New Blog Design.

OK, I need y'all to let me know if the moon pic behind my blog title disappears whenever the blog gets fully loaded. I can't determine if it's my computer or the picture. Thanks!

Judge not...

...that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt. 7:1-2)

Not long ago, we made some changes to our dress code. Dad and mom, with much prayer, thought, and Bible-searching, allowed us to wear modest jeans. (Believe it or not, they are out there!!) Of course, our friends noticed the change. Most were either indifferent or encouraging. A few were most judgmental. Statements like "Jeans are men's clothing" and "You cannot be a light for Jesus if you wear jeans" hit us like a ton of bricks. So few words, so much judgment!

Why do Christians do that to each other? Why do we split up into our little groups and then proceed to point fingers at all the other little groups, who are also pointing fingers at us? I wish that I knew the answer. If I did, perhaps I could do something to stop all the destruction and pain that results.

Even though I don't know the answer to my questions above, I do know what I can do to keep myself from adding to the hurt. Even though it seems hard to distinguish between good and bad judgment, we have a measuring stick: God's Word. If what someone says/does goes directly against what is in the Bible, it is wrong. As far as anything that falls outside of that "circle", I just have to trust the work of Christ in that person's life.

I realize this is pretty short, and perhaps some of my readers will think I should make it longer so as to prove my points better, etc. However, I have written what I felt lead to, and therefore will now sign off with this:

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8)

In Christ,
~E

Loss of a friend

Yesterday, September 20th, 2010, at about 5:30 or so, my family sustained a very painful loss: one of our dear doggie friends, Patsy, was put down. I knew it was coming; several months ago I took her to the vet to have a small tumor on her belly checked out, and he told me that it was likely a mammary tumor, and that she may or may not have cancer. He gave me the price of having the lump removed and biopsied; sadly, it was way over what I and my family would be willing or able to spend on an aging dog. So, as the months went by, the tumor continued to grow, Patsy kept slowing down, and it became obvious that yes indeed our girl had the dreaded cancer. She was sleeping more, wanting to be outside less. I started to prepare myself for her death, as did my family. This last Friday, we came to the decision that it was time for her to go. The tumor had begun to ulcerate and stink, making it difficult to have her with us, much as we loved her. She also no longer wanted to go on walks with us (which for Patsy was unheard of. She ALWAYS wanted to go for a walk. :) ) and mainly just wanted to be left alone on her bed inside. I think that she had given up on living.

I will be honest and say I have been fighting it. I'm very much an animal lover, and having one of my "kids" die is heartbreaking. (I'm not saying it isn't for everyone else; I'm speaking about my own feelings here. :)) I'm also a great believer in allowing an animal to live until they don't want to anymore. My family has been very good at working with me in that aspect. They understand how I feel, and so don't push me to allow an animal to be put down until I'm ready. I'm very thankful for that. It makes my grieving much easier to bear.

I really do believe that we did the right thing in having Patsy put down. Cancer is a terrible, painful disease, and life for her would have been nothing but misery if we had let her live much longer. That's another thing I believe strongly in: don't allow an animal to suffer. Either treat their illness or put an end to it once and for all. In the long run, it's better for everyone.

I will never forget Patsy. She wasn't the "funnest" of dogs, but she sure was lovable! She wouldn't fetch, wouldn't romp, wouldn't really do any tricks unless you had a treat for her. But she was loyal, came every time I called, sat with me when I was sad,...the list goes on. She had large, beautiful hound eyes. I won't ever forget those. She loved to run and chase things, and in her younger years I saw only one dog ever catch up to her.....even then she got away. :) The deer got so used to her chasing them that they wouldn't even run that far or fast when she came after them; it almost seemed as if they enjoyed staying just out of her reach, although she would never have hurt one if she had caught up! One time she caught a sick jackrabbit (yes, a real one...it was a long, ugly, skinny thing!) and then brought it to us unhurt; she looked so confused about having actually caught one! Another time she brought us a tiny, baby cottontail bunny. All of our pets were her pets, too. Our rabbits knew they were safe with her, my parakeets were unafraid to ride on her back (even when she accidentally took one outside; thank goodness I had clipped it's wings!), the cats adored her. When Paddy and Tommy were kittens, Patsy let them sleep with her in her bed on our porch. She even gave out free face washings! Paddy never did learn to like that part. ;) Tommy, on the other hand, would snuggle up and lick her face. As the kittens got older, Patsy liked to tease them by chasing them around the yard, but it was all in good fun. I don't ever remember Patsy hurting any animal. She was a true angel in that sense. :) Saying good-bye to all the above was hard. Seeing that limp body being carried away was harder. But at least I know that we gave Patsy the best home we could, and that her life was a full and happy one.

Thank the Lord for dogs!! Even though they break your heart sometimes, they add way more pleasure then sorrow to life.

~E

Life

I know it's been ages since I posted. However, life really has a way of getting in the way of telling everyone else about it. ;)And anyway, things are pretty much staying the same for me....work, family, friends, church. I had a rather exciting weekend though. :) Our church had it's regular soccer game, then a family with whom we are friends came over for a sleep over, since they were going to help re-roof my grandpa's house the next day. To be real honest, I didn't mind the fact that I was going to work...picking up shingles all day did not sound attractive. :D Especially seeing as it was HOT!!! The temp is now getting up to 100 on some days. Ugh...I'm glad I get to work in AC. It may still get pretty warm in the grooming salon, but certainly not 100!

OK, enough about my life. I now feel inspired to tell y'all a story. :D It's one from a loooong time ago, like when I was...oh, 8 or 9. Most of my friends have heard it...but you blogger ppl probably haven't.

One evening, my brother and I were playing in my brother's room. Of course, being that we were kids, we were always having wonderful ideas about fun things to try. That evening, it happened to be wrapping my brother up in a sheet and the spinning him on one toe. :) Oh yeah, it was a really wonderful, bright idea. (You always knew I was a genius. :D) So, I rolled him up into a flat sheet, made sure it was good and tight, then gave the edge a good yank. (You've got to understand that I was a lot bigger and stronger then him at the time, so it wasn't hard to yank him around. Now...ehh, it doesn't work too well. :D Kids have a way of growing up!) He spun all right...staggered crazily around the room might actually be a more accurate description. You see, I'd also wrapped his arms up into the sheet (You can already tell what's coming. :)) and so he had no way of keeping his balance. The "spin on one toe" thing was quickly forgotten in his efforts just to stay upright. Then it happened...the door jam leaped out, grabbed his nose, and knocked him to the ground. Bad, bad door jam!! Oh wait...actually he fell forward and crashed into the door jam. :-\ He says that he doesn't remember anything after that...he only remembers waking up on the couch with a broken nose. Alas, I had broken his nose with my grand idea. His poor nose was forever doomed to have a bump in it. :P And then, a couple of Fridays ago, he ran into someone else's head and broke it again! (It was absolutely disgusting, by the way. Blood was gushing out of his nose and dripping through his fingers. I like to think of myself as a rather staunch person, but that made even me feel like gagging.) So now the poor nose has an even larger bump in it. Oh well....life. :D

Have a great evening!
~E

Born again

This is one of the latest songs from Newsboys...I like it for the most part. To me, some of it does not make a whole lot of sense; maybe I'm just dense though. :D The chorus is the part I like most. :)

Found myself looking into the mirror
Knew I wasn't who I wanted to be
I was living like the way that I wanted
But my eyes reminded me I'm not free
Believe that I saw, everything that I know
Says I gotta go, tired of going solo
But I'm never gonna go there again

Chorus:
This is what it is
This is who I am
This is where I'm gonna take my stand
I didn't want to fall, but now I gotta crawl
I'm not the one with two scared hands
Givin' him the best of, everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been Born Again

I see you're walking like you're living in fear
Having trouble even looking at me
Wishing that they give you more than words
Sick of people telling how it should be (how it should be)
What's your download, where'd you get your info
Saw that I'm show, now you're in the in-load
I'm gonna tell you what I believe, OH

(Chorus)

We are the ones, he called by name
Never gonna look back
Let go, let go the guilt the shame
I said I'm never gonna look back
This is who I am

(Chorus 2x)

I am Born Again

My goodness!

It's been a while since I last posted. I'm so sorry about that. I feel like I barely have time to do anything other then work! When I do come home, I don't really feel like doing a whole lot. Coming up with a blog post classifies as a "whole lot". :D

So how has everyone been? I know that spring is a busy time for a lot of you folks, what with gardens and animals and all that stuff. Actually, it's not really spring anymore, is it?! It's getting towards summer. Here in Texas things are heating up! Today's weather was really nasty: hot temps+rain=humidity that's through the roof! Ugh, not fun to be outside in at all. :)

I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to Devin: well, we ended up sending him back. I was disappointed, to say the least. I still miss him. But dad said we could eventually get a puppy, so now I'm just waiting for the right time. At least we know now that this family HAS to get a puppy, or else the dog doesn't adjust well to us at all.

Work is going well; I've been grooming for 7 going on 8 months now, and I've worked for almost a year. Wow time flies!

OK, well, it's time to sign off!
Blessings in Christ,
~E

Prayer please...

Hi all. :) I have a prayer request; a couple, actually. For me this time. :) We are having to give my poodle, Devin, back to the lady I got him from. My little sister grabbed him and he bit her several times. It's not his fault, he's just never been taught to not defend himself. Dogs have a pretty sensitive "freak out"button, especially when they have been neglected/abused like Devin. I experiance it all the time at work. They just can't help it...and sadly, we can't have that around. SO, he's going back soon. Please just pray for me; it's really hard. I love him a lot...he's a really good dog with some serious problems. And I don't have the time to fix him right now. I'm just really struggling with having to send him back to someone who can't take care of him properly. His previous owner works 6 days a week and sleeps the rest of her time; after all, she is like 67 or so. She simply does not have time for all the dogs she owns. I love all dogs, and I hate to see them uncared for; now I'm forced to place one of mine in a home like that! It's very upsetting, to say the least. So please pray for peace and that I'll be able to maintain respect for my parents; they are the ones saying I have to do this, and if I'm not careful I could get bitter/resentful towards them. I really don't want to do that. ;)

The other request: Patsy (hound mix) has a very likely cancerous lump on her belly. I'm almost certain that it is cancer; she's old, and this lump grew up very quickly. So I'm looking at losing another dog within probably a year or two. Or less, depending on what kind it is. I'm really dreading losing her....we've had her for 10 yrs now, and we all love her dearly. It's going to take me down. I've not ever lost a dog except for our Scottie, who wandered off. I was so young that I didn't really go through a lot of emotional upheaval. Patsy is going to be way different. It's going to hurt for a long time....so please just pray for Patsy and my family right now. :) We're all worried about her.

Thanks everyone!! I'm very thankful for my "family" I have via blogging, UE, and email. :)

Love,

~E

Modesty...

I've seen a lot of posts circulating about this issue. I figured that now was a good time to take my turn. :D

I want to focus on an aspect of modesty that is not always thought about: the heart. Most people look only at the clothes they are buying: how long/short the skirt is, how low that neckline plunges, etc. etc. But do we take time to also examine our hearts? I know I don't. At least, not as often as I should. ;) My desire should not be to "push the limits" with my dress and be as "stylish" as I can; rather it should be to honor God in both the way I dress AND the way I act.

Think about it this way: two young Christian girls are walking down the street together. One wears something close to a tent (:D slight exaggeration there. ;)) The other could lengthen her skirt, pull her neckline up a little, and buy a size larger. The girl in the "tent" is trying to catch the eye every young man she sees, talks and laughs loudly, and is generally being rather flirtatious; her friend, however, walks along quietly and discreetly, with a meek and quiet attitude. Which one do you think is more modest? I would personally choose the girl who could probably improve her dress standards. Her attitude and heart are to be a modest, God-honoring young women. In time, God will show her the areas of her dress that need work.

So instead of always thinking about how other girls are dressing, let's take a look at their heart. Do they honestly desire to serve God? If so, trust God that He will take care of their dress standards. After all, a God big enough to split an entire sea is probably big enough to move the heart of a women desiring to be in tune with him. :) As for the other young women: prayer works wonders.

And most importantly: don't look at others more then yourself. That's so hard, you know?! I certainly have a hard time with it. Often though, the very fault you point out in others is right there in you. So when you get the urge to judge, turn and have a good look at yourself. I know that after I've done that, I don't tend to want to look at others anymore; they seem so much better than me! :D

Until next time,

~E

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus:
My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

Chorus(x2)

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

I'm not usually a fan of Chris Tomlin....but this is one song that really touches me. I really love the way my brother can sing it....I wish y'all could hear it. He (IMO) puts something into it that Tomlin totally misses. I think it's called: true and honest worship. I know that Chris Tomlin does worship God, but it is tainted with a desire to also put on a show. (That's all my opinion of course. ;)) You can watch the youtube video here: Amazing Grace

Love in Christ,

~E

Quick update...

I've not had much time to post here (as may be obvious.) but thought I'd give a quick update. My fam's been sick on and off for the past few weeks; the flu got us again. :P I've just been plugging away at work. One good thing about that: I finally went onto commission!! I was really excited about that...now I can make some real money. :D Oh, I've also started Government...we found out not too long ago that I actually had not taken Government; we just thought I had. SO, now I'm having to make up for our mistake. GRR! I just keep remembering to be thankful in all things. ;) At least it's only one subject.

OK, well, those are the main highlights of life in the past few weeks. :) Hopefully I'll get around to posting something more interesting. I'm thinking that I might say something about modesty, seeing as it is a very popular subject...hmmm. I'll just have to think about it. :D

~E