me," and the poor little duck and the coot just stood back, hoping for a few crumbs of sustenance as well.
I've got a soft spot for hungry critters so I went to the camper for some bread. In a couple of seconds they gobbled up all the pieces I crumbled for them, so I told them to wait right there while I went for another piece. This time when I came out of the camper, both the swans were right there at the door like a couple of trick-or-treaters. I fed them and they ate greedily. My fun with them ended when Midnight relieved herself two feet from my door mat.
So I leave you with this bit of wisdom.
Be careful who you choose as friends. They might just come begging for bread and poop on your porch!
I've got a soft spot for hungry critters so I went to the camper for some bread. In a couple of seconds they gobbled up all the pieces I crumbled for them, so I told them to wait right there while I went for another piece. This time when I came out of the camper, both the swans were right there at the door like a couple of trick-or-treaters. I fed them and they ate greedily. My fun with them ended when Midnight relieved herself two feet from my door mat.
So I leave you with this bit of wisdom.
Be careful who you choose as friends. They might just come begging for bread and poop on your porch!
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