Award Envy

About 10 trillion years ago...okay maybe a BIT of an exaggeration...about 2 1/2 months ago Tam over at Time for Twittering gave out an award to her 1000th visitor...who as it turns out was Joy M. This is what she received....
I couldn't believe it! Don't get me wrong...I am crazy about Joy M and I realize God doesn't want me coveting awards or really coveting anything...at least from what I understand...but I wanted my own award. I mean had I done NOTHING to merit an award...and I might have even spouted as much at Tam...

Then Tam, being not only a wonderfully sweet and giving person, but also a mother to three children, developed for a handful of us...our own award. Thank GOD she included the first 5, or I would have been empty handed yet again! So on Friday, June 2, 2006, she awarded the "FIRST 5 COMMENTERS AWARD" and THANK GOD, I was numero cinco! Here it is....

We had been trying to figure out the lettering and the HTML for it to go on the sidebar and having a heck of a time. It was eventually left alone for a while.

Then today I'm just surfing around and I feel so award-less again (as I compare myself to other blogs) so I dug and dug and dug...where was that thing...and I pulled it out of the archives and added some lettering...though probably not the very best...but good enough for now...and now I'm going to put it in my sidebar so I won't be awardless anymore!

It sort of reminds me of my one other award so far in life. After having served diligently on our H.S. drama team in plays, musicals, and even student directing, I was sitting in our awards banquet prior to graduation just moaning and groaning about the same people getting all the awards and MOI never getting anything...I mean I almost didn't hear the announcement of BEST THESPIAN...and my mom or best friend said...

"He just called your name, Kim!" (uhm...yeah...red faced girl in the back sitting there arms crossed lamenting her LACK)...

Oh...what...who...me? I never dreamed....I'd like to thank the academy...er' the drama department for this incredibly unexpected, but so deserved desired award! Thank you, thank you...I'll be doing autographs after the banquet...

That, my friends, is my less than pretty side! EGO-GIRL! But, hey, I've got my award now! and YES it does feel wonderful!

GodPrints Meme

Sally over at Eternal Echoes has this link and I could hardly believe it was real! Check it out! Seriously…be prepared for your mouth to fall open in astonishment! Now I see why this organization is around.

And…that’s right folks; it’s time for another MEME! I found this one while I surfed the CWO. I think it’s called GodPrints. It looked like a good one to me so here we go!

1. A friend who has blessed me: HMTQ: for going above and beyond to invite me over and invite me over and invite me over while my husband is in school and working…just so I won’t have to be so alone at night. And for sharing M&M’s and for sharing laughter and for sharing scrapbooking ideas! Whether you like the name or not; you are a wonderful Pastor’s Wife! You’ve blown all my own expectations (yes I do have them) out of the water and bless me over and over again!

And of course all my Blog-buddies bless me daily with wit and wisdom and an incredible ability to brighten each day with caring comments and stories.

2. An unexpected gift: The daily gift from God of revelation about my life; both good and bad and His grace-filled redirection when I’m veering off course.

3. A kind word shared with me recently: Too many to name…just check out my comments from the “Grace” post and you’ll see many of them. Thanks to each of you and to my “LIVE” and in person friends as well, your kindness does NOT go unnoticed.

4. Something that makes me stop and praise God: When God teaches me something. When I feel the very REAL physical presence of Angels. When I worship God and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. When I see miracles.

5. Something I’m looking forward to: My husband’s graduation and beginning a new chapter in our lives. To finish writing a book (and hopefully publish it).

6. A particular part of me I’m pleased with: My creativity and desire to encourage, all attributed to God, of course!

7. Something in my life I wanted but never expected: A Godly husband who loves me more than I could ever fathom, and truly treats me undeniably as God has directed.

8. A place that moved/moves me: Any coastal body of water where the whole world seems to stop and the power of the ocean surpasses human understanding. It’s the one place I always feel the presence of God and I feel small (at 5’11”, that’s a GOOD thing) and loved.

9. One thing/person that always makes me smile: Of course my husband because he is HILARIOUS, even in his completely monotone manner! My nephew, Blake, who is the source of many smiles; my friend Tam, because she always knows just what to say both online and on the phone.

10. Most recent “love note” from God: EVERY morning God wakes me and reminds me how much He loves me and that He loves me enough to NEVER leave me alone…Even on the mornings I ask Him to LEAVE ME ALONE!

I’m supposed to tag people, but you know me…I don’t want to add any pressure to anyone, so if you want it…take it…if not…don’t!

Have a Thursday FULL of GodPrints!

Searching for Grace

Gibee posted about GRACE on her Tuesday Toss-Up yesterday and when I prayed about whether I had anything to post about today…God again whispered that word in my ear…

“Grace”…

I’m letting it seep in and pour through the recesses and channels of my mind as it travels downward into my heart so forgive me if this seems more rambling than usual.

I wonder if perhaps in the evolution of our humanity (now in it’s 21st century), perhaps the race to evolve has ERASED the GRACE that flowed more freely even 30, 40, 50 years ago. I suppose I can admit I see some grace SOME of the time, shared among people. It just seems far less evident than I remember in the past.

Some days it feels like (from watching the news or listening to conversations) we are consumed by thoughts of gasoline prices and subsequent gouging; the strength or weakness of the dollar; the abuse, neglect, even starvation of other humans; the lack of humility and dignity from which great leaders are born; the unity with which our very nations were formed, and we forget about the hope of who/what we are at our very core.

I feel a bit defeated by my fellow humanity today. I feel blanketed by the lack of optimism and hope and GRACE that is afforded us by our heavenly Father. I long for the motivation this sometimes brings…but at this moment I feel defeated.

I continue to see and read words of separation and disparity among even fellow ‘self-proclaimed’ Christian bloggers’ and I struggle to close my eyes and ears to the words of dissent.

I pray we would seek unity and find our common bond of Jesus and His grace, mercy, and LOVE in our search…my HOPE is for a better tomorrow.

Standing in a bit of a fog on this day of my journey…I’m not looking for answers…I’m looking for grace. If you see it…let me know! For now, I'm going back to the source and clearing the blocks in my path.

In "OTHER" Words

In "Other" Words

Tuesday, August 29th
_______________________
“I thought about the whole notion of "reproduction," and what it really means to replicate yourself.Is it merely about the passing on of eyes and chins and hair color? Or is it, rather, the replicationof the heart? Do we leave a bigger mark bypassing on our genes, or our thoughts?”

~ Shannon Woodward ~ author of: Inconceivable: Finding Peace in the Midst of Infertility

I didn’t really have anything to say today and was actually just going to take a short break but I came upon the ‘In “Other” Words’ challenge for today and it brought to mind so much of who I am at this moment that I decided to give it a ‘go’.

For what seems a lifetime, as I feel the window of opportunity closing, I have battled the demons that emerge with infertility. I’ve shared most of those here...

There are some; however, that I have not shared, because frankly even if you could or CAN relate, it feels like it would somehow belittle my own journey. While I recognize that lie as the enemy, I somehow can’t find a way to silence him in this area. It’s just too ‘raw’ and ever-present for me.

With that said, reproduction is defined (in addition to the biological term) as “a copy of something…”

When I ponder my own lack of physical reproduction, I am reminded that while my gene pool may be different from my Heavenly Father’s, I DO have the very heart of Him; the part that matters most. That is the part I am called to pass on.

My reassurance, when I’m walking in physical infertility, is that reproduction is greater than a gene pool. Reproduction is a copy of my heart to another. In my case, this process of ‘passing on my heart’ occurs through the Spiritual children God has assigned to me.

I believe that while many of us ‘suffer’ from physical infertility, we are all offered spiritual fertility! We are all called to pass on to another the seed of wisdom and of discernment and of all those spiritual fruit we inherit, the most important of which is the seed of love
I may never experience the physical passing of my combined gene pool with that of my loving husband, but we will strive daily to pass on the heart of our Savior!

Have a PRODUCTIVE Tuesday!

Just Say No!

You know you want to see more...go ahead...go over there.

Out of Center?

Yesterday Pastorman finished a sermon series on Philippians and while I typically prefer the more dramatic, less narrative sermons, this held some important lessons (truths) for me.

As Pastorman spoke about giving and receiving the first truth dawned on me about my own inability to receive…or admit my own neediness and I AM needy…some days very, very needy! Sometimes I need encouragement, other times I need a smack on the back of the head (in a loving manner), and still other times I need a shoulder to prop me up as I internalize all I am hearing and learning.

Pastorman pointed out that most of us don’t expect anything in return when we give to others, but many times we do try to repay what others give to us or even refuse something offered to us out of the independence that is sometimes actually pride and egotism (my words not Pastorman’s).

I’m sitting in my ‘pew’ (translation folding metal chair), and already having to repent for my bad attitude during a time of worship full of hymns this Sunday morning (I’ll post one day about what happens to me during these times), and then I ask God to reveal to me who is the center of my life.

I felt certain I would get the “good-job head tap” for keeping God front and center of my life lately. You can imagine my jaw dropping, eyelid fluttering response when God literally showed me clearly “I” was the center of my life. I wanted to ask Him to check again, but thought better of it. I sat there in silent repentance and asked God to help me reposition Him front and center and get me under Him where I belong.

You see Pastorman also pointed out that when God is not centrically positioned in our lives, then our lives careen out of control, due to imbalance. No matter how hard we try to maintain balance through compensation, it just won’t come without God solidly in the center.

I thought about the gifts God has given me and whether I am sowing my talents or risk losing them from misuse or lack of use. I thought about high level athletes and movie stars and other famous people who have such incredible talent, but their lives sometimes careen out of control because somehow (and the public typically gets to see firsthand what the somehow is), they forget to keep God center of their lives and these talents, and their resulting fame, begin to topple the balance. I am thankful that my own talents don't draw public attention, but they still do draw GOD-attention daily.

You see, I want to learn and apply this lesson of imbalance and giving AND RECEIVING now, so that when I actually step out of fear, into my God-given destiny, I will remember to keep God the center everyday and not have to be rescued from the pit daily.

Here’s to a God-centered LIFE...and balanced Monday!

Seeing AND Believing

I’ve been thinking/meditating a bit on a word lately. A word that is tossed about and implied more than actually envisioned (at least in my own experience). Here is the definition according to Encarta:

Transparent: obvious and easy to recognize: clearly recognizable as what it, he, or she really is.

I can hear lessons I’ve heard in church about being transparent and this definition is what I always related it to. Today as God put this word in my head, I dug a bit deeper…okay…actually I read the entire definition in Encarta and the FIRST one that pops up is:

Transparent: easily seen through: allowing light to pass through with little or no interruption or distortion so that objects on the other side can be clearly seen.

WOW! That’s so cool. So based on what this says; as I am transparent, the LIGHT (being God in me) is able to pass through me and be visible to others outside my ‘lightness’. AND the more transparent I am, the less DISTORTED that ‘light’ is; the less INTERRUPTION by my own skewed thinking…FOR THE SOLE REASON of the light being seen CLEARLY by those on the other side of light.

I don’t know about you, but I not only want to be PURE LIGHT, but also seen clearly for Christ in me, not distorted by the Kim in me. Honestly, in my initial beliefs about “transparency” it was still very “ME-CENTRIC”…and God’s idea of transparency, at least to my understanding is not only intended for my own repentance, but for His ILLUMINATION; a more GOD-CENTRIC process. MORE God Less Kim, the way I think He would really like it to be.

I love when God teaches me things like this. I love that He is able to begin to teach me this lesson in this way and He also knows that you may not learn the way I learn, so He tweaks it to fit your personal learning style!

What do you think it means to be “transparent” and how is it accomplished? Why is ‘being transparent’ so important?

For me it’s accomplished in a process of purge/refill through repentance and forgiveness. I think the importance has been my own growth in Christ and more than that, it’s the common link that binds our community. We are imperfect and always will be…no matter how hard we try to ACT right and BE right, we will ALWAYS fall short. We can either let it defeat us completely, or we can embrace the Spirit of God within and be transformed through the light of transparency.

‘There but for the grace of God, go I’ (John Bradford)

Have a well-lit Friday!

edited: one day I will LEARN HTML and all these codes that effect my post and AFFECT my mood! Smile and wave!

How Much is TOO Much?

The fact that we live in such abundance is sometimes startling to me. Some days it hits me smack between the eyes as I gaze upon the exponential growth of my material things as I leave the ‘hut’ in search of more stuff, better stuff, faster stuff, prettier stuff.

Recently I had a vision. God sometimes brings me visions and at first I may not understand “WHY”, but soon enough He begins to clarify things for me and my eyes are opened wider and wider until it begins to pierce me from the inside out.

In this vision, God asked me to physically bring everything I had bought for the past month and put it in one room of my house. Clearly I struggle with memory issues and obedience (no surprise there)…so I said: “God, get real! You can’t possibly expect me to remember what all I’ve bought for the past 30 days and put it one room?”

God was being “REAL”. He really wanted me to see, firsthand, how much stuff I had accumulated over the course of 30 days, both “needed” and “wanted” right down to “desired”. While I never did get it all moved into one room I began to think about and mentally inventory the STUFF that I had purchased over the past 30 days. I know there were things I either forgot about or felt didn’t qualify.

It was a very big pile of stuff, as you might imagine. It was OVERWHELMINGLY big. I began to think about things faster and faster as God reeled through the purchases with me. The whole thought process resulted in a pretty large mass right in the middle of my ‘envisioned’ floor.

Let me just review a few of them: clothes, furniture, paint, groceries, gasoline, car washes, gifts, décor items, garage sale ‘finds’, dinner and a movie x 2, scrapbook stickers and paper, beads, STARBUCKS, etc.

Then God asked me to review our checkbook for the past 30 days and highlight (in groupings) the things we had purchased. He has had us do this routinely over the past few years since calling us to pay off all our debt. I highlight in green our ‘giving’; in pink is décor, hobby, and ‘gifts’ (birthday, anniversary, just because); in yellow is school related purchases for Paul; in orange is food (both groceries and restaurants). There was a LOT of pink and orange.

Then I hear God remind me that ‘where my treasure is, there my heart is also’ (Matt. 6:21). So is my heart about eating out, movie at the mega-theater, and shopping for fun stuff? Apparently!

I have heard the arguments that some Christians make about being blessed with much…as God decides. I see how each week it seems I ‘need’ something. Needing something has become such a catch phrase that the word has lost much of its impact in meaning. I began to wonder what I had done “without” and when the last time I went without something I wanted, much less NEEDED.

On the heels of all this, which I was prepared to put to rest with just an internal lesson, I received an email from Jules who is participating in this ’30 Days of Nothing’ challenge in September. She has asked us to pray about our own consumerism and potential commitment to recognize the gross excess in which we live…daily! It’s really a bit of a Daniel fast of sorts and could truly be a conduit to healing the over-consumption we drown in daily.

Will I participate? Honestly…I don’t know. I can think of about 25 excuses not to, not the least of which is my own uncertainty of success in this endeavor. Could I really live ‘without’ for 30 days? Of course I know I could, but WOULD I?

Maybe this is a ‘non-issue’ for you all, but today as I reflect on the Thanks Tank, I can’t help but reflect on when/what I have gone without, to really understand thankfulness to a God who meets all our needs.

Have a reflective Thursday!

Jesus Came to Starbucks

I mentioned the other day that after a night of restless sleep at the marriage retreat, we traversed across the street prior to the Saturday session starting, to get a much needed cup of coffee with all the bells and whistles only Starbucks can produce. Not only was it a white chocolate mocha java, but it had whipped cream on it. Yes, I know it was only 9:00 in the morning, but I can do whipped cream anytime day or night.

We’re sitting there drinking our coffee looking through the ‘best of OKC’ issue of our local gazette and there are only a handful of patrons in the place. A man came in who appeared to be homeless. He had unkempt clothes and hair and was an older appearing gentleman, and he sort of shuffled into the place. I wasn’t nervous about him being there, though I was admittedly a bit cautious.

Our current pastorman has done such an incredible job preaching about the church in Acts and how Jesus wants us to love and serve ALL people, that I don’t react with the immediate knee-jerk reaction I would have even 1 year ago. I have seen pastorman show the same love and service to anyone that happens to cross his path no matter where he is or who they are. He always gives them what he can or listens to them and at the very least prays with them.

So with this mindset firmly in place in my mind and heart I see the man attempt to order a cup of coffee. He pulls out all his collection of coins and they roll across the counter, though not too loudly. By this time we were the only patrons in the place.

Have I mentioned that a part of my multi-tasking abilities crosses over into eavesdropping? Okay…I’m an eavesdropper, sometimes at the cost of those around me. I can’t help it. I hear a word or a comment or see a visual image and can’t take my eyes, my ears, every sense…off of it.

I vaguely hear the man ask how much a cup of coffee is and the woman behind the counter just continues to say: “I’m sorry sir, I can’t help you.”

This goes on for just a minute or so and my husband is wondering why I’m not paying full attention to him. I say to my husband: “that man wants a cup of coffee but I don’t think he has the money. Would you please go pay for his coffee?” and of course my husband, who is much farther along than I am with helping and serving others, goes to the employee to notify her he would pay for the man’s coffee.

She then tells the man and my husband: “I’m sorry sir, I can’t help you.”

Clearly the man has been blackballed from Starbucks. My husband returns, the man leaves and security is close behind. Security goes out to the street to shoo the man down the road away from their 6-star hotel and high-end Starbucks.

It made me so angry. Of course, I didn’t think to just go buy another cup and take it to the man. Next time that is what I’ll do. For the time being I’m left feeling a bit sour about my own patronage to Starbucks in general. I’ve actually seen something similar happen at another Starbucks in another area of town and at the time thought little of it.

I can almost understand if the man were panhandling or scaring the patrons, but he had money. He wanted to buy a cup of coffee just like we did just 15 minutes earlier. He was a little less clean, perhaps. He may have even been a bit smelly. But he had cold, hard cash (albeit in coin form), and simply wanted a cup of coffee.

I told my husband what bothers me perhaps MOST is that at any given moment we are only 2 paychecks away from being in this man’s shoes.

I think that was Jesus in Starbucks on Saturday and what makes me saddest is not only the employees reaction and ultimate denial of service, but my own lack of outrage and action to this prejudice.

My prayer is that God would continue to put people HE chooses before me to show me His love crosses over all races, socio-economic classes, religions, cities, etc. My prayer is that God’s love would be what others see when they interact with me. And that they wouldn’t see judgment or caution, only love.

In Other News:
I also got tagged by my friend Grafted Branch for a “book Meme” and you know how I do love books…so while it’s CLOSE to one I’ve done before; it’s not the same exact Meme.

If you could write a novel about any subject, what would it be? (Just the subject–don’t give away your plot idea!)

If I wrote a novel I’m sure it would be some overly-involved story of too many people’s lives. I tend to overdo just about everything, writing included (as if you all didn’t know that, LOL). I also find that as I read books, sometimes I’m left wondering about lack of character development and that’s where the overly-imaginative, under-stimulated brain kicks in.

That said, I’d choose something supernatural and perhaps for young children; i.e. “My Walk With an Angel” or “Jesus Goes to Kindergarten” or something along those lines. I’m much more drawn to nonfiction writing but OH do I appreciate those gifted fiction authors!

Oh and I’m feeling so much better. Thanks to all who prayed and sent “well-wishes”. I’m back, I’m armed for warfare and I’m ready to roll!

Have a Happy Wednesday and remember; Love God, Love Others!

No Soup For YOU!

Of course most of us can recall the “Soup Guy” on Seinfeld that denies soup to those unsuspecting, unprepared patrons at his own whim. What I recall this morning is how easily something as benign as soup can ‘rock my world’.

I’m home from work today. I’m a firm believer in mental health days, so to be home SICK, actually ILL is a bit of a novel concept for me. Thank God, I am a fairly healthy person and rarely physically sick enough to miss work.

Last night I was up a total of three times violently ill. I know the culprit is the leftover soup I had for dinner. It didn’t taste bad at 5:00…but let me assure you when I rolled over in bed at 1:00 and lost a large part of it on my pillow and bed I KNEW it was the soup. Can you say DISGUSTING!

I don’t deal well with down time. I’m a very driven kind of person who prides herself in getting things done. SO the sheer fact that I slept soundly (after the theatrics at night) until 9:30 says a lot! The fact that I then only moved to the recliner (aka: the coma chair) until just minutes ago also speaks volumes. Even sitting here now I feel weak and my stomach is still churning around, I know my rest is not over.

Believe it or not I’m going somewhere with this…besides just the bathroom. The point is; God offers us rest, the only lasting rest we’ll ever find. Resting in His able, assured arms is a daily offering to us. Some of us struggle to just rest (I won’t mention names, we know who we are). Some of us struggle with the truth in the Scripture: “Be STILL and KNOW…” Many of us struggle with finding value in rest.

Some of that value is HEALING, renewal, clarity, and assurance. Some of the greatest value is ‘clearing the mechanism’ to really hear from God. As I’m home and recouping today and RESTING, I pray God would remind me to rest regularly so that my body doesn’t rebel and steal rest from my seemingly endless busyness. I have to remind myself that a dirty house and unfinished office work will still be there tomorrow.

My time with the Father, even in quiet meditation is where the value lies in my life. The time with my Father is what reaps the fruit He is seeking.

Have a healthy Tuesday and add this to the list of why NOT to eat leftovers.

On another note: How is it Erica Kane can still look so youthful? She was an adult when I watched this show in high school, 20 some years ago. She must be approaching her late 50’s early 60’s by now. Maybe the soaps should adopt some “aging gracefully” mentality and allow these actresses to pare back on the cosmetics in favor of TRUTH! (I sense another post from that subject alone…)

I’ll be in the ‘coma chair’ if you need me.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

The marriage retreat was wonderful that first and foremost reminded me once again how incredible blessed I am with my husband and how perfectly matched we are. I’m not going to pretend we don’t ever have disagreements…we do…it’s the nature of male/female relationship. The difference is we don’t have disagreements with a resulting festering wound.

My first reminder came in the form of hearing others speak about their marital woes or frustrations. I realized; “wow, my husband doesn’t do any of those things these poor women have to deal with.” Then as I listened to our ‘teachers’ speaking about helping one another and serving one another; I realized the ideal spouse he was describing was MY husband. I was convicted in that I am not always the ideal wife to his ideal husband, and I pondered that thought for a bit.

Why would God bless my socks off with him, only to allow him to deal with my less than pretty side(s) (definitely plural)! Is God intending great things for my husband and so he must be tested to some galaxy limit? Is God letting me ‘coast’ awhile? Whatsup? Instead of responding in fear of the trials to come; right now I’m resting in the comfort of this wonderful spouse God has given me, and I am trying to find ways to show him more often how very much I do see and appreciate his giving, serving nature. I also want to remind him daily just how much I love him.

Sometimes when you don’t even think you need a marriage retreat for the material, God still manages to bless you by reminding you how truly wonderful you have it! That is what I brought home from this retreat.

So the material and ‘hanging’ with our church friends was all really fun, but let me assure you it will be a very long, long time before I stay in that hotel again! Here is the “rest of the story…”

Honestly, I’m assuming any hotel where the rooms start at $199/night (thank GOD not what we paid as a group), would be well above average. I mean I have stayed at those “we’ll leave the lights on for you” motor-inn’s much of my traveling life and had fairly good experiences. Suffice to say, my expectations were high and evidently a bit too high. These are, after-all, only larger versions of their smaller cousins: the motor-inns.

We get checked in around 4:30-ish without any problem. We take the lavish elevator up to the 8th floor and immediately I hear what one rarely hears at 4:30 pm on a Friday; MEN AT WORK! I hear construction and I hear it like it’s going to come through one of our walls. As I sit down to rest for a moment and review the amenities (because that’s just something you do at a NICE hotel), I see their script apology (on linen paper) for the ongoing construction…from 8:00-5:30 M-F and 10:00-5:30 Sat.

I immediately flashed to my dream role of Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady” and the music begins with a slow, sweet melody and I begin singing (in my head of course, I don’t want to scare the husband on the arrival)…

“All I want is a room somewhere,
Far away from the cold night air,
With one eNORmous chair,
OH Wouldn’t it be lover-ly”

(All sung with that wonderful cockney accent that I adore!)

I figured since we were to meet some of our group for dinner, I didn’t have to worry my pretty little head about a bit of construction taking place just one layer of drywall over. I tried to put it out of my head as we descended the mirrored elevator down to the grand lobby.

Add to that there was a “Docs and Jocks” conference taking place and many professional athletes were present for ‘gawking’. You couldn’t really hear the construction in the lobby and apparently they weren’t staying at this hotel.

We met up with our group and headed over to Bricktown which is one of OKC's newer touristy areas. It’s been a work in progress but now has several nice restaurants (and by nice I mean very pricey) with well-positioned chefs…the kind of place where you can’t order off the lunch menu after 3 pm (we know because we tried) because it’s probably a different chef and we don’t want to insult the dinner chef with our budget restrictions. The kind of places you don’t always see prices on the menus.

I ordered an $11.00 salad and was served a trough of greens and a few veggies, with chicken on top. It was fine. It wasn’t over-the-top wonderful, but it was fine. My husband ordered some crawfish dish and it only appalled one of his seat-mates. As long as I don’t witness the brain-sucking I’m fine. These actually came without heads so it was much safer. BLECHHHHHH! I know, I know, you pay for atmosphere at these places, but I prefer atmosphere and really wonderful not budget-breaking food.

I did realize being in Bricktown no matter where we ate it would be expensive, so we were prepared. It was good company and we laughed through the meal as we visited before the first ‘session’ of our conference began at 7 pm.

After the conference and a trip back to bricktown (on foot) for some “Marble-Slab” chocolate/coconut concoction, the hubs and I headed back to the hotel earlier than the others. I’m one of the ‘mature’ (translation…really tired and not-worth-anything-socially after 10:00 pm people). We crawled onto the king sized bed and I envisioned this wonderful night of restful sleep without an alarm intruding my pre-dawn REM state.

I was a bit worried when the satin/silk pillow covers kept sliding out from under my own silken tresses. I hit my head twice on the headboard, but if I moved the pillows down, I found myself flat against a mattress, as the pillows shot up from beneath my head to rest pleasantly against the headboard, SANS my head!

It then dawned on me at some point after midnight that these sheets were not fitted, rather flat and tucked under the mattress. I’m a MOVER in bed so I was lying on part of a mattress pad, part of a bare mattress and a sheet had entangled my foot in a strong hold the likes of which I haven’t seen on any ESPN match, to date. I struggled to loosen my foot from the death grip and nearly fell off the bed as I did the “bounce-upward (while laying flat) and quickly reposition-sheets-below-me ‘maneuver’. I scored a sleepy ‘7’ for my attempt. It would suffice.

The next interruption was around 5 a.m. when I felt certain our adjoining room door had been left open as I could hear not only a blow-dryer running as if it were for my own head, but people talking in the same room as me. Wait…I thought as I pried my eyes open…it’s NOT a dream. Those are people in my room…well in THAT room, the one with the EARLY risers discussing, in detail, their plans for the day away from Hotel Hell!

I listened to the conversation, commenting occasionally during conversation lulls and hurried them on their way with an air kiss and a wave as I performed my bounce-reposition maneuver yet again to claim my interrupted sleep.

About 30 minutes later I arose with a clatter…a leg cramp so strong, and a sheet holding tight to my other foot as I attempted to rise and stretch the cramping misery. Only then did I recall my husband reminding me to bring some other shoes besides flip-flops since we would be walking to and through Bricktown on this ‘retreat’. The old adage: “Never sacrifice fashion!” came to mind. Hindsight is 20/20?

OUCHHHHHHHHH I thought as I hobbled across the room seeking relief from this endless cramp. Eventually it subsided with the husband waking saying: “what’s the matter?”

I went back to bed and slept until the people on the OTHER side arose at 6:30-ish to an alarm and showers and more hairdryers…when I finally got up! I got up, the hubby got up…the whole HALL could get up for as much as I cared at this point.

Princess and the Pea ain’t got nothing on me! Thankfully there was a Starbucks across the street and I didn’t mind paying double the usual extortion rate for a cup of white chocolate java to sooth my tired nerves and overstrained calf muscles.

We went back to the remainder of the conference, another trip to Bricktown for lunch and the closure of our conference. I was beyond thrilled to sleep in my own smaller, but perfect-for-us bed at home Saturday night and the dogs were so happy!

This morning I’m still moving slower than usual, but by weeks end I should be back to my ‘fighting form’ for any foot wrangling sheet expeditions! My husband started his final semester at school today…I believe he has Thermodynamics at 8:30 a.m. (not my dream course obviously), but just 16 more weeks til graduation and our life begins? Okay…16 more weeks til we get to figure out how we will spend our increased time together! A problem I am MORE than ready to jointly solve.

Have a wonderful, HOTEL-FREE Monday!

TGIF

Seriously, I am SO thankful it's Friday!

This weekend the hubby and I are headed to a marriage retreat hosted by our church in one of the big beautiful, comfy hotels downtown! I love those kinds of retreats. It’s an overnight stay in very plush surroundings, and a wonderful way to spend some quality time together before the final semester of school ensues and steals my husband away for 16 weeks. In some respects the actual retreat is just an added bonus.

There was some discussion on retreat subject earlier in the week with Pastorman and his wife. Who, by the way, has asked to be renamed: “Her Majesty the Queen” and so for brevity sake she will be referred to as HMTQ (a bit close to HTML perhaps, but hey, who am I to question).

HMTQ asks what the actual retreat subject matter is and Pastorman informed all present that it’s about growing spiritually as a couple. Sounds pretty good to me. I’m not familiar with these teachers at all, but apparently I will be about 10 hours from now.

It’s a short retreat and will be over Saturday afternoon but I’m always telling hubby how nice it would be to just go spend the night in a hotel for a ‘date’ and being the pragmatic one, he insists there is no reason to pay for a hotel when we live IN TOWN! Maybe we’ll touch on that this weekend…LOL! In all honesty, I enjoy a dinner at a really nice place and a movie almost as much.


FOR INQUIRING MINDS:





I googled ‘Questions For God’ today just to see what people wonder about the Most High and I fell upon a survey (a bit dated from 1999) that USAA did and here were the questions…
34% What is my purpose here?
19% Will I have life after death?
16% Why do bad things happen?
12% have no idea what they’d ask…
7% Is there intelligent life elsewhere?
6% Exactly how long will I live?

In a ‘safer’ environment online, these were the 10 top questions:
1. Why don’t you stop pain and evil?
2. Can love really work?
3. S%x (altered to prevent google gagging) -- do you approve?
4. Is the occult real?
5. Is heaven real?
6. Will the world end?
7. Who was Jesus?
8. Does Prayer Work?
9. Did you create the world…and does it matter?
10. Did you write the Bible?

And from this site there is 1 serious and 1 funny question each week and anyone can put in responses.

Do you feel old? And The dinosaurs were more fun than us, weren’t they?


I’ll leave you with these thoughts…is your marriage everything God desires it to be? And for you seeking singles…are your prayers affirming the marriage you know God desires for you?