Introduction

I'd like to introduce "Through a Lense Darkly" written by my very own husband! :) Jon's decided to start a blog about world issues, how Christians should respond to those issues, and our call to be a light in a dark world. His goal is to call Christians to think. He's started off with a compelling book review, and I'm sure would love your comments! I've put his blog in my "links" section.

Last week, Jon and I tried something new.

It's CocaCola Blak, and it's supposed to taste like coffee. Imagine a Starbucks Frapuccino from the grocery store. Only this is carbonated, and it's got an aftertaste of Diet Coke. All in all, not good. Stick to Starbucks. But wow! what a gorgeous design!

Bad Days

What do you do when you have a bad day?

I sleep. I do not like to deal with problems, and the more that piles on my plate, the further under the covers I burrow. That really doesn't help my situation any, but I haven't figured that out, yet.

I have a tendency to get overwhelmed. I think of the things I need to do for the week, and then the things I want to do for the week, and then the things I should do before I die (and I might as well put those on this week's To Do list), and I get overwhelmed.

I'm learning to differentiate between need and want. Next, I need to learn the discipline to do the needs before the wants. I need to work on keeping my To Do list short, and actually do-able.

When I have a bad day, and feel overwhelmed, I don't need to sleep. This is what I need to hear:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:6-7

Sleep does nothing, but this verse gives me a very clear-cut--and manageable--To Do list.

1. Do not worry
2. Be thankful
3. Present my requests to God

And the beautiful promise of God follows: He will grant me peace--a peace that I can't understand, but that pervades my whole being. Peace that tells my heart to slow its frenzy, and my mind to stop racing. Peace that calms my spirit. Peace that frees me from the paralysis of anxiety.

Peace that allows me to throw off the covers and do what needs to be done!

This promise is not mine alone, but yours as well! Don't worry! Thank God for the things (good and bad) that He's given you. Share your worries and requests with God. Then take hold of His promise of peace.

Commentary on the World

Odd things I've noticed lately:
I was driving home from Waco, and noticed a huge semi with the words "Student Driver" on the back. I suppose they have to learn somewhere, but I had never, ever, in my wildest imagination, thought it would be on the roads! Can't they build some huge parking lot or something?

I was in the snack aisle at the grocery store. In the section with all the single-serving sized stuff (small bags of cookies, chips, etc.), there were individually-sized bags of marshmallows! With a big "Fat Free!" label on the front! Yeah, it's fat free, but that's because it's just SUGAR. There's nothing else to it. No fiber, no calcium-fortification, no nothing! Just sugar. I mean, what? You're going to pack a bag of marshmallows in your kid's lunch? It just doesn't seem right.

Okay, those are my two thoughts of the day. Maybe more will come later. :)

A day at Camp

Dear Diary:
I'm at Kitty Kamp this summer. It's been pretty fun so far. We do all kinds of things. Here's a typical day....

8:30--Chow time. My bunkmate Friday plays with my tail while I eat. It's kind of annoying, but I don't let it stop me.


9:30--Nap Time. Well, at least I try, but Friday has P.E. on his schedule, and he always asks me to join in.

10:30--Wrestling. I get my workout every day. My mom and dad will be proud at how in shape I'm getting! Don't worry, the camp counselors never let anything go too far, and I'm so much better at this than Friday, anyway.
11:30--Bird Watching. I really like this part of the day. It's so peaceful to watch the birds....

....until Friday comes along! I can't help it that I get excited and flip my tail all around! Evidently he can't help it that he likes to play with it.


1:30--Naptime. Finally! I'm in my basket....


...and Friday's on the tile in the entryway.

2:30--Naptime still. I'm in my basket....


....Friday's moved to the bathroom tile.

3:30--Working on a really good nap. I'm in my basket...and Friday is stealing my bed. I don't mind so much, as long as he doesn't get in my basket. If he tries that, I bop him on the nose.


4:30--Still naptime! And yes, I'm still in my basket....
....and Friday's in the bathroom again. I think that boy sleepwalks.


5:30--Rest time. It's not officially napping, but we like to hang out under the table.

Sometime between all the naps, we go to classes. Here, Friday and I are in Death Ray class, in preparation for taking over the world. We're both getting pretty good. Soon I'll try out my new skills on the next door neighbor's dog.
Okay, the dog was a joke. I really like dogs, actually. Friday doesn't know what a dog is, which turned out to be pretty funny when a stray invaded camp one day. But that's another story.... Needless to say, he has much to learn. I've heard he's staying at camp longer than I am to catch up. I try to help him as much as I can, but he gets so distracted by feathers and jingle balls....

Well, I guess that's about a typical day. It's fun here--we get lots of treats and brushings. Baths, I found out, are not so fun, but they don't happen often. Sometimes I get homesick. Friday's okay, but I feel like I could squish him. I could never squish my friend Gracie the Dog. And I miss my parents, but they say hi to me on the computer every once in awhile, and I know they're having a lot of fun and getting a lot accomplished. It's pretty cool that my parents are world travellers. I hope they bring me back a good souvenir. Maybe some of those sardines would be nice....

Good night, Diary! I'm off to nap again, and dream of being Superman!

Happy Birthday Friday!!

Today is Friday's first birthday!! How do I know this? Well, I don't for sure. But the vet's office estimated 7/11/05 as Friday's birthday. What is interesting about that, is that I actually remember 7/11/05. In the Summer of No Jobs, the days pretty much blended together, but Leanna had told us that since we were in Ft. Worth, we should go to the 7/11 and get a Slurpee on 07/11, so we did!

So, perhaps, while Jon was enjoying his Darth Vader Slurpee, and I my watermelon-pineapple, little Friday was being born!

I thought about putting pictures of Friday up here, sort of a chronology of events, but you've probably seen them all in some form or another in other posts. So instead, for those of you who don't know, I thought I'd tell you where kittens come from.....

That's right...Pier 1!

Happy Birthday little kitty-o-mine!!!

4th of July Flowers

My family came and visited last weekend. For the first time, my grandparents got to come to see (and stay at) our house! It's such a turnaround to host the family who has taken care of me for so many years. I still forget things like refilling glasses and keeping an extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, but I love to host. I get that from my mom, who gets it from my Grandma. I only hope to someday be as good at it as they are!

A tradition we have in our family is the hostess gift. I thought this was an American tradition, but evidently not. Anyway, if we stay at someone's house, especially for an extended period, we offer a hostess gift. Sometimes it's cookies or something for the family pet. Sometimes it's a decorative item. This time, for me, it was flowers.

If you're a dedicated reader of my blog, you know I planted a vegetable container garden last April. I was very excited about it, but it turns out "vegetable" and "container" are never supposed to go together. I want to adamently note that the plants were all alive (I did not kill them!), they just weren't growing. I had planted too late, and the containers were just too small. Needless to say, the 3 in. tall cucumber plants, and spindly green onion shoots were rather a sad sight.

So when my Grandma saw my pitiful attempt at gardening, she determined I needed new plants--and this time, full-grown flowers that were made for containers. Here is the result:


Isn't it beautiful? Sweet potato vine, zinnias, marigolds, vinca, and impatiens, flanked by two beautiful crape myrtles! It's so colorful, I've seen butterflies, and today, a cardinal! It looks like a real garden.

Inspired by such a generous gift, I filled another pot with some flowers as well. John and Karen gave me the pot, and the two green leaves poking of the dirt weren't doing it justice. So now, hibiscus to match the pot!


Yay for flowers! God knew what he was doing when he made things beautiful.