Tragedy

Well, it's happened. The first tragedy since "the mom" went on vacation. There I was putting a clean workshirt into the dryer to fluff and dewrinkle. There was a smell in the room. It was not a good smell. It smelled dead. I wondered for a minute if it could be a crispy, dead squirrel. Nah...it wasn't a "dead" smell, it was a smell I've smelled before. It was a "wet" smell. Like when the carpet in my room would get soaked everytime it rained before I had that repaired.



Yes, it was a wet, mildewy smell. I looked around the laundry room trying to determine what it was and then I thought "oh no, is there something in the washer?". I haven't done any laundry yet, and Katie and the kids left on Saturday. She last did laundry on Friday night. It's Monday now. It's been more than two days. So I slowly opened the washer and peeked in. Yep! There it was! Clothes. Rotting.



Without "the mom" I am unsure what to do. I can't very well dry them in this condition so I think I should wash them again. So, I put in the detergent and fired up the washer again. I'm running them through a second time right now in hopes that there will be no mildewy remnants of an odor left when I put them in the dryer. I have no clue what to do if this doesn't work.

Home Again

I'm sitting at my stepmother's computer here in Massachusetts. This is my childhood home. It isn't easy typing on this puter though because I'm not used to it.



I attended church with my grandmother this morning. It's made up of several elderly, a few older adults and about 5 children...all of whom I believe may have belonged to their new pastor (as of today). Apparantly, about 4 years ago, a pastor came to the church who caused alot of problems and many people left. In fact, most of the church left. They have had nothing but interim pastors ever since. There is really nothing there to draw a crowd since the majority of the members are over 80 years of age.



However, I got so blessed today during this very historically traditional church. They did hymns out of a hymnal to the ever so lovely sound of the pipe organ. There was a reading from the OT and Amazing Grace was sung a cappella and it was so beautiful. Then there was a reading from the new testament and another song was sung by the children. This one was also done a cappella. It was really strange because the service itself should have been extremely boring but,I got such an awesome blessing. I could feel something sweet about the spirit that was present in the hearts of this small core group of people. What was really special is that today, I was present to witness the induction of a very special pastor. God's timing is perfect. I believe He put me here today just to be a part of this most blessed event.



The Baptist churches here allow women to be pastors as well as men. It was awesome to see a minority woman speaking so boldly and full of the spirit and with the freedom that every believer should have. I don't know exactly where I stand on the issue of women in a pastoral role. I only know that this woman is over many churches and the Holy Spirit of God spoke to me through her today.



The man who is coming to be the pastor at this church has a big job on his hands and they truly need prayer at Portland Street Baptist Church. Although the service was extremely anciently historical, the Spirit was extremely present. To sit there on fire like I was....it was blowing my mind. God is about to do something awesome at this church and I don't even think they have a clue...at least most of them. I know that some of them do though.



Since the numbers were small (about 50 or so)...the service was pretty intimate. The now new pastor took prayer requests from the congregation before the service began but after that it was ALL WOMEN! Oh there was the sweet old man who played the violin. That was precious. He has just started learning to play and Oh! Get This! I was so blessed! This man went back to school to get his highschool diploma....WHEN HE WAS IN HIS SEVENTIES!



Okay, back to what I was saying...



After the children sang, there was about 10-15 minutes left for preaching. The woman preacher delivered the message since it was the induction message. It was about the fruit of the spirit. She said that fruit was fruit and not fruits because it is all one. She got to the part about self control and asked the church to exercise self control when it came time to make changes. She said that in order for growth to come, there has to be change. She mentioned that it will be difficult to keep the history of the church but also bring it up to date and that some decisions will have to be made that everybody will not agree on. She asked them to exercise patience and self control during these times and to give the pastor at least three years to bring about the necessary changes that will bring the church alive again.



After services, Grammy told me that the numbers have doubled just in the short time this pastor has been coming. I heard him speak briefly and he is a man on fire for God and ready to dig in and work hard. I felt such a presense of love flowing from him and I was moved to speak to him after the services. It only confirmed my speculations. I really believe God led this man to this church because a great revival is about to take place. I almost wish I could stay to witness it. I did get his email and he has promised to keep me up to date.



There is much more I want to blog about but I'll probably do it when I get home. This blog is already long enough.



One last food for thought:



Adam and Eve...they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of this tree really came forth after Adam and Eve ate it, for truly in the sin they committed...they really did learn what good was before they knew of the evil that was born to man on that day. Without the presense of evil....they couldn't even know what good was. The fruit they bore that day was evil. It has been reproduced in mankind throughout history. Even to this day. But then came Jesus. Amen!

Introversion

Katie calls me an introvert. Am I? I don't know...I'm tending to believe that I am not. I am not the most open about my deepest thoughts and feelings. I do keep most things to myself and share only with my closest friends. I have never had a huge gathering of friends...usually I have one real close friend and sometimes one or two other good friends.



Growing up I always found myself in leadership roles. I was in band and became a section/squad leader. I was in youth group and became chairman of the religion committee. I was involved with softball and became one of the leaders on most any team I played on. In college I found myself again leading sections in band and eventually became a band director at a middle school. I am now managing my own music retail store. Do introverts normally end up in leadership roles?



Or in front of large groups of people teaching? Or serving customers?



I was not a popular person in school, mainly because I'd rather be surrounded by real friends who love me for me, than people who just want to be known as cool because they hang around "cool" people. Shame...they never learned how cool I am! LOL I was and am well-liked by people. Never had enemies of note. I was and am invited to activities and people want me around. I haven't noticed people running away when they see me coming.



Introversion: 1 : the act of introverting : the state of being introverted

2 : the state or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life.



This whole question came about because our normal SaLT groups at church are going through a Summer SaLT Shake. In an effort to deter "cliques" from forming and to help members get to know more people, we were randomly placed in new SaLT groups for the summer. I think that's pretty cool. Katie volunteered our house. I'm cool with that. *Warning Warning* Katie is NOT here for the first meeting or the second. This concerned me. I don't know what to do with people. A gathering of people at my house? Oh no! What do I do? What if they want food? or drink? Where will we all sit? I freaked out.



Katie made arrangements for the gatherings to take place at Keith's house for these first two sessions. Whew! That was close!



When I told some people at church today that it wasn't at my place they naturally wondered why. I said "I'm an introvert and don't have a clue how to hostess a gathering. It's gonna be at Keith's until Katie gets back from Massachusettes."



Then they asked "Why do you call yourself an 'introvert'"? Where did you get that idea?" I thought for a minute and said "Katie calls me an introvert and sometimes I really wonder if that's true?" They wouldn't call me and introvert and we concluded that my problem is not socializing, it's hospitality. I do not have the gift! They also reminded me that anyone, when compared to Katie, would be an introvert! LOL



Katie is extrovert extrodinaire! LOL She called to tell me about her plane trip to MA and all the conversation she had with other traveller's. She can have a conversation with anyone at anytime at anyplace. It's a gift for her. That's why she's a good evangelist! One day she about started a revival in the ER of the local hospital when she stopped to take an elderly woman to the hospital after a traffic accident. She will share her God experiences with everyone who has ears. Sometimes I wish I had that ability! I have been to ER and I'm not sure I've spoken anything beyond "it's hurts there" and I've travelled on airplanes and never spoke to a soul, except to thank the captain for the safe flight and for bringing me back home.



Compared to Katie, I am an introvert. But, I conclude that according to the above mentioned definition...I am NOT an introvert, at least not to a debilitating degree. I simply lack hospitality skills. I blame that on my aversion to flavorful foods. (That's another blog)



Extrovert: one whose personality is characterized by extroversion; broadly : a gregarious and unreserved person



Yep, that's Katie to a T!



Introvert: to turn inward or in upon itself: as a : to concentrate or direct upon oneself



Possibly describes something about me, but that's not everything!



Introversion...it can be relative.

Where Are You?

So, there you are...WHEREVER that is and you start wondering. "Hmmm...I'm so bored. WHERE should I go?" Then you go, you just go and read some blogs and sign some guestmaps to let people know WHERE you are. It's important to let people know WHERE you are. Because wherever you are, you are there.

Daily Biscuit

Take a bite of the Daily~Biscuit



From Gooddogbaddog:



From the day I was born until the age of nineteen I moved only once. I don't recall it all that well because I was less than one year old when it happened. But, then I or various configurations of 'we' moved nineteen times since.



On Monday I posted the Daily~Biscuit and then headed for Michigan to begin the process of moving Mom back to her orginal home in Canada from her now former home with Vic. Vic died suddenly on April 2nd. They shared a passonate and soul sharp two years and five months together when Vic suddenly left the earth household behind, dieing suddenly on April 2nd.



It was more than a physical move. It took in the whole scope of her, of me, of us. (That's too big to describe here and it may be something that I will have a go at my other site.



I got back and put in a day of work and at the end of it I find my mind is still, on the move.





1. Talk about moving. The good the bad and the dogly.



2. Focus down on one move and tell us why that one stands out to you.



3. Is there a move that has had a specific and lasting spiritual impact on you?





As ever, choose one or more of these and have at it.



#1 - I was blessed to grow up and live in the same childhood home until I moved out of the house when I was 18 to go to college. I lived at that house in Hinckley, OH for 18 years and graduated from the same school district, Highland Local Schools, that I started Kindergarten in. Many don't have that blessing. I did. Stability for a young one is great and it should be something all parents strive for.



After I moved out to attend college, as most students do, it's moving in the dorms and out of the dorms. It's moving back in the dorms and back out. Then it's moving into my first apartment, then it's moving into my second apartment. Then I invested in a house and stayed there a couple of years until I moved again to Traverse City, MI. Moved into a rental first, then bought a house. Only stayed there a year and moved to another rental house in IA. Bought a house in Marshalltown, IA and stayed three years until God moved me to TN. (I'll expand on that in the following questions) Since moving to TN in January of 2000, I have moved a total of 4 times! I HATE MOVING! I am pretty settled now...I think.



Moving is hard work! It is very physically draining. Packing and unpacking. Moving heavy furniture and trying not to scratch the "good stuff". I was lucky on a couple of moves to have professional movers, wow...THAT is the way to do it. Unfortunately, I've done the last 4 moves and it was not fun. I wouldn't have made it without Katie's help either...that and help from my pastors'.



The day we moved into this house was a very HOT July day. Katie, bless her heart, did 85% of the packing and organizing and moving. I was DOG tired (threw that in for Owen) and she was too...probably moreso. Then I made her drive the HUGE (because U-Haul didn't have a smaller truck available) 18 wheeler size truck from Selmer to Humboldt...about 50 miles. LOL She's such a trooper. Actually, she's a mom. Mom's are amazing...they are like energizer bunnies! Well, we pulled in the driveway of this house at around 1 AM. Mind you, we got the truck the day before, and it had to be back in a day or we face extra charges. We had to unload that thing. We had worked since early in the morning, over 14 hours, packing and loading the truck all day long. We were both exhausted. So physically drained that we could barely move. We had to move. We had to get the refrigerator off the truck and into the house because we had perishables. It was too funny. We strapped that fridge on the appliance dolly and we both attempted to push it forward toward the ramp out of the truck down onto the drive. We both gave a "heave ho" and didn't move that thing one lousy inch. We had NO energy at all. It was gone. We both kind of laughed because we put so much effort into it and NOTHING happened! LOL So, we prayed. We asked God to give us strength to get that fridge off the truck. With faith and perserverance we counted "1 - 2 - 3 go!" and got that refridgerator out of the truck, down the ramp, another 20 feet down the walkway, up the 3 steps to the porch, up the little step in through the front door, across the living room floor (the long way because of doorway restrictions) and into it's resting place in the kitchen. Plugged that baby in and filled her with food. God even answers the "little" prayers.



I've learned some things from my moving experiences of the past few years. I got smart this last time. I figured if I didn't open a box since my first move, I must not really need what was in it. I managed to make a profit by selling old albums, cassettes, books, and even an old "beater" trumpet on Ebay. I LOVE Ebay! Yep, put that old trumpet on Ebay for $4.99 and it sold for $250! Turns out it was a vintage horn made in 1913. I've run out of stuff to sell, so I haven't been to active in the auctions...but Ebay makes moving easier!



#2 and #3 - The move that stands out the most (beside my move to MI which was my first move away from my home, and I bawled and bawled all the way there) was my move to TN. To where I live now. It was a total God thing. (I'll give a run down here...but, for more details check out my testimony and/or my friends page.) I was studying God's Word and also doing an in depth study by Henry Blackaby called "Experiencing God". Wow! Awesome study...highly recommend it! Anyway, in it I was learning how to listen for God to speak. To watch God at work and join Him. He was speaking to me, He was directing my paths and I was following like my dog following the scent of an apple. (Yes, my dog loves apples! He doesn't beg for meat...he begs for fruit!) I was convicted about my financial status and was able to work and get that all under control. There were circumstances in my life that were leading me to move out of the house I was sharing with a long time friend. I was convicted about some things at work. It became very apparent that God was pointing me into a new direction, but it was scary. Very scary. I never really had lived by myself. I have always had a roommate and wasn't sure if I could be independent. I was learning to be dependent on my Lord. Boy, did I learn quick! I soon quit my job, left First Baptist Church of Marshalltown, where I had been discipled by awesome mentors in the faith for those early steps in my walk, and headed for Selmer, TN.



Tennessee became my new home...and it has been an adjustment. God has used my time in TN for His Great Purpose, yet He hasn't told me what it is yet! LOL He has put me in some situations that have taught me a lot about trusting in Him and forgiveness. I'm still learning the patience. I moved to TN totally on faith, and in a very short while, 4 days, I had a job. In less than a year I had a new church home and bought a house as a person living debt free. (except for the house, a car, and unfortunately that loan to fix the major water problem in the house).



Now for the comedy relief. Moving day in January of 2000. I had Chuck, my truck, on a tow dolly behind a U-Haul. I unloaded Chuck, then had to disconnect the tow dolly from the U-Haul truck. I had tied Whyzer, my dog, to the tow dolly with his lead because he was in unfamiliar territory and I didn't want him running off. I disengaged the tow dolly from the ball on the back of the truck and Katie asked if I needed any help. I told her "no, I got it".



Her drive was on a hill. Not a major hill, but it descended at a shallow angle. When I lifted up the tow dolly off the ball I turned around to "steer" it to the side of the drive. Well, I miscalculated how heavy that thing was and how much the pull would be. Katie could tell this better because she saw it all happen...she says it was as if it all happened in slow motion.



Well, the tow dolly started pulling ME down the drive! It was moving very slow and I kept trying to pull back and keep it stationary. That wasn't going to happen. Eventually it pulled me down onto my knees, yet I kept attempting to hang on and keep it under control. In my mind I started envisioning a runaway tow dolly going out into the traffic at the end of the drive! It was situation critical! So, in an all out attempt to save the world from disaster, I flopped down onto my stomach to create drag. It worked! The dolly dragged me a few feet until it settled just off the side of the drive. I stood up and brushed my self off while Katie was trying to stifle a laugh. She asked "are you okay?" and I said "gee, I almost gave myself a masectomy!" and she busted out with a very hearty laugh that lasted for days every time the story was brought up. We both laughed so much we couldn't even share the story without cracking up and ending up in tears. People just thought we were nuts. Little did they know! LOL



It wasn't until after that whole episode that Katie reminded me that Whyzer had still been tied to the dolly! She said "he just pranced right along side like he was out for a joywalk!" LOL



The incident is forever etched in our memories as "The Belly Drag".

I'm Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I don't want to celebrate too much because Katie will most likely check out the blog from her parent's place in Massachusettes. (sp?) LOL Yes, I think I spelled it correctly. Yay.



Things I have done today, with Katie and the kids away:

• Tried cleaning up the computer hard drive and managed not to crash it.

• Went to work and got the paperwork done from last week and pulled some recall (I'm gonna be in trouble for that)

• Went to my band concert, saw the sign at the park entrance "Concert Cancelled for rain", came home

• Killed 14 Rangers in Justin's Special Ops Playstation game (oh....I was the Rangers! LOL)

• Surfed

• Attempted to solve my Blogthis! problem...so far I've failed.

• Listened to Derek Webb's new CD "She Must and Shall Go Free" - I will have to write a review for Crimson Light Music

• Currently listening to Avalon's greatest hits CD - "Adonai" reminds me of Katie. She sang it at church the time I first visited TN in October 1999 "Testify" reminds me of her kids...they both can sign it. They are so talented and do an awesome job!

• Talked to Ma via AOL IM and she shared about Grandma's deteriorating health which is sad

• Talked to Katie on the phone to give her the scriptures to read to keep us on track to finish the chronological bible in a year

• Learning how to use html to indent

• Now I'm blogging

Wow! Life sure is exciting!



I enjoy this free time! I am listening to MY tunes WHEN I want and playing on the computer with very little distraction. It's a dream come true!!!



In a few days I'm gonna miss them. I know I will.

Blogthis!

I'm very upset. I can not get my blogthis! to work with Dano, the new version of blogger. It's giving me a headache.