Tag, I'm It.

I'm it!

Guess what?  I got blog-tagged by my dear Katie at Probably Prautes.  She's my daughter and she's my favorite child of the three.  (Don't worry, I tell each of them they're my favorite, and they all believe it!)

So, I am going to tell you about myself, then I'll tag someone else's blog....  

1. Where were you born? Gettysburg, PA.  Well, that's where the hospital was... I grew up in Littlestown, all of 8 miles away.

2. Were you named after someone? No, Lisa Marie was just extremely popular back in the day.  There were 3 of us on my freshman dorm hall.  And no, I wasn't named after Lisa Marie Presley.  I was born long before she was.  She was named after me.

3. If you have children, how many do you have? 3 fabulous adult children, 1 fabulous daughter-in-law and 1 fabulous son-in-law-to-be.

4. How many pets do I have? Just an old dog/mutt named Ozzie.  He's 12.  Our first dog, Sandy, lived to be 17... just some trivia for ya.

5. What was your worst injury? Probably my sledding accident. If you know the details you're probably one of my best friends.  Other than that, the Ozzie fish hook incident wasn't a terrible injury, but it was freaky.  Read about it here.

6. Do I have a special talent? Well... people like to have me read stuff they write and give my opinion and suggestions.  Is that a talent?  And I'm good at making charts.  And lists.

7. What's your favorite thing to bake? Chocolate chip cookies because they are SO good right out of the oven when they're all gooey and succulent.

8. What's your favorite fast food? Hmm.  Oh yes!  Five Guys.  I love their burgers with everything and fries.  

 

9. Would you bungee jump? No.  You can't make me.  I won't do it.

10. What is the first thing you notice about people? Their complexion.  Initially I had typed "skin", but that sounded racist and is not what I meant.  I have always had skin issues, so I always notice and appreciate a lovely complexion.

11. When was the last time you cried? I almost cried when they killed off Matthew in Downton Abbey... but not quite.  Oh actually I cried a little bit yesterday... nevermind.

12. Any current worries? I have kids.  I have parents.  I have worries.  But fortunately, God's in charge and I'm not, so I try not to let my worries grow roots.

13. Name three drinks you drink regularly. Coffee, tea, cocoa.

14. What is your favorite book? Just one?  I can't really pick because I read a LOT.  Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin is really good though.  And Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson.

15. Would you like to be a pirate? No.  Pirates break rules.  That would make me nervous.

16. What are your favorite smells? Honeysuckle, lilacs, baking bread.

17. Why do you blog?  I enjoy writing and photography, and I hope people are encouraged or uplifted by what I post.  

18. What song do you want played at your funeral? Please don't play "I Can Only Imagine."  How about Keith Green's "There is a Redeemer."  I've always loved that song.

19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I say way too many critical and negative things.

20. What is your favorite hobby? Reading, going on walks, photography, writing.

21. What do you look for in a friend? Someone who takes turns talking and listening-- if you know what I mean.  And someone whose sense of humor agrees with mine.

22. Name something you have done you never thought you would do. Walk through the African bush in flip flops.  Or even just go to Africa.

23. What are your favorite things to do? Go on outdoor adventures with my family.  We have so much fun together.  Other than that... read a book while drinking coffee and eating Girl Scout thin mint cookies.

24. Any pet peeves? Oh my gosh.  People who take up the whole aisle in the grocery store who don't even consider that you're there standing just behind them waiting to get through and they just stand there and stand there all sideways and spread out like they're alone in the world.  I'm not bitter.

25. What's the last thing that made you laugh? Watching my husband watch "King of Queens."  His laugh makes me laugh.

So that is that!  Cheryl, tag, you're it!   It's your turn over there on Life With Cheryl on the Northern Neck.  It's about time you write another post anyway.

Dawn's Early Light

Don't you love a fresh new day?  It's especially nice having a fresh new day at the beginning of a fresh new year!  I've been learning that what happens in my head and heart before I even get out of bed in the morning makes a big difference in my day-- even before dawn's early light at this time of year.

I used to wake up and lay in bed for a while thinking about everything that I needed to do that day-- and dreading it.

The grumbling in my head would continue while I'd stumble out of bed, hair spiking out every which way, patting the nightstand to find my glasses. "Why does it have to be dark when I wake up?"  "I'm gonna shoot that dog!  Does he really have to go out NOW?"  "Ugh. I don't waaannna get up yet."  "I don't even want to step on the scales this morning."  Charming, huh?  It didn't really matter how early or late it was, I'm just not a naturally happy riser.

For about a month now, I've been trying to change things a bit.  When I wake up, I try to remember to  "take my thoughts captive" right away.  You know that verse?  It's from 2 Corinthians 10:5.  Taking thoughts captive is no easy task.  They fight back and they often escape-- they are quite slippery and devious.  But if I can remember to corral them in the morning, it really helps.  I just stay in bed for a few minutes, praying, focusing on thanking God for the coming day and trusting Him with it, and then thinking about some good aspects of the day in front of me.  Although this practice does nothing to tame my crazy morning hair (or breath), it's refreshing to get up with a heart at peace.  Just so you know, this is also a good idea because the Bible tells me so.  Check out these verses:

Psalm 101:8  "Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked (thoughts) in the land."

Psalm 143:8  "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you."

Psalm 90:14  "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 59:16  "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."

Of course, the hard part is maintaining this joyful, peaceful heart after my feet hit the floor--just ask my  long-suffering husband!  But it's easier to return to a peaceful place when I've already been there earlier in the day.  I bet you're already out of bed now, but if you need some "early morning peace", why not visualize yourself back under those cozy covers and give what's left of your day to God, thank Him for something, and think of something good to look forward to yet today.

I can imagine how great it would be to do the same thing after I crawl back into bed for the night. 

I Chronicles 23:30"They were also to stand [or curl up in bed?] every morning to

 thank and praise the Lord.  They were to do the same in the evening."

Point taken. Too bad it had to reek.

"What is that STENCH!" I exclaimed as our dog, Ozzie, came trotting in the door this morning.  Ozzie is quite famous for getting into all kinds of trouble.  (You can read a classic involving a fish hook here).

When Ozzie drinks too much water, he pukes a little puddle of it onto our kitchen floor.  This morning it looked like that was about to happen again so I quickly hustled him outside.  I tried to avert a small inconvenience and ended up with a BIG inconvenience which reeked like scorched skunk. Seriously, it didn't smell like "regular" skunk.  Don't ask me why.

Doesn't he look so innocent and precious?

What to do, what to do??!  I scooped him up and plopped him right into the bathtub to scrub him down immediately with dog shampoo.  Dog shampoo didn't seem quite up to the job this time.   My daughter KM was home sick, poor thing, but I pressed her into service briefly as we concocted a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Dawn dish detergent and baking soda.  Ozzie had been skunked before and scrubbing him with this combination seemed to work pretty well.

 I still wasn't sure this was actual skunk odor.  I just knew it was awful. After three washings and rinsings the dog was shivering like crazy, but he did smell more like wet dog and less like barbecued skunk.  The house still carries a bit of the unfortunate "fragrance," but it's not too bad.  And now I must admit, when I left the house and came back in, it does smell decidedly skunky.

A wet, miserable creature.

Is he begging for mercy holding his little paws so delicately?

Well, here's the funny thing.  I like to spend time first thing in the morning praying, reading the Bible, and generally trying to learn some things from God.  This morning I was reading Isaiah 55:8-9 which says, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.  'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"  Of course, it's not good to read God's words without applying them to your life somehow, so I was thinking and praying about how to put these wise words into action.

Here are some of the thoughts that I thought:  I like to plan out my day before I dive into anything.  I like to have an idea of what needs to be done and when I'm going to do it.  Of course, very often those plans get blown to smithereens by interruptions and unexpected events of the day. This generally irks me.  I am often frustrated because I can't do what I plan to do when I plan to do it.  After reading that passage this morning, I thought, "I need to be more flexible with my plans.  God might have better plans for me today than I do.  I need to make my plans in pencil (literally and figuratively) so I'm available to 'allow' God to interrupt my carefully crafted schedule."  About 30 minutes later, cue the entrance of my stink-ridden dog.

Now I'm not saying God sent a skunk to spray Ozzie.  But He knew it was going to happen!  He knows everything. It's a good thing that  I had already decided that I needed to be more flexible when suddenly my day was interrupted by multiple dog baths, a load of laundry, a tub cleaning and taking a shower myself.  My original plans for this morning involved none of these.  But, for a change, those plans were altered and I didn't even feel the need to rant and rave about it. God didn't send a skunk, but He did use a skunk and a dog to quite powerfully highlight something He wants me to learn: flexibility and willingness to abandon my schedule for His.  Point taken!  His ways sure aren't my ways, but He knows best and I am content with that.

Ozzie, thanks (?) for the powerful  illustration!