Keepin' My Head Above The Water

I've been feeling a bit challenged for the past several months but I'm still hanging in there. Let's see, first of all my children went to Oklahoma for what should have been 3 weeks but they returned after only a week because my son has somehow acquired scalp ringworms (tinea capitis). It was bad. I'll leave out the details, it wasn't a pretty sight. He went through bouts of head pains (different from headaches) and sores all over his head. I honestly have no idea where/who he got it from. He's been on medication for 30 days and was given another 30 day prescription at his last follow-up visit which was last week. He's doing much better now but it may take another month before he's completely healed.

Money has been reaaaalll funny. Thumbs up to the wonderful fathers out there who are taking care of their children. Unfortunately, my children's father does not fall into this category. I've had to go through a private child support collection agency to enforce something that he should be doing WILLINGLY!! Home boy has been working a job getting paid cash for several months & has continued to neglect his children. Instead of cursing him I will continue to pray for him. Especially now that he has had to move in with a friend because he couldn't pay his rent. Hopefully his eyes will be opened and he will come to the realization that "whatever a man sows, this he will also reap".

But, in spite of all that -- God is still good!! His word says to count it ALL joy. Not some, not half but all. Even though I may not completely understand why I would count being $200 short on my mortgage all joy, I will be obedient and do it anyway :).

The obvious joy in my life is the fact that I have 2 more classes left before taking one last class for volunteers at the Family Care Pregnancy Center. These past 10 weeks of attending bible class have been a tremendous blessing for me. I will also be attending Dallas Baptist University this Fall -- Yeah!!! I'm so excited. I've actually enrolled in an online degree program but if I have to go to the campus for anything it is no more than 10 miles away. I have about 45 credits that will transfer and my employer will reimburse tuition (up to an amount that is equivalent to state college tuition). Hey, it's better than nothing -- especially considering the fact that DBU is a private university.

I managed to actually find time to read this past couple of weeks. I just finished reading Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson. I met her about 2 years ago at my son's soccer team's end of the season picnic. At that time her book had not yet been published yet. She had brochures promoting the book that she was passing out. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read her latest book, Divas of Damascus Road, which was supposed to have been available July 12th.

Please keep me and my children in your prayers.

The Will of God

Another one of those e-mails I couldn't resist sharing:

THE WILL OF GOD

The will of God will never take you, Where the grace of God cannot keep you. Where the arms of God cannot support you,Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs, Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the spirit of God cannot work through you, Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you, Where the army of God cannot protect you, Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the love of God cannot enfold you, Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you, Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears, Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears, Where the Word of God cannot feed you, Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you, Where the omni presence of God cannot find you.

Do you ever wonder . . .

why me? I mean, really. Why do bad things have to happen to good people? I'm not saying that I want bad things to happen to bad people -- but. . . It's funny that I'm finding it hard to follow my own advice. I'm the one who will try to get others to see the 'bright' side of things. I'm the one with plenty of words of encouragement. I'm the one who will try to convince others that things could be worse. Now that I need that same type of uplift, I'm not feeling it. I don't want to be at work and I don't want to go home. I don't want to drive around either -- not with gas being $2.85 cents a gallon. Maybe if I had some shoes like Dorothy I could click my heels and just go somewhere -- not 'home', but maybe some place where there's no drama - from males or females. No one trying to outdo anyone else. No gossip or dishonesty. No jealousy or envy. And definitely no overdraft fees. Yeah, that would cheer me up!

Food for Thought

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Things have been going quite well for me and I know that it is all because of God's grace. The days are flying by and I'm trying my best to keep up. I've had a few speed bumps that I have had to deal with but I didn't let it dampen my spirits. 2006 has been very promising for me so far. I am determined now more than ever to do things God's way and not the world's way. I have experienced for myself that when I am living according to God's will, every aspect of my life is so much better. Problems still occur -- but I deal with them differently. There are still times that I find myself frustrated -- but it doesn't get me down. I still encounter others who try to bring me down -- but they're not successful and I continue to pray for them with a sincere heart. It amazes me that the same people who are quick to denounce Jesus Christ have no qualms about showing support for people or things who really have nothing to offer them. What exactly has a specific political party done for you lately? Better yet, what has any clothing designer, hip hop/rap/jazz/blues/pop/rock entertainer done for you lately? What has the cast of Desperate Housewives, ER or any other popular t.v. show done for you lately?

Everywhere you go you hear about, read about or see some group that is supporting some kind of cause. They do it without shame and without concern of what anyone else thinks. That's the very same way that those of us who are christians should go about our lives. We should not be ashamed to stand up for what we believe -- that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he came to earth so that sinners could have salvation; that he died on the cross for our sins; that he arose 3 days later. The word of God says it and I believe it -- and I am not ashamed to confess it.

Peace.

I Stand Corrected

In my 12/29/05 post (yes, it's been a while) I shared a poem titled 'Saved and Single'. This morning I received an e-mail notifying me of a comment made to that post. The commenter said that they were actually the author of the poem that I posted and was kind enough to include the actual poem in its entirety (you can check out the comments in the 12/29/05 post if you choose to read the correct version).

I received the poem via e-mail and the author was listed as 'unknown'.

Me being the inquisitive person that I am, decided to look up the author on the internet to validate the claim. Shellie R. Warren is real (not sure if she really was the commenter since I was unable to access the website that was given). I haven't had a chance to read as much about her as I would like but I definitely plan on doing so.

The title of the poem is 'I'm Single and That's Alright With Me' and she stated that it is included in a book she wrote titled Inside of Me: Lessons of Lust, Love and Redemption.

There are quite a few articles written about her or by her on various websites. Just to name few: Relevant Store.Com, Bellezasinc.Com, Faithwebbin.Net and FindArticles.Com.

You can check out her website here. My apologies to Shellie R. Warren for the poem not being displayed in its entirety and more importantly, for showing the author as 'unknown'.