Out of the mouths of babes

Kids have this amazing ability to be truthful... and cute at the same time.  Like this...

Today in church, the pastor who was giving a children's message asked for a volunteer.  This little kid,about four years old, was eager to stand up on stage and help.  The pastor gave him directions to cling as tight as he could to the pastor who was playing God.  But first, he'd have to hold a few things.

First up... a clock.  The pastor explained that we want to cling to God, but a lot of times, we just don't have the time.   We are always racing to beat the clock.  So the kid took the clock.  And emphatically announced to the church "It's 10:00 guys!!!"  When he turned the clock around though, it looked like this:

So he needs a little work on his time telling skills.

The pastor then handed him a baseball and explained that a lot of times, we get tangled up in sports and other activities and make our schedules so busy that we don't have time for God.

Next up was a cell phone.  The pastor explained that sometimes we intend to spend time with God, but technology takes up our time.  We end up spending our times texting and catching up on Facebook instead.

Then the pastor pulled out a gun.  Yes, a gun.  In church.  The little kid's eyes got real big and he said 'ARE WE GOING TO FIGHT?"   The pastor explained, no they weren't going to fight but a lot of times these toys get in our way.  (He sure could've picked a better toy).  In all his boy glory, the little fellow took a few good shots with the gun towards the congregation.

As you can imagine, the little guys hands and arms were full.  He was even was using his neck to hold the gun.  The pastor asked him to go cling to God.  The little boy scooted over to the edge of the stage and tried to jump onto the pastor playing God, but he dropped some things.  The pastor urged him to pick them up and cling to God.  The little boy looked at him with a very angry face and screamed  "I CAN'T!!! YOU PUT TOO MUCH STUFF IN MY HANDS AND I DON'T WANT IT."  And he proceeded to run away from the stuff and JUMP full force into the arms of the pastor playing God. 

While the little kid was as cute as could be, he was right on.  To my young readers out there,  I want to encourage you to stand boldly in your witness and love for God as this little boy did.  1 Timothy 4:12 says "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  Maybe the adults around you aren't setting a good example.  Well, set an example for them!   The words you say and the things you do may speak volumes more than the words of a pastor. 

This little boys words got me thinking.  How many times do we fill our hands with things that we truly DON'T want?  We may think we want them, but after awhile those things get old and we are still left with a hole.  The only thing we desire (and NEED) is a relationship with God.  That relationship is the only thing that can transform us, renew us, restore us.  Giving ourselves to our jobs won't satisfy us.  Being plugged into too many activities won't satisfy you (or your kids).  Buying new vehicles, new televisions and new gadgets won't satisfy us either.   Getting to know our God and clinging to Him... now THAT will fill your cup.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:1-2

What is it that you need to sacrifice?  What is taking you away from God?  Jesus, God's only Son, made the ultimate sacrifice for us to have a relationship with God.  If Jesus wasn't exempt from making sacrifices, we sure aren't!

Put on a Happy Face

Back around Easter time, I decided to start a "Good Deed of the Day" quest in an attempt to make the world a little happier... one person and one day at a time.

After arriving back in the South, I quickly came to the realization that I don't come in contact with enough people everyday to do something nice everyday.  But I still make an attempt.

For instance, when I go to the grocery store, I try to always ask the cashier how he/she is doing... and genuinely mean and listen to their answer.  Tonight I had to run to the IGA, which we actually call the GGS (Ghetto Grocery Store).  It's right around the corner, so it is very convenient, but it's one of those stores where you have to check the dates on the stuff you buy because it could be from 2002.  I always seem to end up in this one young man's line.


This man reminds me of one of my favorite childhood stories:

Seriously... every time I ask this kid how he is, I get one of the following answers:
Not Good
Terrible
Could be better
I'm having the worst day of my life

AND, he always explains why life is "terrible" (i.e., he hurt his thumb, it's raining, it's hot, etc)

I try to encourage him and remind him things could be a lot worse, but he just doesn't get my good vibe.  Sigh.  Next time I'm taking him a roll of these stickers.  Maybe that will remind him to smile and enjoy life a little more. 

Clean up, Clean up, Everybody, Everywhere

Except it wasn't everybody.  It was just me.  And I didn't intend to clean everywhere. Our sheets needed changed... bad.  Coaches can really stink sometimes. (I LOVE YOU HONEY!)  So I went to the "spare room" to get the extra set of sheets and found a mess.  Which I cleaned up.  Walked out and forgot the sheets.  But I remembered the clean laundry in the dryer.  Took the clean laundry to the bed to fold and realized I never put sheets on the bed.  Got the bed sheets, made the bed and dumped the clothes out on the bed.  Went to put the laundry basket at the end of the bed and decided I was really sick of the clothes baskets at the end of the bed. 

I decided if I moved the *ahem* firearms to another location, I could move the dresser down and sit the laundry baskets beside of it.  In the process of moving the dresser, I realized JUST how dusty it was.  After cleaning it off, I realized I could move one thing that was on the dresser into another room to make more room on our dresser.  So, I went into the guest bedroom.  The desk with our printers on it was extremely cluttered and needed to be reorganized.... and dusted.  Then I spotted a lamp that I forgot I had and remembered how I wanted a desk lamp at work.  So I pulled the plug only to find that it was stuck underneath our filing cabinets.  Ugh.  So I broke out my muscles again, got that free and realized that some "junk" had fallen in between the desk and cabinet.  So I cleaned that out and had a trash pile and a file pile.  Upon taking the trash pile to the kitchen, I realized the trash needed to be emptied. And so did the dishwasher. 

And to think all I wanted to do was change the sheets on the bed....

I heart free stuff

This post is just for J.S. since you mentioned you like to see all the freebies :) 

Yes, ALL THAT.  In fact, I'll probably end up making a profit from this loot. 

How?  Okay, here is a quick run down.

At CVS I purchased the following:

Air Wick I-motion Starter Kit - $9.99 on sale for 4.99

Ducolax - $9.99
Colgate Toothpaste - Closeout price of $1.09
3 packs of Halls - Closeout price of $0.72
Robitussin - Closeout price of $1.99
Chest Rub - Closeout price of $0.99
Scope Mouthwash -- Closeout price of $1.69
Listerine Agent Mouthwash -- Closeout price of $1.49
Total Before Coupons - $24.39 plus tax
Coupons - $4 off $20 CVS Coupon
$4 off I-motion starter kit
$3 off Ducolax
$1.50 off Colgate
$2 off 3 packs of Halls
$.75 Scope Mouthwash
$1.00 Listerine Mouthwash
Total paid - 9.98

THEN, I got a $9.99 Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) to use on my next trip.  So, in essence, they handed me $9.98 to buy more stuff next week.  Which, by the way, will be items that generate more "play money"

Then I went to Rite Aid where I fared even better.
2 packages of Ziploc Twist Containers - $3.39 each, on sale B1G1
Crest Toothpaste - $2.69
Almay Lip Gloss - $1.99
2 packages of Pilot Eraseable Gel pens - $3.99 each, on sale B1G1
Schick Razor - $5.99
Visine - $6.99
Total Before Coupons - $25.04 plus tax
Coupons - Rite Aid coupon $5 off $25
$1.50 off 2 Ziploc containers
$.75 off Crest
$1.00 off Almay
2- $1 off Pilot Pens
Rite Aid coupon $1 off Visine
$3.00 off Visine Manufacturer coupon
Total Paid - $9.55

Rite Aid has a program similar to ECB, called UP Rewards.  I got a $3 reward at the bottom of this receipt.  I will also get I will get a $5.99 mail in rebate from Schick for the razor. The Pilot pens have a $2.75 mail in rebate.  AND, I will get a $2.69 Single Check Rebate for the Crest toothpaste from Rite Aid.  So I will basically end up with a profit of almost $5 from this order.   AND IT IS LEGAL!!!!!!!

I can't believe I ever paid for this stuff :P

Breathing fire

I love my husband.  I really do.  But sometimes, it is fun to torture pester him.  I've had a few lessons thanks to two uncles and my dad, so I can be pretty good at it.  But this time, I didn't really mean it. 

The other night my poor hubby couldn't breath. His nostrils were so swollen, they had closed.  We had tried every medicine in the house.  Except one. I remembered that I picked up a bottle of this stuff for my allergy ridden man. 

It's called "Allergy Buster"  It looks promising, right?

Down in the lower left hand corner, you might notice the little red pepper.  Yep, it has capsaicin in it to help reduce the inflammation. Who in their right mind would try that?  Not me, but, I figured my tough man could handle it.  

He didn't even look at it, just squirted it right up there.  He was desperate.  And he trusted me.  Aw.  Poor guy.  Approximately .002765 seconds later, I wished I had my video camera ready to capture his eyes popping out of his head.  He let out quite the manly scream.  It was actually more like a lion's roar.  Then he looked at the bottle and said "DID YOU KNOW THIS HAS RED PEPPER IN IT?!"  I said "I might have seen that" and then I fell on the floor laughing for the next 20 minutes.  And then he gave me the "I'm going to get you back for this one look" But he won't... he loves me too much :D


** Don't report me for abuse, he WILLINGLY tried it again for the next three days, providing me plenty more laughing opportunities.

PS

The real adventure on the road with me was this:


 After two long days of school supply shopping, I was less than one block from home (and the police station that I live next to) and anxious to get home.  I came to one of these.  

My Corolla has good brakes, so I stopped.  Good so far.  But then, I proceeded to turn LEFT on red.   Thankfully, there wasn't a single police officer around to witness that.  Or another car coming through the intersection.

Can I blame that on a faulty accelerator pedal???

Adventures on the Road with Kacey

I spend most of my days in a small little office with a little window.  This week however, my car has turned into my office and I feel as though I have traveled the world.  I love time in the car because it gives me a lot of time without the computer and televison to distract me.  I call friends and relatives and catch up and have time to do some reflection on my own thoughts.  And see a lot of things I would never see in my little office.

Like the Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile.  Be jealous.  Be very jealous.  I saw the famous dog driving up Interstate 95 on Wednesday morning and almost wrecked my car.

Or.... an armadillo.  Yep, saw one of those too. Right here in South Carolina.  Not in Texas.  Unfortunately this little critter had met it's fate on the side of the road.  But again, I almost wrecked the car checking it out.  (You know your town has nothing going on when a DEAD armadillo gets you excited.)   As I rounded the next corner, I saw another poor critter who had met it's fate.  This one had ordered the Waffle House special... scattered and splattered... so I couldn't really identify it.  But the vultures could.  It was food!  There were about four of them standing in the middle of the road feasting away.

They didn't seem to care that Karissa the Corolla was heading towards them doing about 50mph.  I blew the horn and they didn't even look up.  Just kept feasting away.  At the last second, they hopped to the side of the road.  On my way back through, they were back in the road again and another car was coming the other way.  They didn't get out of the way for that one and the car had to stop until I passed and then pass on the other side of the road.

Where am I going with all this?  Well...no where regarding the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile or the armadillo.  But now you know I am easily entertained.  But I do have a point with the vultures.  Their diet of dead animals repulses me.  As I drove down the road, I begin to think of another thing that I find repulsive... sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 

Romans 6:1-2 says "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

Hmmmmmm, but how many times do we hang on to the old?  How many of us continue to live in sin?  We hop off the path of sin and onto the right path, but then we think "Well, it won't hurt to go take a little nibble of the old".  But we forget the dangers of the old path.  And soon we find ourselves in the middle of a road feasting on the sin unaware that a car is heading straight for us.  Or maybe we find the sin so good that we take it back and share it with our friends and soon enough, we find that we are all in danger.  We have made others stumble and slow down on their path. 

Just like the vultures.  They would stand in the middle of the road feasting on death until they were forced to move.  They'd hop to the side of the road, wait for the danger to pass, grab a friend and go right back.  They caused cars to swerve or stop.  But they were unaware because they were so consumed with well, consuming. 

It's easy to say you aren't feasting on death.  But seriously, think about the long list of humanly ways.  Are you feasting on gossip, a bad attitude, jealousy, animosity, an unforgiving spirit and putting yourself or others in danger?  Leave that stuff on the road!

Hebrews 12:1 "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"

Won't you be my neighbor?

A few weeks ago I was talking to some fellow Christians.  I left the conversation feeling very flustered that it seemed they expected a perfect world. You know, a great spouse, two Christian kids who do no wrong, a cute dog, lots of money, and no worries.  Okay, I'll admit, those things would be great (except the dog part), but even with all those things, life isn't perfect..  Since Adam and Eve, the world has been FAR from perfect. We live in and around sin, so our lives aren't going to be perfect. 

One of our duties as a Christian is to be a light to the (imperfect and sinful) world.  ("You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven"  Matthew 5:14-16)  We can't be a light to the world by shutting ourselves into our little "perfect life box" and never coming out. 

Remember the song This Little Light of Mine?  There is a verse that says "Hide it under a bushel? NO! I'm going to let it shine!"  How many of us are hiding our lights under a bushel?  Maybe not intentionally, but I see it everyday.  We stay away from the "bad" neighborhoods.  We walk on the other side of the street when we see a homeless person.  We enroll our kids in Christian school to keep them away from the "bad kids".  I'm not bashing Christian schools here... my point is just that in order to dispel darkness, we have to take our light into it.  We need to associate with the non-believers around us.  We have to be careful so that we don't get entangled in sin, but that doesn't mean that we have to avoid people who live a life of sin like they have the plague.  Ephesians 5:11 says "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them"   We can't live in our little bubble... we have to go out into the field and shine our light for the whole world to see.   It seems that Christians are too afraid of getting their hands dirty.  We forget we are supposed to be Christ-like.  Christ got his hands dirty during his ministry, so why should we be exempt from that?


This past weekend I was in Savannah. As we were walking down River Street, I spotted a man digging into a trash can and pulling food out of a McDonald's bag.  I think I threw up in my mouth a little.  But then I promptly pulled it together, marched my little self over to him and touched him on the shoulder.  He was so shocked that someone actually touched him, he didn't know what to do.  I said "Sir, I thought you could use this water and my snacks"  He gladly accepted him and went on his way.  As he walked away, I looked around and watched as an entire street of people just scattered to get away from him.   GRRRR.  The streets of Savannah almost heard a mini sermon from this little fire cracker. 

It would've went a little like this...


Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.
 ^"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
 Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

The priest and the Levite passed on the other side and left the man to die.  The people on the streets of Savannah had no mercy or concern for that poor man.

Another story..... About a year ago, there was a story about a homeless man in New York City who had tried to break up a fight between a man and a woman.  The man had a knife and stabbed the homeless man.  The homeless man laid in the streets of New York for over an hour before someone finally called for help.  Watch what happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmknOKkaPEI

That is absurd to me. The man was trying to help someone out and ended up dying because people wouldn't help him.  You have to wonder what would've happened if the man would've been wearing a suit and tie.  Have we really become so busy that we are not concerned about our fellow humans?  Regardless if this man was dirty or homeless, he was a HUMAN BEING.

We are called to love our neighbors.  Take a look around today at your neighbors. Your next door neighbor.  The person in the next cubicle.  The person who cut you off.  The cashier.  The waitress.  The homeless.  The disabled.   Are you treating them as you would treat yourself?