Just wanted to tell you all to have a wondeful weekend!! I’m headed to Harding (where I went to college) for a Choral Reunion. All alumni of any choral group has been invited to come for a weekend of fun, fellowship, and recording a full length cd of worship songs and hymns. All proceeds from this CD are going to benefit music scholarships. I’m traveling over with a friend of mine who I haven’t seen in a about a year. I’m thankful to be able to spend time with her and catch up on our “road trip”. I love Harding in the fact that you never lose those special friendships and memories, no matter how many years it’s been. I’m going to see some people this weekend that I haven’t seen in 10 - 15 years. God is good, and I am SO excited about this trip! Please pray for all who are traveling this weekend! I will “check in” with you all when I get back!! Have a blessed day!!!
I was at home this weekend, and my dad and I took some walks in the mornings, and this church sign was on our “route”. I just thought it was good, and wanted to share. And for a side note, I’m going to “brag” on my dad for a minute. He’s kinda had a rough last few days, and I just want him to know how much I love him, support him, and look up to him. I have to say the biggest thing I look forward to when I come home for a visit is our morning walks, just he and I. Those times are so special for me because this is when we have the most in depth spiritual talks. I don’t know of many fathers and daughters who have that kind of bond, but my dad has been one of the most spiritual influences on me. Dad has lived “both sides of the fence”, and he knows the “right side” to live on. He is such a testimony to so many, I just can’t find enough good things to say about him. And I know I’m embarrassing him to death by writing all this. Oh well, I’m too far away for him to get me, so too bad. ha! If you don’t know my dad, well, I just have to say you’re missing out. I love him with all my heart, and wouldn’t trade him for the world!! :) Hope you all have a wonderful day!!
Ok, so yes, I “stole” this line from a cheesy soap opera, but when you really think about it…”like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives”. TRUE TRUE TRUE!!! Do you even stop and think about how FAST time goes? I mean, just yesterday, I was in high school, and now I’m in my mid 30’s. It just doesn’t seem possible. Almost every day at work I hear someone comment “Can you believe how fast this month is going??” People seem to “see” how fast it goes, yet they continue to live as if they are never going to age, or die. I listen to the conversations at work and am blown away by the shallowness of those who don’t know our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!! Our lives our short, and sometimes we live like we are going to live forever. I have these moments at times myself, but we need to live each day as if it’s our last. The book of James is one of my favorites, there are so many verses in there that “hit home” and I just love to read it. This verse especially opens my eyes, and one I quote frequently on my blogs: James 4:14 “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (NIV) What truth to these words! We go on about our business as if we are going to be here forever, when we don’t know what tomorrow or even the next minute holds. Time is nothing, I will be 60 before I turn around twice, sure you laugh at that comment, but it’s true, and it will be the same for you if you’re not already there. Nothing matters here, life is a “vapor”. Live each day as if there is no tomorrow, because you never know when your “mist will vanish away.” I hope you all had a blessed day in the Lord!
Last week I had the pleasure of dog sitting a precious tea cup Yorkie, named Rocky. My name seems to be getting out that I dog sit around church, which is wonderful because I love to do it. I have recently been contemplating going into a business of doing this. I mean, come on…it’s like you get paid to stay at people’s houses, eat their food, use their stuff, while all you do is entertain, and feed the dog. I look at it this way, if I got a “gig” every week, I wouldn’t have to own a thing, no house payment or rent…nada!!! ha! Sounds like a pretty cushy job to me!! And I won’t lie, I’ve made some pretty decent money doing this. I love animals, so it’s perfect. I’m not a big “dog person”, I’ve always liked cats, but some of my friends keep saying “You’re going to be a dog lover yet”….well, if they just wouldn’t bark, lick me, and wake me up at all hours of the night to go outside, maybe this would be true. This is why I like cats…they bathe themselves, use litter boxes, and the best part?? They don’t have to be entertained 24/7. Now, I admit, Rocky pretty much had me wrapped around his finger…er paw, you can see why by the picture below. He would give me this look while sitting on my lap, and yeah, he could get anything he wanted. Sigh…I’m such a softy!! The best part of all?? I get to “baby sit” him again this weekend! It’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it!! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!! God Bless! By the way…please tell me I have some readers out there who remember my subject line from the cartoon “Rocky and Bullwinkle”! I’m not THAT old, am I??
Well, as many of you know, today is my birthday. I turned 35, and that just does not even seem possible. I usually view birthdays as “another year closer to retirment…” but the rate I’m going, I’ll never retire. ha! Alot of folks don’t look forward to birthdays, as for me?? Well, I don’t really look forward to them, but they really don’t phase me. Age is just a number. A friend told me not long ago “You’re growing younger in the Lord.” How true is that?? I thought that was a pretty neat statement, and one that I think of often. We are growing younger in the Lord, as our physical bodies are growing older day by day, our spiritual bodies are getting younger, and closer to that eternal day. Someone mentioned at church last week that we all are getting closer to death, day by day. I had never really thought about that, but how true, and how awesome it is knowing I’m getting closer to seeing many loved ones who have passed on before with each passing day. I don’t know about you, but that excites me! I know I mention this every year, but you might as well get used to it because it’s not stopping this year. My grandmother and I were close, I don’t mean just because we were family, but we were close friends, and I love her dearly. The one special bond we shared was we had the same birthday. Not many grandkids can say that. This year marks the 4th year I’ve had to celebrate my birthday without her, and I’ll be honest, it’s tough. It was our special day together, and something has been missing in my life these past 4 birthdays…her not being here with me. She would have been 90 years old today if she were still living. Even though she’s not here with me physically this evening, I have a feeling she’s still celebrating with me in a far better place than I can ever imagine. And I bet her birthday celebration in Heaven is far better than any celebration she had on earth! Happy Birthday Grandma!! I love you so much, and can’t wait to see you again!!! Thanks to all of you who have sent me emails, e-cards, real cards, text messages, etc. today! I’ve had such a wonderful day, and it’s all because I have such wonderful friends such as you all! Love you all!
Tonight at church, our preacher did a lesson on friendship. He had us all think of our best friend, then to think of something they did for you that meant so much, or a time they were there for you during a hard time. Then he asked us to think of a time when they disappointed us. Wow! That was tough to think about, but we’ve all had a best friend, or just friends in general, who let us down. He then referenced Jesus and Peter being best friends, and how Jesus was always there for Peter. During the time he asked Peter to walk on the water, Peter’s faith began to waiver as he saw the water splashing around his feet, and he started to sink, but Jesus was right there to lift him up. But then he brought up how Peter denied Jesus before the rooster crowed. The account of Peter’s denial in Luke is the one that hits me hardest because of one sentence which I will get to in a minute. Luke gives the account of Peter denying him, I’ll pick up at the 3rd Denial in Luke 22:60-62. V. 60 “Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!!’ Just as he was speaking the rooster crowed.” V. 61 “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” V. 62 “And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Of course the words in all these verses are powerful, but the words that hit me hardest are the ones that say “The Lord turned and looked STRAIGHT at Peter.” Think about that for a minute. “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter!!” Wow! Do you ever feel like Peter?? I have put myself in Peter’s position many times when I have denied my Lord, or done something so shameful. I can see the Lord looking straight at me, with a look of hurt in his eyes because I have hurt him. I read the words “The Lord turned and looked straight at Julie!” I have also wept bitterly many times, like Peter for hurting my Lord, or not being the Christian I am supposed to be. Jesus is always there for us, to lift us up, to be on our side…to die for us, but yet we continue to deny him over and over. If you can put yourself in the place of Peter, and feel the Lord looking at you for something you have done to hurt him, it makes you think of how foolish you are. Fill in the blank “The Lord turned and looked straight at ________.” You know how it feels when you know you’ve hurt your best friend, how you let them down, and disappoint them, and the look of hurt in their eyes. It kills you, but why don’t we feel so much pain when we hurt Jesus? Is there any difference? Just try placing yourself in Peter’s shoes the next time you do something to hurt Jesus. Fill in that blank with your name, and see if it doesn’t make you think. He has a look of hurt in his eyes for you, but he also has a look of love and compassion that we just can’t understand. No matter how many times we hurt him, deny him, spit in his face, he will never stop loving us. I just don’t understand, but I’m thankful every day for that love.
“Oh how he loves you and me, he gave his life, what more could he give? Oh how he loves you…oh how he loves me…oh how he loves you and me!!!” One of the most beautiful songs ever written!! Have a blessed day!
I’m a HUGE baseball fan!! I grew up with a family that are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans, we went to games all the time when I was a kid. I still love to go to games to this day. We don’t have a Major League team in Nashville, but we do have the Nashville Sounds. I believe it’s the Milwaukee Brewers Farm Team, don’t hold me to that, I could be wrong, but anyhoo…it’s alot of fun to go to their games, and since I don’t live close to my Cardinals anymore, I take what I can get. Some friends and I went last night, and we really had a good time. One of the guys with us even caught a foul ball, so that was pretty cool! His birthday was on Thursday, so that was a great “gift” for him! This is a picture of it! I stuffed my face with too much junk food, but isn’t that what going to a game is all about?? ha ha! Hope you all are having a great weekend!!
Some of you guys may recall my “birthday cake mishap” from work last year. I’ll just try to recap it quickly here. My office always has a cake for birthdays. We just do one big cake for everyone who has a birthday in that particular month. Yes…I know, it is “Office Space”, but I’m sure all of you reading this who work in an office know exactly what I’m talking about. Well, last year, the only 2 people to have birthdays in June were myself, and one other lady. They did the cake after I had left work for the day last year, and saved my piece in the fridge in the break room. Now I couldn’t care less about cake, to be honest, but it was just the idea that I know this other woman who shares my birthday month would have thrown a huge fit if it had happened to her, plus it kinda makes you feel like people really don’t give a rip about you, you know? So I started calling myself Milton. If you’ve seen “Office Space”, you will understand why I called myself this as he’s always getting “the shaft”. He’s the guy in the picture. It’s pretty much become one of the jokes in our office about the mishap last year, plus, me being the sarcastic smart alec I am (at times :)), I just love to remind everyone from time to time about it. So yesterday, it was time…time for THE cake. I get off work at 3:30, so we were all wondering “Will Julie get her cake this year? Or will she be Milton once again….” Time kept passing…lunch time, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00….2:15, still no cake!! Finally at 2:30 we celebrated the June birthdays! This year there are 4 of us with June birthdays, so we were all present and accounted for, and were sung to, of course. It was coming down to the wire for me though, with only an hour to spare before I missed out again! So everyone cheered for me, and it felt so good to lose the Milton status!! I even got a new Swingline ELECTRIC Stapler last week…so bye, bye Milton, I have cast you aside in 2008. This birthday might just be the best ever since I already got my cake, and ate it too!! HA!!! Sorry, bad joke!! Of course, I must say, after I blogged about the incident from last year, I had many friends come to my rescue on Facebook by sending me my very OWN cakes through Facebook gifts…and that just made me smile cuz I know who my real friends are. I have some of the best friends in the world!! God Bless!!
I know everyone has recently seen the news of Gay Marriage becoming legal in the State of California. I don’t want to start a big stir up in this blog, but honestly, where are we headed?? I know our ancestors are turning over in their graves at the things that go on in our world today. I tell you what galls me more than this though, are these people protesting, claiming to be Christians while holding up signs saying “God Hates Fags” and “You’re Going To Burn In Hell”. What kind of example is this?? If I weren’t a Christian, and I saw someone holding a sign up like this, would I really want to become a Christian?? Good Gracious!!! Get a grip, people!! Last I checked, God doesn’t HATE anyone, yes, he hates the sin we are in, but I believe John 3:16 states pretty plain that “God so loved the world that he gave his ONLY son…” for who?? For ALL mankind. It sickens me to see people holding signs up such as this when we should be trying to help these people, and love them. It brings me back to the famous question…”What Would Jesus Do?” I don’t think he would be holding up a sign saying “God Hates You”, rather I see him hugging these people, and showing them the truth. Oh how we just don’t GET IT!! Like I said, I’m not going to get into a huge debate on this subject because I am not the judge, that’s up to God, but I know good and well, he does not hate ANYONE, no matter who you are, no matter how much sin you’re in…He loves each and everyone of us enough to let His son suffer for us, it’s just a shame that we, as Christians, can’t love one another instead of pointing fingers and judging. My friend, Sherry sent me this video the other day…I think it pretty much speaks for itself on this subject of Gay Marriage, it’s cute and has a great message!
And I know I’m embarrassing him to death by writing all this. Oh well, I’m too far away for him to get me, so too bad. ha! If you don’t know my dad, well, I just have to say you’re missing out. I love him with all my heart, and wouldn’t trade him for the world!! :) Hope you all have a wonderful day!!
The best part of all?? I get to “baby sit” him again this weekend! It’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it!! 
Some friends and I went last night, and we really had a good time. One of the guys with us even caught a foul ball, so that was pretty cool! His birthday was on Thursday, so that was a great “gift” for him! This is a picture of it! I stuffed my face with too much junk food, but isn’t that what going to a game is all about?? ha ha! Hope you all are having a great weekend!!
