Ahhh... the week is finally over. (Yes, in my head, the week is over come Thursday night.) Here's the rundown, in no certain order:

High point of the week: It's a girl! DM and Em went to the doc this week and found out they are having a girl come March. Watch out Wyatt Cody, little sis is coming to town!

Low point of the week: The more I 'work' every day, the more I question my need/desire to be there. Today I copied a font onto a flash drive. That is all.

Something to look forward to: weekend in Abilene! Seeing friends and family and Wyatt's birthday party on Saturday. Pictures to come.

Something to be glad to have over with: Halloween. It has no good purpose. None whatsoever. Can you trick or treat for ice cream? Didn't think so.

Discovery of the week: 7-mile running trail close to work. Now I can bring my clothes with me and run while traffic dies down. Love it.

Catastrophe of the week: I broke the handle off the microwave. How does that happen, you might ask? I'm still wondering myself.

Accomplishment of the week: getting to work on time 4 out of 5 days

Purchase of the week: a new battery for the Timex

Prayer of the week: Lord, I believe in You; help me overcome my moments of unbelief.

Bad habit of the week: staying up way too late for absolutely no reason

Saying of the week: "Destiny is a fickle _____" Watch LOST to fill in the blank.

Will I continue this on a weekly basis? Don't count on it.

Alas, I have found it. I have found that which quite possibly tops the 'most ridiculous thing ever' list. At least for this week. Rival at will.

Preface: If you know my family, you know we're hard-core dog people. At least where the German Shepard is concerned. And where 'overboard on the pup' is measured, we score a perfect 10. But these items cross all boundaries...

I present to you, Exhibit #1: Palladian Pet Estate


Would you like to spend more on a mansion for your dog than you do on your house payment? Would you like your doggy crate to remain inconspicuous with "eggshell acrylic enamel"? For a small fee of $1990, this "Renaissance-inspired architectural masterpiece" can be yours! Ask us about custom sizing to fit your furry friend.

And then we have, Exhibit #2: Small Doggie Den


Are you tired of little frou frou nipping at your heels all day? Wanting to entertain guests without the pooch running laps around the ladies? We have the solution for you! Throw the little trotline bait in the pup cupboard! Features a "soft black doorknob and door latch" and "ample space inside". For the low price of $600, you too can enjoy a quiet evening at home.

Um, do yourself a favor and get a large dog.

I went exploring this evening and found some old abandoned tennis courts set back from the road a bit. The nets were torn and tattered. The court surface was cracked and crumbling. The gates were hanging on their hinges and paint had flaked off the wooden benches and boundary lines a long time ago. But oddly enough, the lights were still working. It was a good place to go and sit.

God has some pretty creative ways of humbling us. Sometimes it comes in the form of a specific encounter, through another person or eye-opening experience. But then there are times that God chooses to reveal Himself to us in ways not based on anything concrete. It just sorta happens, rather subtly.

So have I been humbled today. I think God's been waiting for me for awhile now. Waiting for me to stop trying to be in control, to stop trying to fix things that I can't. Waiting for me to grow weary of trying to make things happen as I think they ought. Waiting for me to listen and trust. Waiting for me to turn to Him and surrender what should've been left in His hands long ago.

Whew. That's a lot of waiting. And I wonder sometimes why God would care to stick around. But that's just it.

He's a God who cares.

He's a God who loves.

And He's a God who heals.

And that's worth trusting in and seeking. That's worth the moments of hurt. That's worth admitting our faults. That's worth letting go when we need to.

Because in His goodness and patience, God continues to make beautiful things out of broken people. And that's worth it all.

So today we had a mild monsoon. I say 'mild' so as not to attempt a comparison to recent hurricane activity. Cause there is none. But it poured and poured and it was fantastic. I think we're supposed to hit a low of 50 tonight, in which case I might possibly freeze to death. I think I'm turning into that fair weather person I never wanted to be. Hmmm... Bust out the SmartWool socks!

I'm on the final pages of Jesus for President. This one is L-O-A-D-E-D, but oh so good. It's refreshing to read something that puts into words some of my thoughts/views on politics, war, America and such. Not to say that I agree with everything in the book, but I think it's certainly right up my alley. The book also details the political atmosphere back in the good 'ole Bible days, much of which I didn't know. Very interesting. (Side note: I think it's cool that Mike Cope and Randy Harris, two of the Bible profs at ACU, are using it as their textbook for their freshman Bible classes.) If you want to be challenged, this is a good place to start.

There's not much else to report, so I guess I'll have to do a little bragging. How cute is he?!

This last week I started going to a women's Bible study group. Seven of us are meeting twice a month and going through one of Beth Moore's studies. The group is cross-generational, from me being the youngest at 25, all the way up to the oldest at 60. It certainly has potential to be quite a riot! A quote from our book last week:

"Over and over again God has to remove our friends in order to bring Himself in their place... It must be God first, God second, and God third, until the life is faced steadily with God and no one else is of any account whatever." ~Oswald Chambers

Oh my.

I recently finished reading Under the Overpass, by Mike Yankoski. A few years old, but a great read. As college students, Mike and his friend Sam take their guitars, thrift store backpacks and sleeping bags, and the clothes on their back and set out to experience the life of the homeless in America. In 5 months or so, they travel through 6 different US cities, living on the streets and encountering many unique individuals. The book chronicles their journey and the people they meet, as well as the reactions they receive from various churches along the way. Below are some quotes from the book. Hope you'll pick up a copy...

Out attitudes of entitlement need to be replaced by attitudes of thankfulness.

Something critical is missing in places that care for the broken and needy if the only people there are the broken and needy... If we are the body of Christ – and Christ came not for the healthy but the sick – we need to be fully present in the places where people are most broken. And it has to be more than just a financial presence. That helps, of course. But too often money is insulation, it conveniently keeps us from ever having to come face-to-face with a man or woman whose life is in tatters.

When we're willing to get down to eating together, listening and talking the truth together, cleaning together, peeling potatoes together, the Gospel comes alive.

Maybe the reason so many people, Christians included, are so discontent is that we hold too elevated an idea of comfort, too grandiose a notion of pleasure.

One of the best things about the gospel is that Jesus Christ proclaims and restores human and eternal worth for everyone who believes – regardless of what a person might look or smell like now, no matter what's crawling through his hair. And because we follow this Christ, each of us has both the ability and the responsibility to do the same.

The more committed we become to impacting one person at a time, the more we'll prepare our hearts and our churches to respond on both a community level and on a national level.

What would we do during the day or in our lives for God if we weren't concerned with what we wear, what we eat, where we sleep, what we own, what people think of us, or what discomforts we face?

"A nation that continues to spend more money on military defense than on
programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
~Dr. Martin Luther King