Every week my church sends out what we call "txt." It's a weekly email with last week's bulletin announcements, prayer slide, group information, and a word from our pastor. This week my crazy dog made the txt, meaning Mark mentioned her in his blurb. I have to share in case you aren't on the list...

Luke 10:5-12 (TNIV)
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If the head of the house loves peace, your peace will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve their wages. Do not move around from house to house.
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

…

I share an office with a dog named Jessie. She belongs to Melissa, my assistant, and she makes coming to the office pretty cool. One of Jessie’s best skills is letting me know that she’s very glad to see me. The tail wags the dog, as the saying goes.

But Jessie doesn’t welcome everybody. Far from it. Perhaps she’s an introvert or not a people person. Maybe a snob. But for whatever reason, Jessie is sort of scary and vehement about letting some people know she isn’t thrilled when they arrive. She gets over it, but more than one person has jumped back at her bark.

When Jesus sent his disciples out with the news of his Kingdom, he warned them that they would get one of two reactions; they would find people who love peace and host them heartily, and they would find people, whole towns even, who would bark their lack of welcome from the moment their boundaries were crossed.

Which are you? Vicious whenever the reign of God gets real or real close? Or are you a tail wagging pup, enthusiastically welcoming God and his good news whenever they draw near?

I believe it will be great for my house when Jesus comes near. And sad beyond words if he comes near only to find me scared and growling, doing my best to ward him off like he’s a burgular.

Everyday is a good day to be the Son of man’s best friend. Start wagging your tail, the Kingdom of God has come near.

woof!
m.

when i can't sleep....

I feel it's been a while since I wrote a cheesy "I love Timmy" blog entry and well, I want to write one now.

I'm sitting on the couch in the living room with my laptop. I went to bed at 11:30pm. At 12:30, I gave up trying to fall asleep and left bed. It's now 1:30am and Timmy just came out of the room. He noticed I wasn't in bed and wanted to check up on me. "I'm okay. I just can't sleep." "Okay, just want to make sure you aren't laying on the bathroom floor. I love you." He turns around and heads back to bed.

That little exchange warms my heart. I spent years not being able to sleep and no one knew. I spent years crying myself to sleep and no one really knew. I'd stay up wondering if I would always be alone, if anyone would ever really care. He cares. There is someone in my life, who notices when I can't sleep. It's my favorite part of being married. There is someone with whom to share my life.

There's a movie with a quotation that I just love. It's Shall We Dance: Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez. Not much to the movie, but there are a few scenes that I love. In one scene, someone asks Susan's character, "why do people get married?" She replied:

we need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet, I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’

Timmy notices when I can't sleep. I love that about him.

this week

I had a rough week this week. It was super stressful. I was trying to study for my two midterms, and I didn't feel prepared for either one. More frustrating was that I didn't feel the material was clearly taught. It put me on edge and then there were some financial questions at the church. Some times at the church, I forget that I don't have a business/accounting/math background. I know the books. I keep good track of them. I can answer questions when their asked. Then there's this week when I ask myself, "how did I end up responsible for the church's finances?" Thankfully, one of my dearest, dearest friends is an accountant and she goes to my church. She sat down with me and tried to help me understand what was going on - let me emphasize the word "tried." Accounting is another language.

At the end of the week, things were good. God graciously guided me through the study process and I think I did well on both tests. By well, I mean I didn't fail like I thought. I don't however, expect the straight A's from last quarter. The financial question is partially answered, partially on hold, but definitely not overwhelming. The last two days have been great. Lots of sleep. Lots of doing nothing. Lots of Olympics. It's been good.

However, something happened yesterday to put a damper on my happiness. I was catching up on dishes last night, when I saw a mouse out of the corner of my eye next to my dishes. I ran out of the kitchen, water still running. I called my husband at work and felt the tears welling up. I know it's irrational. I know that this little gray mouse isn't going to attack me. I know my husband can't do anything while he is on night shift in Chester. I know these things, but it's a fear and some fears are irrational. So, last night I locked myself in my bedroom, and I put a towel against my door for added peace of mind. This afternoon I did my dishes, while my husband was home. I acknowledge that this mouse issue is mostly my issue for being lazy and letting my dishes go. But despite the clean kitchen, I have only been in there once since Timmy left and that was to turn off the light. Now, I am safely tucked away in my bedroom - yes, the towel is still against the door and I am hoping I don't have to go to the bathroom again.

And perhaps you are thinking what my husband suggested - just let Jessie go for it. Do you know how traumatized I would be if I saw my dog with a mouse in its mouth? Each time, she left the living room this evening, I prayed that she wouldn't come back with a mouse in her mouth. I don't know what I would have done. Well, besides cry....

Things that God Reminded Me Today...

1. I can have an ugly temper.
2. My temper doesn't go off for a lot of things but it goes off for the stupidest, smallest, most trivial things.
3. Humility is hard to accept.
4. Admitting your wrong hurts, even when you know no one else cares that you were wrong.
5. Sometimes I take things way too seriously.
6. I should never let anything wrap me up so tight that a kiss from my husband can't help.
7. I should be thankful that I work for a man whose more concerned with how I'm doing than what work I'm doing and that he actually prays for me when I'm having a bad day.
8. I can't always blame these ridiculous intense feelings on hormones.
9. It's okay to cry and it's better to cry than to punch something or yell at someone.
10. Don't worry so much about the grades - I've "already got the goods" (MDT)
11. God's love for me hasn't changed at all today.