@NSVRC: Sexual Assault Awareness Month is April. The 2012 theme is healthy sexuality. "It's time...to talk about it." http://t.co/OoRYpazO

Happy birthday in heaven to my Aunt Lucy in heaven. Life's not quite the same without you.

Can I defer this whole 'Christmas Spirit" thing to next year? I'm just not feeling it right now. #thegrinch

In a pondering kind of mood...this is where I get in trouble...

Dumb is never cute. Just sayin'.

@annq:"Thought for the day: The depths of our relationships depend upon how fully we are willing to reveal our hearts. http://t.co/YKbrSc0x

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr

Amen. RT@GodsWordSays: When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will put His arms of grace underneath you to help you carry it.

If He leads you to it, He'll lead you through it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

@webmonkeydc: Your must read today from @ModernReject - Top 5 Lies About Christians: http://t.co/6YpppJ5V Her awesomeness is glorious

Santa may know when you're sleeping & when you're awake, but God knows when your heart's really in it & when you're a fake.

What was the best book you've ever read? Can be any genre, a series or just part of a series.

RT@ModernReject: 15 Things You Should Tell Your Kids. Do you practice these? Did your parents when you were growing up? http://t.co/nq8TVHYu

Anyone can buy a little metal fish. It takes stronger stuff *inside* to walk that walk. Exteriors are just fronts & can be seen through.

Who is Satan's 'equal'? God? No. Satan is a created being. His 'equal' would be Archangel Michael.

Thank you, my darling husband, I am now officially addicted to French's French Fried Onions. Ate them right out of the bag tonight.

God is *NOT* a celestial vending machine. Jus' sayin.

RT@RickWarren: "Rick, never wrestle with a pig.You both get covered in mud,but only the pig likes it" Billy Graham's advice to me yrs ago.

RT@SteveSammons: We are broken and that's OK...The church should be a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

"Love the Lord w/all your heart & w/all your soul & w/all your *mind*." God doesn't want you to leave your brain @the door. Mark 12:30

Rather sad, actually. RT@feministing: Yep, Topeka, Kansas actually decriminalized domestic violence: http://t.co/7Scykx1x

RT@WestWingReport: "To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men." -Abraham Lincoln

Does your life show how much you appreciate Him?

What devotions are you doing on a daily basis? Through what are you hearing His wisdom? Presently, I'm using "Cappuccino with Colossians".

That last msg was a Wayne Cordiero quote from "The Divine Mentor".

The secret of growing in divine wisdom is 2 come 2 God stupid. Tell Him you don't know a thing. W/that kind of heart God does his best work.

RT@Seeds4Parents: Sometimes your worst fear becomes your greatest opportunity.

RT@RickWarren: So grateful Steve Jobs was ADOPTED instead of aborted. Think what our world would have missed! WATCH: http://t.co/jnyGHRfu

RT@GodsWordSays: I have seen the future . . . but I signed a non-disclosure.

"Remembering I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life."-Steve Jobs, 2005

Two books worth your time: *Any* book in Sandra Glahn's Coffee Cup Bible series & Wayne Cordiero's 'The Divine Mentor'.

@Komanapalli: If you always are "too busy" to say yes to your kids asking for your time, they'll eventually stop wanting that time with you.

I am sooo *BLESSED*!! Football, nap & Glen cooked some bangin stuffed peppers. Then Ravens play. Blessed, blessed, blessed!!

RT@RickWarren: Nero fiddled as Rome burned.Today Christians burn each other while the world goes to hell. So very sad. http://t.co/JWVquejV

Expensive Pens

After a week-long conference on Forensic Nursing, I certainly feel the need for some pen shopping. I need some happy thoughts.

Wedgewood isn't just dishes and bowls anymore! I personally like the Wedgewood chocolate pen, but it also comes in the classic blue.

If you have $800 or so just laying around burning a hole in your pocket, you could go for a lovely YOL Viceroy Grand in a Victorian style. Wonderful as it would be I just can't imagine myself using this pen at work. Where WOULD someone use an $800 pen?

Normally, I would advise against having a pen that costs roughly a mortgage payment, but the Montegrappa Stradivari is a pen that deserves at least a momentary drool.

Believe it or not, there are more expensive pens on Joon.com. I didn't think it possible, but there is one offered for $8800. The Namiki Special Edition pen is rather cute, but I'll just have to live vicariously through the idle rich. ;-)

Just when you thought you'd seen almost everything, something comes around to prove you wrong. Behold, the Swiss Army Pen. Wagner has combined the famous pocketknives with a pen that writes at almost any angle in three trendy colors.

Need a fine writing instrument for a Mason friend? Believe it or not, there is a Mason Pen for the Mason who has everything.

For those of us who hear "Dave Ramsey says..." every time a pen is mentioned in a sentence that does not begin with, "Do you have...", Dalys Pen Shop offers the wonderful pens for a discount. I've never ordered from them (yet, mind you) but I heartily suggest a look-see.

Remember, God made you with a purpose that only you can fulfill. Persue your passion.

RT@carlhancock:If you watch the NFL today be sure to think about Pat Tillman. He gave up football riches to fight for his country. #hero

Four frogs rescued, basement squeegeed, outside drain de-mucked of debris, 27 mosquito bites & a new slug friend later, I'm done.

*WAIL!* My momma won't let me play in the flooded basement!!

Wait...I Have Spiritual Gifts? I Don't Remember Unwrapping Anything...

Labor Day, Labor Day...where for art thou, Labor Day? The mythical weekend of the last hurrah of summer...of backyard barbeque, pulled pork and corn on the cob...last weekend to savor the freedom of summer before the responsibilities of fall move in and take over. And hit a good sale or two while you're at it.

While you're savoring the pulled pork pushing the reality of the upcoming season (practices, after school activities and PTA meetings, anyone?) take a moment to think on your spiritual gifts.

You know those things. Paul talks about them in 1 Corinthians 12. They're not for hardcore church weirdos, you know. Everyone has at least one gift (& no, the gift of buying pens doesn't count as much as I like to joke that it's the most important).

Pens aside (perish the thought, but I have a point), God did give you at least one spiritual gift be it teaching, healing, preaching, faith, wise advice, hospitality, discernment, and much more.

'Yeah, but what is it?' you may ask. The question is easier to ask than answer. The discovery process where you dive deep within yourself and seek the gifts given to you is not quick but the journey is well worth it. Its a far cry better than wandering aimlessly through your spiritual life waiting to be fed the occasional nugget of wisdom gleaned from the Sundays you manage to stay awake.

'Ok, but if I find out what my gifts are, won't I hafta use them?' Probably. Open your heart and mind to the Spirit and you'll likely want to.

Where to start? Lifeway has a good pen and paper survey that you can print out, write on and tally up on your own. That taxes my poor ADHD addled brain too much. Its an excellent survey for those of you not distracted by every wee little thing that comes anywhere close by. Plus it involves math (simple as it may be) at the end. I rarely say no to any chance to use a pen. ;-)

Team Ministry has an interactive 108 question survey that allows you to point and click the answers to your questions. Unlike the Lifeway survey which gives you a scale of 1-5, Team Ministry has three response range. They also have a group survey if you're giving such a thing to more than one person.

Another interactive spiritual gifts test is from Kodachrome. Their test has 140 questions and will tally it for you at the end. A nice plus is that they have one geared for younger users so the youth aren't on the sidelines in this one. It'll take a few minutes, but isn't gaining some insight to your spiritual gifts worth the time? This survey asks you about praying in tongues, so if the more charismatic stuff freaks you out, be aware its there.

Give a survey or two a go. You might find out something about yourself that you didn't know.

Who knows? You also might find yourself using your gifts at your church sometime soon.

For inquiring minds, my top gifts are shepherding, discernment, faith and helps.

An Actual Post about Actual Pens

Ok, ok...up 'til now the blog's been all about God & how cool He is. That's a big part, rest assured. But to answer the burning question...

"Hey Crazy Pen Lady, where's the pen talk?!?"

I have been lax and for that, my fellow Pen Geek brothers and sisters, I humbly do apologize.

The first in line in the drool-worthy list is the Ultra Violet from levenger.com. Not to be confused with the feminist Indian blog, the invisible rays that give you sunburn, the Sony scifi-martial arts-heroine film, or even a new entertainment platform, this pen is simply pretty. It has flecks of purple, two shades of blue and a pearly white and is available in ballpoint, rollerball and fountain pen. I've heard rumor that it uses an oil based ink that flows wonderfully and has a rich, dark color. Is it on par with Uniball's Jetpens? That remains to be seen. Either way, this is a functional piece of art you can hold in your hand.

Jetpens! Jetpens! Jetpens! This is a site I visit very often. Its a mecca of Asian pens and supplies. You can find just about anything you want here from some basic (but irresistibly cool) ballpoints to handblown glass dip pens and the ink to go with it.

I'm a sucker for multi-function pens. The Uniball Style Fit is my next pen. It feeds into my ADHD, plus it speaks to my need for flexibility. The cool part is being able to pick your own colors. Not the standard black-blue-red-green selection you get in the average American multi-function, but the choice of a mechanical pencil and non-standard colors (like brown) is an added selling point. Plus its Uniball, so how could you go wrong? The Style fit is sold in pieces; the barrel is purchased separately from the refills so you can customize it to whatever you need. How cool is that?!

The last cool pen for today is the Ultimate Geek Pen from x-tremegeek.com. A pure geek pen, it has a ballpoint pen (black ink), a stylus for the pda/DS, a laser pointer for presentations, adjustable gooseneck light for writing in those dimly lit library corners and, the piece-de-resistance, an ultraviolet light to detect counterfeit currency. Not exactly a pen I can see getting daily use, but the idea is fun. :-)

Rejoice in your pen geek-dom! Paul says in Romans 12:6 that God has given us gifts and we need to use them well. Don't fight your gifts, use them proudly and use them well!

Mammo done. If men had their *ahem* package squished yearly, there would be less gymnastics & pre-exam medication. Just sayin.

God Wants the Best for You...or...The Mother's Curse

Did you ever feel like God's got it out for you? Like a parent who seems to ride your...*ahem* bottom to make sure you always "do right in a do right zone"?

Discipline never feels good at the time. Quite frankly, when you're walking through the gloom of correction it sucks.

Nobody's perfect, particularly me. I joke to my husband that I was a model child who always listened and obeyed my parents. Closer to the truth, my mother said the oh so familiar Mother's Curse when I was the tender age of four..."I hope you have children just like you."

And God, having the biggest sense of humor, thought it would be funny to oblige her. Not only did I have children "just like me", I had four. God must have been laughing so hard He cried. Got the hiccups. Perhaps even chortled. Either way it took me becoming a parent to understand that when you correct your kids, you truly love them. Otherwise, you'd just let them do what they want and not care.

I love all my kids. None of them are perfect. They have faults and beautiful traits I could wax nostalgically on for hours ad nauseum. Simply put, when they mess up they get grounded. I love them too much to let them go down the wrong path. True to form, they appreciate it as much as I did.

God disciplines those He loves, too. Just like a mom...or dad as the case may be. What we do, how we do it, who we do it with...all that matters to Him. He tells us so in Proverbs 3:12.

He thought it was important enough he reiterates it in Hebrews 12:5-8. Paul checks in with the Hebrews and reminds them that God cares enough to discipline the kids He loves and calls His own. Read: YOU.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to sit down and have some chitchat (read: pray) with God. He loves you, He wants to spend some quality time with you. And just like Mom (or Dad) if you start hanging out with the wrong crowd...in comes some discipline to get you back on the path He knows is the best for you.

Nudged

Have you ever felt out of place at your church? I mean, not just the' I'm sitting in the back row because my usual third row seat is taken by a visitor' out of place but a 'I'm not meshing with other people who worship here with me and it's been five years' kind of out of place?

I've been there. And there's no t-shirt to go along with it.

It was a hard, strange feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realized I didn't fit and probably never would. Every church has cliques; we as a species crave societal order and cliques are a part of that need. Old Church was small-ish and I'm not here to bash Old Church. Old Church is just fine for a lot of people and I actively encourage those who fit there to keep going.

I wave and smile in the halls but would get a nod here and a grunt there. I didn't get calls for playdates for the kids like the other moms do; in fact I got turned down for them. I used to teach the elementary school girls small group at Old Church. I cooked dinners, donated food and did my share of volunteering; but when I needed the same help...the deafening silence was humiliating.

So...I left. I went church shopping. I finally just went to a church recommended by a friend and am feeling better about having a place.

I felt a nudge a while ago, the nudge that I needed to be somewhere else. Now, God knows me and it took a kick in the tush to get me on the path He wanted me on. The kick was the cancelling of the kids programs for the summer.

Are you feeling that nudge? Is God's whisper dancing on the breeze that drifts by your spiritual ear urging you on to better things?

Take a moment: put down your cell phone. Turn off the tv. Turn off the radio. Find a quiet place to be still with Him, so you can hear the words He whispers to you. Remember, God doesn't shout. He doesn't always use neon signs (although I for one, wish He occasionally would). In 1 Kings 19:12 we read about how God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20kings%2019:12&version=NLT

That's the voice you need to listen for.

Six years ago today my sweet Em graced us. She's been a delight and a treasure ever since. She's a bundle of bossy, red hair and I wouldn't know what to do without her.

Sometimes I don't know what to do with her, but that's another story entirely.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Em. You're the best you I know. I love you!

I'm Just Along for the Ride

I made this blog months ago thinking that this would be an every day thing. My sister has a great blog http://www.pumping-sunshine.net/ . I saw the empty block and, well, came down with a case of writers block.

:::sigh::: And here it is again.

Thousands of other women write blogs seemingly effortlessly. Words just flow from their fingers and *poof* another funny, fantastic blog hits the ether that is the internet.

When I'm in the car, I'll think of something that at the time of course seems brilliant. Then I get home and my Autie (short for my autistic boy) or my Tomboy (older middle girl) or my baby, Miss Diva is knee deep in something that's overflowing, leaking or otherwise disasterously malfunctioning and my focus suddenly becomes surviving the day instead of getting the words down.

My oldest, swirling with issues and getting all the help available in the free world, oft will call asking for something to him seems reasonable. "Can you just come up here and drop off something?" he'll ask. He lives away from us right now, and where he lives is 40+ minutes one way. It's not a trip around the block. Couple that with the fact that I usually have to bring the kids he abused to 'drop off' anything he thinks he needs (or lest he perish) it complicates issues.

Life is full.

Of what, I'm still not sure.

All I can say is...God's got this. I'm just along for the ride.

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