Some IBC friends are forever.

On our last Sunday at Inglewood we invited some folks over for swimming. However, these folks (and others) are more than church friends. They really like our slide too.


.

They are going to take away my HGTV.

I have never been one of those people who sets the dining room table as if people are getting ready to eat. Frankly, we never eat at the dining room table at this house. (Or any of our others for that matter.) Anyway.....I decided that It was time to fix my table up really pretty. I was impressed at the change that it made. I also hung some sconces with greenery (fake) on either side of the tv. It looks real nice also. LOOK Y'ALL, I AM A DECORATOR.

Frugal Friday

Ok, I was headed out to Walgreens to use my $10/$40 coupon and combine it with some other coupons that I had. When I got there , I realized that I FORGOT TO PRINT THE COUPON. Not real bright. So, I went into Walgreens anyway, (because that is just what women do) and boy was it worth it. These are the items that I got:

Scrubbing Bubbles tub and shower cleaner 3.79

plastic spoons .99

Dole fruit in a cup 3 @ 2.99 ea.

Sunsilk shampoo (with free mousse attached) 2 @ 4.29

Total after tax $24.49

Here is the best part:

coupon for scrubbing bubbles 2.75

walgreens coupon for fruit 3/5.00

manufacturer coupon for fruit 1/3.00

shampoo was bogo 4.29

The sweet young girl at the counter gave me 2 coupons for the shampoo 3.00

Total after tax was $8.55!

The net on the shampoo was $1.29 for two bottles of shampoo and two cans of mousse

Savings = $15.94!!

Searching

This was our first Sunday to start looking for a new church home. I went to Long Hollow Baptist Church which is about 5 minutes from our house. The worship was really good. It was what I have needed for a long time in a church worship service. I was supposed to meet and sit with either my Aunt Linda or the Hollans family. I never found either one. The Hollans sat right in front of me though and they walked with me to my car because I had a birthday gift for Naomi. Kevin was at the Titans game so he didn't go with me. Next Sunday we are going to his home church for homecoming. I really like Long Hollow and feel like this is where we will end up.

The Word is good.

Last night and this morning, I went to hear bible study leader and speaker Pricilla Shirer at Long Hollow Baptist Church. I had the pleasure of attending this with my friends Debbie, Donna, Cynthia and my aunt Linda. My sweet cousin Tiffany blessed a couple of these girls by providing the tickets. Pricilla had a good Word from the Lord and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to spend more time in prayer and bible study. The awesome worship music was provided by Vicki Yohe and Alex Williams. Don't pass up an opportunity to hear her speak if you have the chance.

The past-Oh yes it will come back to haunt you..

A group of folks that I went to high school have planned a all 70's reunion. We have had several meetings and at the last meeting one of the guys that was there brought me this picture. It was taken in 1981. Every year there was a concert called "One for the Sun". This particular year the headliner was the Allman Brothers band. At the time, I was hanging around with Greg Allman's cousin, and she got us backstage. This is me meeting Greg Allman and the other girl is my BFF Barbara. I can promise you that I never imagined that pictures from this existed.

Preach it girl

This is from Shannon at http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/ I don't know how to link yet, so I copied and pasted this. I sure hope I am not breaking any federal blogging rules.


Why I Believe
There are times when I wish my faith in God was perfectly box-shaped, with the corners tucked in neatly, and the whole thing tied up with a big, red bow.
There are times I wish I had bite-sized answers for the hard questions. Answers that make easy sense within the framework of my humanity. Answers that don't stretch me too much.
But it doesn't work that way. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that can get messy. Young mothers get sick. Husbands leave. Terrorists fly planes into buildings. I follow a God who has promised me peace and comfort and joy, but on His terms, not mine.
And I know--I really do know--that this is a tough thing for some people to swallow. From the outside looking in, it looks like a blind faith, or a crutch. I've traveled that road of skepticism more times than I can count. I wrestled until my soul was bruised. There were times, when I was younger, that I didn't think I'd ever be able to believe again.
But I do believe now. I do, with all my heart. Even when it's messy. But how? How can I follow a God who doesn't always stop suffering?
I don't have a theologian's answer to that question, because I'm not a theologian. There was I time when I needed that kind of answer--the facts, the explanations, the persuasion. I've heard them all, and those answers are all an important part of my faith journey.
Now, all I really need to see is His track record in my life. I believe because I've seen what He's done, in my own life--my peace in the storms, my journeys out of the wildnerness. I don't doubt His goodness, simply because He's proven it to me so many times, through my own circumstances, through Scripture, and most of all, on the cross.
My daughter hates it when I make her hold my hand to cross a parking lot. She hates it when I have to tug a little to get the tangles out of her hair. She hates it when I say "no" to snacks right before dinner.
I do all this because I see the big picture. She doesn't.
Yet in all of this, she still loves me and prefers me. Why? Because she knows that the same momma who says "no" to snacks is the same momma who makes sure she's always well-fed. The same momma who grabs her hand in the parking lot is the same momma who kisses her scraped-up knee. I have a track record of proving my love for her. When I do something that makes her angry, she ultimately accepts it as coming from the hand of a mother who always acts with her best interests at heart.
Is that too simple an analogy? Maybe. But faith is simple. It's taking a leap and suspending disbelief just long enough to see if God is who He says He is. If He is, He can handle the tough questions. If He is, He'll meet us on our journey, taking a thousand steps toward us when we take just one toward Him.
From the bottom of my heart, I'll tell you--He's worth the risk.