What a deal

Arriving at the pharmacy counter to pick up the prescribed cream for my face, the worker asked me if I'd like to pay for it at the front or right there. I said at the front. She said, that will be $83. Yikes! That particular cream was not covered by my insurance, so I told her no, I can't get that right now.

I called the dr and asked if he'd prescribe a cheaper alternative. And he did. I called and asked how much it would be- 60 cents. Yay!!! And it seems to be working. And that's a good thing.

My sister Grace is sick:( I feel so sad for her. She had a kidney stone and thinks that's over, but now she might have the flu. Poor girl. My mom went to be with her for a few days to help out. that's my mom for ya! Hope you feel much better soon, sweet sissy!!

Good night friends. Alas, I'm not able to post pictures on THIS computer either. Rats! I've tried several times. I just don't get it, but oh well.

Can I play favorites?

Laura's blog is my absolute favorite. I highly recommend visiting there. She's a godly, fun, creative, talented, homeschooling mom who has no interest for oatmeal. And a wonderful sister-in-law. Not to mention a super photographer. And unlike me, she posts very neat photos. :) So, check her out!

And got the sticker to prove it

Today my vote counted. I really like the idea of early voting. It gives us moms ample time to cast our vote. Jody and the kiddos waited for me in the car. I felt like a big girl. Mikayla said she voted for daddy. I would've also, but decided not to at the last minute.

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." ~John Quincy Adams

Now... Go vote!

"What happened BEFORE the big bang?"

I'm sitting in the living room watching the Science channel and there's a show on called Engineering Supermax Prisons (don't know why, but that kind of thing interests me). During a commercial this man asks the question, "what happened BEFORE the "Big Bang?" ha ha ha. Like the "Big Bang" is some sort of fact that has been established. Give me a break. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1 and that's a fact.

ANYway, tomorrow I'll be teaching my Sunday School class again. It gets kinda tricky on the Sundays that Jody teaches also b/c I really don't have anyone to watch little Joseph. So, I have to either bring him with me (huge distraction) or "appoint" somebody to watch him. And we don't have many people in our church who are up to the challenge. Hmmm... To top it off, Mikayla has started really being clingy and not wanting to be in her class, which makes it extra crazy. The Lord knows these things. Tomorrow's lesson is on the good Samaritan- beautiful story. We'll also be starting to memorize the books of the Bible. That will be good for me.

Hope you have a wonderful Lord's day. Just a reminder that we need to pray for our pastors and teachers. Good night!

The much awaited appt

Well, I was finally able to get my face looked at about an hour after my appointed time. The dr basically said that I have acne and prescribed some mild cream for my face. I got complimented on my handwriting (thankyouverymuch); he said it looked like an engineer's. How nice. He had me give some blood to rule out lupus (I could do that without a blood test). And the giving of blood just plain HURT. An older nurse who took it asked me if I had arthritis. I told her, No, I'm just trying to find out about my face..." And she said, your face is pretty. That was super sweet and made my morning.

Is it so wrong to want to look nice for my husband??? Ok, I know it's not. But the longer I sat in the dr's office waiting for him to come him, the funnier/crazier it got. I'm here b/c my nose is peeling. And let me tell you- it was on its BEST behaviour today. I woke up and could barely see anything wrong. It comes and goes. Pretty frustrating, but it's part of life. I never want to complain. As Spurgeon so well puts it, "can a living man complain?"

HAPPY 29th Birthday, dearest Christy!! She's the mystery birthday girl. :)

While in the waiting room I was able to read my bible. I came away with the thought "his mercy endureth forever." and I'm so thankful it does:)

The time has (almost) come!

I have an appt scheduled to get this face of mine seen. I'm quite anxious to see what the dr can do for me, if anything. I'll go tomorrow @ 8:45am. My friend Tina has so graciously agreed to watch the kiddos for me. And that's no small chore. She's got a super sweet attitude about it- what a blessing to me. SO, maybe tomorrow I can get some help- yippee!

I miss having my mom live so close. Now she lives VERY far away (well, sorta). I need new tires before I can go visit again. not fun. BUT, I do get more accomplished when I'm not running all over town. Supper has already been made:)

What's on the menu?

Chicken spaghetti
Grillin' beans
Green beans or corn
and...
brownies!

I have a friend who's joining me in the ranks of 29 years old tomorrow.. can you guess who?

After dinner, I think we'll head to the park for some walking and playing. Then it's back home to brownies and the Biggest Loser. All the excitement is too much for me:)

2 things that make me feel "cool"

1) I now am able to park our vehicle IN THE GARAGE. Never been able to do that before. What a novel idea. Totally sheltered from the weather, the sun, the ice on windshield, etc. :)

2) I can pause LIVE TV. Enough said.

Thanks for your comments on what makes a friend. Loved reading them. And we had a first time commenter (Hi, Bro. Audey!) that didn't quite follow the directions. He left more than one word in his comment, but the subject matter was good, so that was excused.

It's interesting to me that my sister Grace put something about fun or laughter or something (right?). My original title for that post was going to be something like, "Can there be a good friendship without laughter?" Anyway, the way my mind works is crazy. I do think it's an important part of a friendship. Y'all were probably thinking I was going to say something profound, but alas...

Hope you have a terrific week.

I have a question for YOU

In your opinion, what makes a good friend?
Leave a comment with ONLY one word, if you please.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Contentment

I received an email today that linked to this article by JC Ryle on contentment. If you have a few extra minutes, it's totally worth the time it would take to read it. What a blessing it was for me to read it. To be content in this life. sigh. I want this in my life. Here's an exerpt from the article:

"Hear now with what power Paul's direction ought to come to all our consciences: "Be content," he says, "with such things as you have," not with such things as you once used to have—not with such things as you hope to have—but with such things as you have now. With such things, whatever they may be, we are to be content—with such a dwelling, such a position, such health, such income, such work, such circumstances as we have, we are to be content.

Reader, a spirit of this kind is the secret of a light heart and an easy mind. Few, I am afraid, have the least idea what a shortcut to happiness, it is to be content.

To be content is to be rich and well off. He is the rich man who has no wants, and requires no more. I ask not what his income may be. A man may be rich in a cottage and poor in a palace.

To be content is to be independent. He is the independent man who hangs on no created things for comfort, and has God for his portion.

Such a man is the only one who is always happy. Nothing can come amiss or go wrong with such a man. Afflictions will not shake him, and sickness will not disturb his peace. He can gather grapes from thorns, and figs from thistles, for he can get good out of evil. Like Paul and Silas, he will sing in prison, with his feet fast in the stocks. Like Peter, he will sleep quietly in prospect of death, the very night before his execution. Like Job, he will bless the Lord, even when stripped of all his comforts.

Ah! reader, if you would be truly happy (who does not want this?) seek it where alone it can be found. Seek it not in money, seek it not in pleasure, nor in friends, nor in learning. Seek it in having a will in perfect harmony with the will of God. Seek it in studying to be content."

Our (Jody's) pic/k

This is our most recent family photo taken by the wonderful people at Cozart Photography. We ordered an 11x14 of this one. Jody liked it best b/c Mikayla was leaning on his leg. Sweet. :) It's actually framed and up in our house. Yay! I love a new family photo!!

Words have meanings

I half-hesitate to even write this post. I hope and pray my heart is right in this. This subject has been on my mind for quite a while now. I'd like to speak about words and their meanings. The Lord put quite a few verses on my heart once I started looking up words in the dictionary.

I'll start with a personal testimony. Growing up, my parents never allowed us to use words such as gosh, darn, etc. And I'm very thankful for that. About a year ago I started using the word "crikey" in my conversations. My mom so kindly pointed out that I should be aware of the meaning of the word. The word "crikey" means Christ. That humbled me so much. I asked the Lord's forgiveness for my carelessness/ignorance, and He granted it to me. I don't know if I ever thanked my mom for pointing this out to me, but I'm truly thankful for her love in showing me my error. (Thank you, Mom)

Let me share some of the verses the Lord put on my heart:

"Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be accecptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36

"For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain." Psalm 139:20

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

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

"Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" James 3:10,11

The words we choose to use, especially as Christians, are extremely important. And they DO matter. Our God hears every single one of them. Here are some words that we may not realize what their meanings truly are. I found these definitions at dictionary.com

darn- to curse; dam*
gosh- used as an exclamation or mild oath: euphemistic alteration of God
dang- dam* (used euphemistically)
shoot- alteration of sh*t
heck- euphemistic alteration of hell
freaking- echoing frigging and f**king
crikey- euphemistic for Christ
and this one really surprised me; I looked it up b/c I was curious where it came from-
jeepers creepers- euphemistic alteration of Jesus

I feel weird even typing those out. I hope this will be a help. Some may say I'm nitpicking (sp?). I've fallen so short, but God is good and merciful and kind. And thankfully, forgiving.