moving stinks -- sort of

so i'm moving next week. this is a fast update:

Yesterday morning I packed my books (thanks Nicole for the smaller boxes), called the Salvation Army to arrange pickup for the furniture I am donating, and dropped off a box of smaller items at the Goodwill. I have been anxious for the last two months to clear out as much as possible as soon as possible so I will know what size storage unit to get for the stuff I cannot take with me.

I loaded more stuff for the yard sale into my car and hauled them over to Tonya's garage. I then spent the next 5 hours putting together the furniture that was delivered from Ikea. I finished the bed, desk and chair, and most of the dresser. I am still putting together the dresser drawers. YES AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM SORE AS ALL GET OUT. Thanks for asking.

Today I worked on my second essay for my midterm. It's finished except for the citations page. I have to format and cite my first essay as well. I also have approximately 100 pages to read, and a brilliant discussion post to write based on that reading. So no, I don't have to time to stop and play with you. Have fun at the park, movies, pool party, whatever it is you are doing. I will see you next week after I'm all settled in.

As a reward to all this hard work, I will be at Busch Gardens on Monday, November 2nd if you want to join me. I will be riding the outside seat on the front row of Sheik-Ra, barefoot just to terrify myself. Dare you to join me.

UPDATE: Midterm is finished and emailed. Life is good right about now. Except I'm still sore. And still have 40 scholarly pages to read. And a brilliant post to write. Carp. Talk to you next week.

UPDATE #2: Its Monday night. Today was like a day from the area of fire and brimstone. That being said, the not-so- brilliant post is completed and published. I'm wiped. My brain hurtz, but surprisingly enough, my muscles don't anymore. I totally deserve a trip to Busch Gardens. Still haven't found anyone willing to play hookey with me next week. Cowards.

Lesson from the little....

Since I am moving in two weeks, I have had to go carefully through my belongings and decide what is worthy of keeping, storing, and what should be sold or donated. I cannot fit everything I own into one bedroom. While lots of stuff has been a "no brainer", there have been moments where this has become emotionally taxing. I keep going because I keep having this press from God to simplify my life as much as possible. I don't know why, but I think it will be awesome.

During this time I looked at my jewelry box and realized I would have no room for it. That didn't bother me one bit, since it never was on my list of favorite things. I knew I could let it go easily, so I put it in the box for yard sale. I then thought of my friend Danny, and his adorable 8 year old daughter. So I asked Danny if Emily had a jewelry box. He said, "No, but she thinks she needs one." I gave it to him for her.

The next day, I looked expectantly at Danny. Emily is the type of child who goes into raptures over presents. "Her mother wouldn't let me give Emily the jewelry box yesterday," he said. "She was naughty and is being punished." This went on for a couple more days. I thought it was kind of funny, and remembered how I was sassy to my mother at that age too. Danny said his closet shelf is collecting things for Emily that they cannot give to her because she is being so willful. And then the profound truth hit me: How often does God want to give us lovely blessings but cannot because we are too willful? God has called us to obedience, pure and simple. He tells us that He loves us as a father loves his children. Do you hear Him calling your name? Come into obedience with the One who loves you more than you can ever love yourself. Let Him give you the lovely gifts on His closet shelf.

stats stink sunday

Diving right in...

1. Weekend was busy. I should have planned better. Saturday I got a haircut, which made me feel good. :) Problem is, it spoiled all other plans that had anything doing with the upcoming move.
   
2. Saturday night, the "Follow Me" concert was awesome!! It was so cool seeing Brandon Heath and Leeland up close and personal like that. Francesca Batistelli was awesome too. :)
3. This morning was church, followed by lunch at the church, followed by a trip to Lowe's for paint and supplies, followed by dropping that stuff at Tonya's, followed by a trip to Ikea.
4. Ikea was exhausting. I went up to the showroom to get the bin number for the dresser since I decided to get the white instead of the blue one. The I went up to the delivery service desk and found out that yes, I had to pull the stock myself. So I took my paper and went to the floor and pulled the stock. I was about to pull the bed when I realized that I wanted a different bed, and didn't have the stock number. The aisle was crammed with people and carts, so I gave up, and headed for checkout. After checkout, back to the delivery desk, where I found out to my dismay that I DIDN'T need 3 weeks leeway on delivery, and if they hold anything over 3 days, I would need to pay $5 a day for "storage" fees. Let me say, there was a guy who helped me find the right bin number, another guy who pulled the stock out for me, I arranged delivery for Wednesday night, and I was on my way not too long after that. But I was beat. The stuff was heavy, and pushing it around the floor on a cart was quite an exercise. I came home and I want to crash. Only problem with that? I have a midterm Thursday night...
   

Its a week later and my bum still itches...

Last week I went to First Baptist Lutz for Judgement House. If you know what Judgement House is, skip to the next paragraph. Judgement House, for the uninitiated, is an huge production (like a play) set up in a church. Instead of sitting passively in your seats and watching a play on stage, you walk from room to room where the "scenes" are set up. It's a guided tour, and usually goes in groups of 10 or so people. Because you are walking and the actors are staying in each room, there are ways to identify the different characters as you go through. The Gospel is always presented, and you end with a glimpse of hell and a glimpse of heaven. It's very cool.

So I hooked up with my friend, Danyelle, and we were hanging out at the church prior to Judgement House. Since she teaches 3 and 4 year olds, she wanted to go early and get some things in order in her kids room before the production started. The building was locked and we had to wait for someone with a key. We sat on the little curb outside the church.

Now, those of you who live in Florida know what fireants look like, what their bite feels like, and will pretty much do anything to avoid those horrors. FBL has lots of fireants roaming the grounds. My first indication that something was wrong happened when I felt a tickle at the waistline of my jeans. I reached around and rubbed a little. Next thing I know, I feel a bite right around my tailbone. I jump up, slapping at the back of my jeans a little.

Danyelle wasn't paying much attention to me. I still felt like I could feel the darn ant crawling around. I wriggle accordingly. All the sudden she looks at me and was says something like, whats UP with YOU?? I give her a LOOK and go, I think I have ants in my pants. She laughed hysterically. Told me if that happened to her, she would hide behind the truck and strip off her jeans.

Finally I saw someone pull up and unlock the youth building, so I headed over there to visit the ladies room and check the damage. Yup, I had not one, but TWO fireant bites on my bum. Fortunately, I had benedryl cream with me. Unfortunately, its a week later, and my bum still itches -- although that might just be my imagination.

Judgement House was totally awesome. I was proud of the kids, sad cause I miss hanging with them, and excited for what God is doing in that church.

Advice for all single women....

My very dear friend Evetta sent this to me in an email last year. I published this as a note on my old Facebook account, but I think it bears dusting off and republishing...

Words from Pastor Jamal Harrison-Bryant:
I often warn women who are contemplating marriage to marry someone who can take care of them. When a woman marries, it ought to be to someone who is capable of taking her to the next level. If she comes from poverty, there is no reason for her to get married and still be impoverished. The role of the man is to take her to another place. When she gets married, she ought to dress better, drive better, live better, and eat better, not constantly be in a struggle over where her next meal is coming from. My grandmother used to say, 'I can do bad all by myself'

For a woman desiring a mate, the objective, of course, would be to find a Christian man, who's settled, has goals, accomplishments and a job. But a goal-oriented and focused man can't just be approached any kind of way. So the woman who seeks this type of stability must make sure that she stands out above the crowd:
1. Make sure your relationship with the Lord is strong and growing.
2. Make sure that you are presentable. Working from the inside out, your presentation should be representative of both who you are and whom you seek. Appearance is a reflection of how you see yourself.
3. Have the ability to hold an intelligent conversation.
4. And most importantly, allow the Holy Ghost to take control. You don't need to go after him. He's going to come after you, because after he sees and smells you and knows that you're in his presence, he's going to want to know who you are!
I know there's somebody reading this who has been chasing after the 'man of your dreams,' but God says, 'Just sit still and allow patience to have her perfect work through Me. ' Furthermore, it's never a good idea to be too forward and too aggressive. Attempting to win a man's affection by jumping into bed with him will only backfire and cause him to lose interest in ever developing a lasting relationship.
It causes him to lose respect for you and question your character. However, if he sees that you are dressed with quality, that you smell like you are somebody, that you look like you're doing fine without him, then that will attract the right attention from him. He'll have no choice but to give you his attention. Stop looking so needy, climbing into bed, trying in vain to capture a man's heart.

God woke me up in the middle of the night and said, 'The same thing that Naomi told Ruth to do is the same thing that I want them to do for me.' God is so sick of saints coming to Him trying to get a quickie and never romancing Him for Who he is - going to church screaming, shouting and hollering, but hadn't been intimate with God all week long! Stop trying to treat God like a sugar daddy and start romancing Him with worship and praise: 'I'm yours Lord...everything I've got...everything I'm not!'

The God we serve, which is the God of love, demands and requires of us foreplay before He gives us what we need. In the book of Ruth, the mother-in-law tells Ruth, 'You have to wash.' John 15:3 reminds us, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. When you sit in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you are taking a shower. When you hear the unadulterated Word of God, then the dirt and grime that you've accumulated all week long begins to wash off of you. Ask God to 'create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit.' Stand in the word. Then wait upon the Lord to renew your strength. Pass this on to those who have found or are seeking Mr. Right. This message is not directed at the receiver, it is directed to women I know that touch other young women that can benefit from this information. We are to be Naomi's of the world today.
Our young women need to be informed of how to catch and keep a man that will respect them.

P. S. Pass this on to every woman you know!

If he can't meet you where you are....leave him where he's at!

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