ammendment to prior post

My sister told me today that just last week she hid from a salesperson. Her beloved dog gave her up though. Tessa, the dog, barked at the dear salesperson then barked at "mom" (who was plastered to the wall). Tessa will have to be taught to do the stop, drop and roll.

did you ever?

I was just thinking about something fun my mom used to do with my sister and I when we were wee kids.

Back in the day, before online shopping, sales where made by stopping in at people's homes. Housewives were assaulted by all sorts of salespeople dropping in to woo them with their products. My mom hated and feared these visitors. Mostly because she can't say no. So, my fond memory involves our stop, drop and roll to the kitchen exercises. Pretty much any time the door bell rang we all froze. Mom would yell, in a whisper, "get down!" Liz and I would drop to the floor, crawl to the kitchen, and dare not move until the intruder went away. I know the salesperson would often see us through the door window, but mom didn't care...it was our right to refuse to answer their call. I think it was also our right not to hide, but to answer and just say no.

I was kind of surprised to hear that not to long along my mom regularly entertained a Jehovah's witness. My mom probably hid from her too, the first few attempts. But, then mom felt badly for the poor lady. So, that began regular visits for tea with mom. Mom didn't mind too much though because she loves to chat and it probably really irritated my dad. ;)

all right, already!

Man, you all are persistant! I keep getting calls about my "big announcement", most of you thinking that I'm pregnant. Even though, I did post that I'm not pregnant and I never said I had some big announcement. ;)
So, my slight reference to going through change (not "the change" either), was not meant to keep you in suspense. Now, I feel like I've got you all charged up and anxious.
Doug decided to take a break from being an elder. He is calling it a sabbatical. (you are saying....that's it?!) Yes, that is it. For us, though, it was a big decision. Doug has been saying for some time now that he feels like he is "winging it" spiritually. He has been running in so many leadership directions (pastor, elder, house church leader), that he feels he has been doing it out of his own strength. I kept dismissing his feelings, because I see all the good he does and the wise counsel he has to give. So, I know God is still using him. But, I now see how it is good for Doug to take a break. He is very excited about getting refreshed by God and focusing on leading our family.
I also saw that for me I started to worry about what people would think. Would people think we aren't trusting God enough to keep on leading and get refreshed at the same time? Would people think Doug is stepping down from being an elder because he has done something not elder worthy? Would people think we want to become self absorbed and not serve others? Doug's answer was, "I don't care what people think." It is worth risking what people think in order to seek God and what He wants.
Who knows....maybe we'll end up going across the world to start an orphanage after all....;) ah the parents will love that comment!

father's day

Father's day "weekend" was a lovely time spent with family. Doug even made out with a present this year. I got him a hammock chair for the side porch. I've enjoyed it a lot already ;)

Sunday evening, on the way home from The Haute, I began to think about my friends who were having a lonely father's day. I have several friends who have lost their dad's. Of course, this led me to think about what life will be like when doug and I lose our parents. Children without their parents feels unnatural...no matter what the age. Our parents are the ones who love us unconditionally and are concerned with our well being more than we are. To be in this world without our mom and dad will be a lonely place. We aren't guaranteed anything, so absorbed every moment you have with your parents.

so, I'm too sensitive

Doug thinks I'm ridiculous. I think there are different drinks and foods for different occasions. For example...
Last night Doug met some friends to discuss a very serious and somber situation that one of our friends is going through. Their plan was to meet at Starbucks. Doug was ultra excited that he was going to have one of Starbucks new calorie buster creme creations. So, I began to imagine these men sitting around drinking coffee (a drink for a serious discussion), counseling our friend regarding the passing of a loved one, while Doug slurped away on a fruity dessert drink. Dessert drinks are for celebratory times, am I wrong?
So, do you know where the counsel of men decided to hold this serious, prayerful discussion.....Marble Slab. If that's not bad enough, it turns out one of the guys (not to mention names...Mr. Kibs) allowed his long horn belt buckle to partake in the conversation too. Men have their ways, so what do I know.

yikes

well, I had to change the music already. I warned you it played random music, so I hope you weren't subjected to anything too bad.
I was listening to my blog and a song, that is very familiar and has been around a long time, started to play. I never really listened to the lyrics of this song before now. But after reading the title, I heard the song in a whole new light. I won't list the title here because I would blush.
This whole music on my blog thing is like watching a movie or tv show with my parents. Suddenly everything is seen in a new light. I should watch everything imaging my parents are with me.

music

I've added a feature so you can listen to great music. If you like to find new music I have a couple of websites for you.
www.last.fm
www.pandora.com
These websites allow you to enter your favorite artists and/or songs, then they introduce you to new music that falls in the same genre.
So, I will have great fun changing my music link regularly. I want one of those disclaimers that says "music heard here is not necessarily the viewpoint of the blogger"....because it plays random songs. So, you may accidentally be subjected to a curse word or a lyric that challenges your values. Not, that I plan to embed the artist know as 50 cents.

sorry for the suspense

I've been told that there are a few of you (Debbie) that are checking my blog in eager anticipation of a fantastic announcement. In my post about change I mentioned that something is changing but couldn't say yet.

I wish I had something truly special to announce like...."we are selling everything and starting an orphanage in South Korea" or "I'm a surrogate mother of triplets". Sorry!

free money!

Well, we had a garage sale today. It was fun purging our home of stuff that is not needed or seldom used. Actually, I love selling stuff so much that I put stuff out that I still like and use. We found ourselves just scanning the place thinking, "what else can we get money for?"

The funny part is that it feels like free money. We act like we are bringing in cash that is extra. The fact is that we spent a decent amount of cash (well, probably paid with a debit card) on the stuff to begin with. Now, because we really don't need it, we sold it for basically nothing. So, today we should feel kind of sick about all the money lost, not the $300 something that is sitting in a nice pile on the table. But, no mourning here....we are going out to eat tonight with our free money.