Done

Okay so for 2 months now I have posted everyday. Not earth shattering posts but posts. That will not happen in September. Just too much going on right now. I will post often though. I still have to type out all the cool stuff I learned in my Amazing discoveries class. And next week I will be going to a class on Revelation taught by the same people. I am looking forward to that. So I hope to let you know what I learn.

Thanks for reading!

A big ole pile of SHIFT work

Have you heard that song? I LOVE that song. I love George Strait so that goes without saying but this song is my life! Today is one of those days that I wish I had a different job with a normal schedule. I have been on 2nd shift for the past 4 weeks (we change shifts every 4 weeks). Today I change to midnight weekends. So to explain what happens today is this: last night I got off work at 11pm and tonight I go back to work at 11pm. I have worked 4 days straight already (we work 4 day weeks) but now I have to work 2 more nights so that is 6 days in a row (4 second shift and 2 midnight shift). So....today I get up and do a few things and then I have to lay down and take a nap so I can stay awake at work all night. Are you confused just yet? I am....

Moving furniture

Today we are moving everything out of the kitchen. Monday the workers will start laying down our new kitchen tile. YEAH!!!!

Gotta love 'em

So...we are remodeling the house. We are spending a pretty penny to do all this so did we need another expense???? Brian calls me last night at work to tell me this story:

B: I decided to take the kitchen table that Danny let us borrow back to him tonight. (Danny lives right next door to us). I put the table in the back of the truck but didn't tie it down since I wasn't going far. Well when I hit the brakes guess what happened?

W: The table went out the back of the truck bed?

B: No.

W: The table slid into the tail gate messing it up?

B: No

W: The table went through the back window of the truck?

B: Yes.

W: Are you okay?

B: Thanks for asking.

Yep....how's that for great? Men...gotta love 'em (I think ;) )

Accomplishment challenged

My ability to accomplish anything lately is zero. I can't do anything around the house until the workers finish. I couldn't get on the internet for 5 days so I'm VERY behind in everything I do there (which includes paying the bills!). Now at work I'm having to train one of the new magistrates so I have no time to read (yeah I know that sounds awful but when I'm not working I am allowed to read...it is nice to be able to do that)....I just feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel getting nothing done in my life.

Soooo...let's get ready for work.

Hope your day is a good one.

feeling yucky

I have felt yucky all day....yep that's about it...I slept til 1pm and then got up to be at work at 3pm.....oh joy

Too much stuff

We have WAY too much stuff! I may never climb out of this clutter ....help me...I'm drowning....

Need something? I probably have it...want it???

Blah blah blah

Had to say something...hopefully a profound sermon will happen at church today and I'll expound on it. Stay tuned!

I need to get a prize or something

Well now my internet at my house doesn't work...yeah NOT very happy about that at all....paying for it and can't use it. So....after the conference today (I'll be posting on it soon...very very interesting!) I came to Panera Bread. Now I had to eat lunch of course and I LOVE Panera Bread and they have wi-fi. This way I don't miss a post for this month!

Let's see...house still chaotic. The windows and doors should be finished by Tuesday. Then I can start painting the spare room and move all the furniture back into that room. I can get all the junk off of Scott's bed so he can sleep in it when he comes home next month. Then we have to start moving the furniture and appliances in the kitchen and sunroom so the new floor can be laid. We bought a "new" kitchen table (I'll get a picture and post it) and we are getting a 1950's fridge...matches the new theme of the kitchen. This house remodeling is crazy but exciting.

Now I'm headed to the mall just because I feel like it!

Hope all is well with those reading this...have a great Saturday!!!

goings on

The Music Builds tour started tonight. Looking forward to hearing how the show went and seeing pictures.

Brian and I went to a conference last night called "Amazing Discoveries in lost cities of the dead". It is a conference about the wonders of Biblical archeology. The topic was on ancient Egypt. When I get the time I will write more. Very very interesting concepts. Tonight the topic is Babylon. Should be very interesting. I'll fill you in....

Free music!

Like free music? I do! I will be honest and say I haven't downloaded this yet but I plan to once I get to my laptop (I'm posting from work...shhhh don't tell anyone).

Anyway Phil Wickham has a new cd out and it is free. Yep free. It has been recommended by Bart Millard of Mercy Me. That's enough for me to go see what it's all about. Also, I've seen Phil in concert and I liked him alot. So....what are you waiting for...go HERE and get the free cd!!!

Summer Reading Club...closing out

Finally found time to post this!

I have been reading again "What's so amazing about Grace" by Phillip Yancey. When I find a writer I like I tend to stick with them and read all they have written. This book has become a favorite of mine. I will probably read it again since there is so much to digest.

My review isn't finished (not enough time before heading to work...I'll add to it)
******************************************************
There are a few books (besides the Bible of course) that I believe all Christians should read. This would be one of those books. Philip Yancey is one of my favorite authors and his honesty is at times startling but very much needed in this world today.

Where else can the world go to find grace? Gordon MacDonald’s question on page 15 hit us right where we live. Grace is what we need and just aren’t finding. The world cares about itself period.

The Parable of Grace: A gift that costs everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient. (page 25)
Do we realize that this is what we have been given? We think we have to work for it or give something in exchange for the grace we have been given by Jesus. And I for one just can’t grasp the enormity of what Jesus did for me.

I just loved how a conference was held to debate what belief was unique to Christianity. CS Lewis responds “oh, that’s easy, it’s grace”. Isn’t it the simplest things that always seem to dumbfound us?

Page 53 “Grace is shockingly personal”. Do you have a problem with accepting that God personally cares for you? To realize that God who created ALL and controls ALL cares about little ole me is mind-blowing. There are days when I don’t even care about me so how could God? I have often told people that I believe if I was the ONLY lost person ever Jesus would have still died to save only me. I do believe this but I can’t really wrap my mind around it.

Chapter 5 is my favorite out of part 1. God’s thoughts and ways being higher than mine is pretty much how I leave things in my life. I quote this often (my husband says it is my “I have no idea but that is how God rolls” scripture verse…yep I would agree with that statement. Yancey also delves into Hosea (which is my favorite book of the Bible). God loves us but must judge our behavior. To not do so would just allow us to behave as we wished (this is what society has become…do as we want with no consequence). Then we learn that God decides NOT to give us what we deserve (have you ever received that grace from anyone in your life? did you thank them? do you thank God?).

Page 66 “I marvel at a God who allows himself to endure such humiliation only to come back for more.”
It hurts to realize that I can humiliate God. By claiming to be His and live under His control, when I stray from Him people see my behavior as a reflection of God (not Wendy). And in spite of that He comes back and picks me up and dusts me off.

And once again on page 67 we have a simple yet profound truth. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so”. We should all sing this daily!

I read Rich Mullins:An arrow pointing to Heaven years ago and in the book there was a statement: You cannot do anything to make God love you more nor can you do anything to make Him love you less. On page 70 this statement showed back up and it is correlated with grace. What an amazing grace it is!!!!

The story of Daisy and her family in chapter six breaks my heart. How cruel we can be to those we should love the most. And how horrible that the cycle continues from generation to generation. Ungrace…what an awful word and concept.

Forgiveness. Is it hard for you to do? We sure do want to be on the recieving end but giving it back is just so very hard for us. I like the statement on page 103 that says “forgiveness is not the same as pardon….you may forgive one who wronged you and still insist on a just punishment for that wrong.” Working in the criminal justice field makes me very biased towards people being punished for their wrong doings. I see some really bad things that people do to each other and I can truly understand how forgiveness would be next to impossible. That’s why grace is so amazing. The other amazing part of grace is Jesus. He cared enough to suffer on this earth. He knows and understands and still forgives. We must also.

“Getting even”…are we not a people that love to get even? Don’t we love to read about people that took revenge on someone? The story in chapter nine involving the Nazi and the Jewish man was a hard one to come to terms with but I totally agree with the statement on page 114 in which we should respond with silence about others forgiving each other. We have no right to tell anyone to forgive other because we so often fall short of it ourselves. The concept of vengeance is a strong on in our society and we often look for ways to pay someone back. The idea that “vengeance is mine saith the Lord” is a foreign one to us. We are impatient and we also believe that God either is not watching and does not care or He just plans to not do anything about the wrongs done to us. I’m just glad that we are wrong about that!

In chapter ten we are shown just how we CAN forgive. As stated on page 123 “I cannot do it, but God will give us His strength”….there’s the answer. Forgiveness is nothing we can do on our own. When we have recieved God’s grace we start to understand that we must forgive and then we rely on the One Who helps us do just that…forgive.

The stories Yancey tells of forgiveness are almost hard to believe. We have to embrace this act and truly mean it for the world to change at all. God help us!

.....to be finished.....

One more month

And I will be going to see Third Day! The Music Builds tour is coming to Raleigh! So that is my exciting news for the day.

carry on

Chaos

That would describe my life right now. I'm not complaining because my house is going to look awesome when all this is over...I just have a hard time dealing with disorganization.

We do have water again which is a blessing. Thank God when you turn on your water tonight...just because.

Sorry so short but the power was off at my house most of the day to fix the water leak and to get my new bay window in place (just precautions so the guys don't get hurt). I cut grass today and I'm wore out so this is my "exciting" post for the day.

Peace out homies...

Would it matter?

Today's sermon was about intergrity again. We are in the book of Daniel and each week we have learned how to be a person of integrity. This week we studied the famous Daniel in the Lion's den chapter six. Pastor Phillip did not teach the usual story but stopped at verse 10.

Let's set the story. King Darius was about to put Daniel in charge all across the land. The King was going to do this because Daniel had proven that he was trustworthy and intelligent. This of course made the other officials upset. They knew that they could not find fault with Daniel in his work so they devised a plan to make him choose who he would obey. King Darius signs a decree that for 30 days all the people had to bow to the King and the King only. If anyone violated this decree they would thrown in the lion's den. Now read verse 10....

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Did Daniel change? No....why? Because he did what was right even when no one was watching. That was the definition of integrity for us this week. Do you do what is right even when no one is watching? On the other hand, do you do something wrong in private believing that no one will ever know?

Pastor Phillip's question that got me was this...
"If a law was passed that made praying illegal would it affect you?"
Have you established a relationship so solid with God that no matter WHAT you are going to talk to Him? Daniel had just that kind of relationship.

Something to think about!

go and do

drive by blogging....this is my go and do day...go buy a new back door

going to dinner with my mom, husband, brother and sister-in-law tonight so that's nice

we have no water again...huge water leak under the house which has to be fixed....yeah not happy about that...

have a great saturday!

Intelligence is a beautiful thing....

Too bad so many people lack it!!!

Check out this newspaper articles....


Weapons really???



Are you confused?



Love this one.....


I think I live in this county!



Hmmm....okay




Wouldn't it drop off after 20 also????




Well at least they read them!




Here is the vehicle you need to paint. *paints vehicle* Where did the vehicle go???





Shocked? Me either....





LOL!!!




I think I would be more shocked and afraid if there no bodies there!





Civil war planes....let me know how that search goes!

Can't make this stuff up

I'm sure you have read articles about the idiotic things people do. Well, I work in that environment. Unfortunately I hear and see how mean and ugly people can be to each other but some things are just funny. Two of those happened last night while I was working...thought I would share.

1.
An officer is sitting at a red light. Two intoxicated males jump into traffic and run straight to the officer's car. They proceed to try to beat up the car. The officer calls for back-up and then gets out of his car to apprehend the two men. Traffic was stopped and civilians even helped out the officers. [Ever tried to beat up a car????]

2.
There is a certain man who is tired of hearing the Fire Department trucks go by his house all the time. He lives a mile away from the station. So...to protest this intrusion on his life he comes to the Public Saftey Center (which is where my office and the Sheriff's department is located). He thought he was at the local police department (he was not and realize that he is also intoxicated). His protest involved him burning a newspaper in the middle of the lobby. Nothing was harmed, man arrested problem solved. Now realize that this man is tired of the Fire trucks so he sets fire to something so the fire trucks will show up.....yeah....

This is what I deal with....it is a shame that God gave us brains and we don't use them.

Hope your day is great and not filled with stupidity.

Some things never change

I haven't watched Days of Our Lives in years....the Olympics just went off. All the same people are on the show (Marlena, Tony, Stephano, Steve, etc.....) Too funny....you can stop watching for years (I do mean years.....) and check up within 15 minutes. What a waste of time...

well....time to get ready for work. We were busy last night...hopefully that will be different tonight.

Brain dead

I have nothing to write about but I have to post so I can get my NaBloPoMo badge...

pitiful huh???

I'm at work surfing the net and missing the Olympics. That's about it.

House work update: the window trim work is being finished. Tomorrow they will start working on replacing my kitchen windows with french doors. More dust!!! No complaints!

Did you see that???

Okay I'm SOOO glad I stayed up to watch the swimming. Oh my!!!! I was trying my best to not wake up Brian. It reminded me of when I watch a Tarheels basketball game and Brian has gone to bed. It is very hard to be quiet. That was beyond exciting!!! Did you miss it?

Go HERE and watch it (over and over and over!!)


GO USA!!!!

Saying you are wrong

Today's sermon was about saying we are wrong. We just don't do that do we? How many times have you been wrong but pride will not let you say it? How many relationships have been strained because you will not say you were wrong? The lesson came from Daniel chapter 4-King Nebuchadnezzer had a dream that bothered him. His dream was about a tree that was big, vibrant and gave shelter to all that came under the tree. Next scene-the tree is cut down and the roots are covered over so it will not return. Daniel tells the King that the tree is him (the King). Daniel tells the King that he must repent and then possibly his kingdom will not be snatched from him. A year later King Nebuchadnezzer is looking out at his kingdom and gives ALL credit to himself. God humbles the King by taking his kingdom and his mind. The King lives as a wild animal for 7 years until his turns his eyes to the Most High and acknowledges Who is in control.

Do you fall into the King's mind set? All you have is yours and by your hand? Do you not realize that God has given you ALL that you have (from the breath you breathe to your "stuff")? The question that the Pastor asked which stuck with me was this "What will God have to take away from you to get you to repent and say you are wrong?" Not only is that eye-opening it is scary. Our relationships here on earth would be so much better if we would just admit when we are wrong. How much better the relationship we should have with God will be when we approach Him and admit that we are wrong. I loved how Pastor Phillip ended the service. "You cannot come to God for salvation apart from admitting that you are wrong and repenting from your sins". This stops alot of people from coming. Those that read this I pray have come to this salvation. If you haven't why? God is patient and wants to forgive you for all. Just admit you are wrong-He is listening.

Have a great day!

And go USA (are you watching the Olympics?)

Drive by post

Cleaning cleaning cleaning....that is my life right now. I've cleaned up the yard and now I have to move stuff back to where it goes or move it away from where it is....

Sunroom is being worked on...have to replace part of the wall due to water leakage over the years (oh joy). Next week we start on the bay window in the living room and then the kitchen. We are replacing the kitchen windows with doors to access our deck. Yeah my house is a wreck. Makes my mood sour but I know this will pass and I'll have a great looking house!!

Hope you all have a great day! Gotta go....

Randomness

I wasn't tagged but I saw this on Angie's blog and it seemed like a good idea (because I've run out of ideas to post about anyway!)

So six random things about Wendy....(complete with visual aids!)

1- I'm left handed


2- I'm claustrophobic. I can't even watch people on tv or the movies in tight spaces without getting freaked out.



3- I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up and marry a NFL football player (not necessarily Joe Theisman but a Redskin would have been nice)







4- My dream vacation is to go to Greece and spend about 3 weeks there.



5- I cannot drive a stick shift vehicle




6- If I could own any car in the world it would be a candy apple red 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang.


So...is that random enough? What about you??? Tell me something about yourself!

Class Reunion

Showing my age with this one. This year 20 years ago I graduated from high school. That just doesn't seem right at all. We will be having our reunion in October so alot of emails have been flying around to find people. I think it is cool how the internet makes it much easier to find people now. Can you imagine how difficult it probably was to find 300+ people (my graduating class had 325 I think) 20 years after the fact? We are all now on Myspace, Facebook, email or whatever. We have now congregated at Classmates.com. It is fun to go there each day and see who has joined and who will be coming to the reunion. I'm looking forward to it. Have you had your reunion? If so, did you go and did you have a good time? If not, will you go? And will you drag your spouse to it? Brian didn't go to school with me but luckily he knows a few of the spouses that will be there (he went with me to my 10th year reunion and was BORED out of his mind). This time should be different. I'll be sure to show you all the pictures of people you don't know after the reunion!

Window day at my house: the attic is being worked on and then the sunroom. The sunroom will take about 3 days to do. I am currently at my mom's-I brought the dogs over to her house to get away from the noise. Poor things....when the guys drove up in the driveway they ran to the back bedroom and hid. Yeah...I knew I couldn't keep them at the house all day again. So...there's my life.

Have a great day guys!

Nail guns and dogs

Don't mix....oh my...you should have seen my dogs when the guys started using the nail guns. I couldn't find Rusty -he had squeezed himself behind the toilet! Lacy isn't usually afraid of anything but that nail gun did her in...she was shaking like a leaf and wouldn't come out from under the bed. I closed the bedroom door, turned on the radio and sat in the room with them. That seemed to help but I believe tomorrow I will taking them to my mom's house. They finished putting the bedroom windows in and tomorrow they start on the bay window for the living room. This is coming along quicker than I thought it would. I will be painting all weekend so that should be a blast ;).

Just to be curious....how hot is it where you are right now? It is 100 degrees today with 47% humidity...not too bad for August in NC!

Well gotta get ready for work. We had a shooting and car wreck involving 3 police officers yesterday. Hopefully today will be much calmer (I doubt it!)

Summer Reading Club week ?

This week I finised this book.



I thanked Traci earlier for recommending Steven James. You should check him out. His style of writing is easy but mind stretching (does that make sense?). Steven makes you look at the ordinary in an unordinary way. I will read something he says and stop and think "you know I've never thought of that but he is right". He is very honest and allows us to enter into his mind and world. He isn't afraid to let us know that his idea of God was wrong growing up and how life has affected him and his beliefs.

My favorite quote in the entire book is this:
"I'm glad I don't serve a deity I can cram into my brain-sized understanding of the world. If I could, I would be more than human, and he would be less than God."
AMEN! There is so much about this world that amazes, depresses, and dumbfounds me so it is nice to just fall right into the arms of God who is totally in control!

Add this book to your "gotta read" pile!

Nothing to say

Well I just don't have anything exciting to write about as usual. The guys putting the windows came today. I am liking the new windows! Alot will have to be done though-need to get the molding to go around the windows and then paint. We are also going to get new flooring in the kitchen, sunroom, bathrooms and dining room. WHOO HOO!

I have TOO much junk though. OMG....you should see my house (well no you shouldn't!). I will be going through boxes and dresser drawers for months. I do not want to live with this clutter anymore!!! A yard sale is looking like a future venture here.

So...what's going on in your world? I need to start thinking up exciting posts because I know you are tired of me having boring ones!

SEE YA!

I want to be SLOB of the Month!

Yes I want to win a cd...so go visit Mercy Me's blog HERE and tell them I sent you!!! They are hilarious. Well worth your time to visit them!

On the third day......

of each month we blog about Third Day. (actually I think I blog about them more often than once a month!)

So what to discuss this month?

(First off I'm still waiting for my pre-ordered cd from Music Today but that's another complaint for another day!)

Most people can point to a few events in their lives that change them or change their direction in life or just mean alot to them. When asked, events such as your wedding day, the day your child or children were born, a certain job you started, a promotion, the death of a loved one are what comes to mind. In my life one of those events would be when I became a Gomer. Yes that sounds very odd. What the heck is a Gomer? Most of you reading this already know but for those that don't read about it here.

Now alot has changed since I joined the ranks of Gomerdom but what makes this such a great event in my life? Well since 2002 when I joined I have traveled to South Carolina, all over North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, and California to see Third Day play. Now before you call me a stalker or a freak (well you may still think that afterwards) realize that I traveled mainly to see the wonderful people I have met by being a Gomer. Yes I truly enjoy seeing Third Day play in concert (I will be going to at least 5 shows this Fall) but it has become much more than a fun concert. Becoming a Gomer has been a tremendous blessing to me. I now have friends (REAL friends) all over this country and actually around the world. I talk to at least one of these friends daily in some manner. God has shown me just want the church is supposed to be by making my circle of friends spread past my own home town.

So what does this have to do with Third Day? God used the music of this amazing band to bring us all together. That was the common thread and now we are a huge family that gets together as often as possible wherever we can to fellowship and see a great show. We don't even have to go to a Third Day show anymore. That is just the icing on the cake now if we get to enjoy a show.

To the Gomers reading this blog...I love you dearly. Third Day brought us to the same boards but God did so much more. I look so forward to the next time I get see any of you!!!

So Third Day I thank you for giving me some of my best friends in this world!!!

Here are some pictures of me and my Gomer friends. (Some are quite old so I need new ones! ;))

New Harry Potter movie

Yes I'm ready!!! Coming to a theater in November.

And I will be buying this too! Coming to a bookstore in December

Thanks Traci

I just wanted to thank Traci for steering me in the direction of Steven James. He is an excellent writer. I have enjoyed all the books I've read of his so far. Right now I'm reading "Sailing Between the Stars" and wow...I love to read people that stretch my mind. Steven does this on every page. I'm quite jealous of Traci because she knows Steven and check this out... Steven's website. You can be a vicitm ....how cool would that be? I hope Traci gets to be the victim ;).

Anyway...check him out. I'll be writing a review as soon as I'm finished the book.

There is a quote I will leave you with from the book.
"Love, just like life, always involves risk. ...... Part of the terror of daily life is the mystery of love's unchainged, unexplained power in our world. Because as we all know, the more you love, the more you'll be hurt when your lover betrays you. So when you think about it, God's heart must be the most wounded of all." (emphasis mine)

Think about that...God loves you more than you love yourself and much more than anyone else can or will love you. That also means that we breaks His heart the most...what an amazing Love He lavishes on us!