THE Name

I have run across this singer songwriter, Anadara (pronounced Anna-dare-uh), who signed with SpringHill Records in 2005 and has recorded this great song. She wrote it with Joe Beck and Billy Sprague and I just love it. It has such a simple melody and yet won the best Scripture Song in 2005 by the Worship Leader Magazine Praise Awards. One reason why I like it is because it is simply a list of names of Almighty God. I want to share the lyrics below just so you can think see who He is line by line. I believe in praying the names of God and I want to issue a challenge.

For the next 30 days, why don't we all take the following names of God and pray these to Him and about Him and for Him. Beyond bringing glory to Him which is what we are ultimately called to do, I am convinced it WILL change YOUR life. It will powerfully impact your life in ways that reality TV can't even come close to... encourage you in ways your spouse can't fathom.... fulfill you in ways your job never will... show you love of a God who created you for you to love in return. I urge you to try it and see if doesn't change you... even if you try it to prove me wrong... try it. Make it a point each day to spend even just 2-3 minutes focused in prayer to God and call Him by his name of the day. I think that more is better because there is so much more to Him than 2-3 minutes but if you're just starting out... take just a few and spend it with...

1.) ABBA FATHER

2) LIVING WATER

3) SHEPHERD

4) SERVANT AND

5) KING

6) MASTER

7) TEACHER

8) LORD AND

9) KEEPER

10) COUNSELOR

11) PRINCE OF PEACE

12) ALMIGHTY

13) CREATOR

14) EMMANUEL

15) SAVIOR

16) ADONAI AND

17) THE ROCK

18) HOSANNA

19) MESSIAH

20 YAHWEH

21) JEHOVAH

22) ALPHA

23) OMEGA

24) GOD

25) FRIEND AND

26) HEALER

27) CHRIST

28) REDEEMER

29) GREAT IS THY GLORIOUS NAME

30) JESUS

THE Name !!

I am going to really want to hear from those who take on the challenge. I think it is so important for us to encourage each other in the faith. Walking around down here is HARD... Where are my Amen-ers? Let's hear it, chicas and the two chicos that read here.

Watch out!!!! I am now mobile and updating the blog from the road now. (j/k... I never text, blog, use the phone in any capacity on the road. Hands always at 10 & 2!)

Again, I Heart Kris Allen ...

...But I hope he does not win.

There. I said it. I do not want Kris Allen to win although I really, really like him. I think he is a better singer, has a better demeanor, is humble and I SO enjoy the untechnically sound jaw jut. Love the jaw jut! He appears to come from good stock as well judging from tonight's show. Mainly, I like him because he does not make me look at his tongue when he channels Gene Simmons like somebody else we all know. There is really no need for that.

I do not want him to have to sign with 19 records and lose the money he would make otherwise. Let's let the scary Adam be saddled with 19 and let's get Kris signed somewhere else with a better contract. They are going to strangle him with all sorts of caveats and the like and I want him to be able to do what he wants. The only reason I want him to win is for the complete and total upset over scary Adam. He is really scary to me. I am overreacting here? I think not.

Just to be clear... I really like Kris Allen!

Let's crown the West Coast this time, though.

It's Chilly Here... Better Grab Your (Strait) Jacket

I wish I could state in detail the regularity of ridiculousness of my Tuesday morning appointments. I mean seriously. The fundamental characteristic that must be present in order to get an appt with me is that you must be nuts. I must caveat here.... there are some very good friends who at one time, were perhaps scheduled for an appt with me on a Tuesday morning.



I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU.



I am talking to the people who leave me feeling like I need medication directly following the appt. I do not seek intentional friendship with these people. I try to keep my crazy friends separate from my crazy patients. There is a line and try to walk it carefully. That being said, let's continue on with my crazy life...



Chapter 36 - story #42



Last Tuesday, I was scheduled for an appt with a precious little kiddo. Precious, I say. Well behaved and clean. Cute as a button. I would totally take him to the park. His family... not so much. Characters in this story include precious little **Ethan (**Names have been changed to protect the guilty and myself.), Mama, and Granny Agnes. It is very important to note that Mama and Granny Agnes are related by marriage, there is no blood between them except bad. They are daughter and mother-in-law. Let the fun begin...



Every one transitions nicely to the room. Little Ethan is playing nicely. Granny Agnes needs to lay off the smokes. Mama needs to grow a backbone. This is strictly my initial analysis and they pay me well for it. There is enough going on in this evaluation appt that there is no way to cover the entire cock-a-maminess (I might have just come up with a new word?) so I will hit the high points. These are the TOP TEN actual quotes said...


10. (Christi says "Why are you here today?") "I don't know. Granny Agnes, why don't you tell 'er." - Mama, scared and insecure

9. "He ain't talked right." - loud and proud by Granny Agnes

8. "SHOCKING!!!!" - thought bubble quote by Christi

7. "Well, she don't keep no structure and let's just.... let's just say that.... let's just say that we's different in hows we growed up the kids. I just slap 'em and tell to get their _ _ _ _ together 'cuz I ain't got time for none a that nonsense." - Granny Agnes

6. "Wait, for real? Did you just seriously say that?" - thought bubble quote by Christi



5. "We's just not used to lettin' kids write on the walls with crayons and scribblin on the cabinets with markers. I ain't just not puttin up with that. I finally went out and bought some markers and crayons and colored with 'em on the walls." - crazy ole Granny Agnes

4. "I grew up depressed and a place where we just feel everything and I know I'm sensitive but they're just mean." -venting by Mama and answered by Granny Agnes with this... "Oh, we are not mean. You don't take care of your kid and I don't have the time. Well, YEAH we tell dirty jokes and we cuss at each other and we use some pretty hard language, but _ _ _ _, you've gotta be kiddin me that you're sayin we's mean!?!?"


3. "Well, she let's 'em just sit around and watch TV all day and then she don't get 'em when he plays in the plugs." - Granny Agnes the antagonizer



2. "That ain't true!!!! I grew up in a depressed family and I just don't think there is anything wrong with being nice sometime. And anyway, she takes Ethan's diaper off and tells him to go pi... I mean, pee on grandpa and she thinks its funny!!!" - Mama the indignant


And the number one quote of the appt....

1. "Well, that WAS pretty funny!!!" - Granny Anges, the unpaid comedienne of preschool programs all over the US.

These "ladies" almost came to blows and there were defintely tears present and I'm not talking about the kiddo's tears. I have never seen anything like this at all. Classic and yet so disturbing.

Comprehensive speech language evaluation:

$647

Value of my time wasted on this evaluation

because the child is totally fine:

in the $1000's

Value of honest and stunningly ridiculous material gleaned for my next show:

PRICELESS,

of course!!!

I Heart Kris Allen

That's all I needed to say.

It's a Miracle in the Making

I am praying for a miracle. Just letting you know. I am praying for a miracle. And, if I am being honest, I am praying for several miracles. These are not class A miracles mind you. I am not praying for the dead to be raised or Vanderbilt employees to get a raise. These are just not necessary for me to believe in the one True God Almighty. I'm there already. I am looking for class B miracles - miracles that can be performed through natural acts and events that are guided by the loving hand of God.

I am specifically looking for 7 miracles. I am not going into details but just want you to know and be part of the accountability. I am laying these things at His feet and I am trusting God to accomplish them and I truly believe that He can absolutely provide in ways that we will not understand and never see coming and that is what I am getting prepared for!

There are amazing mercy-filled inexplicable and remarkable acts that convey loving encouragement from God. They offer a foundation for our hope in his second coming. They lead us into a stronger relationship with Him. They bring us to our knees to worship the One who is worthy of our worship. Yes. That's what these miracles are:

M - Mercy-filled

I - Inexplicable and

R - Remakable

A - Acts that

C - Convey

L- Loving

E - Encouragement

...from the everlasting God.

Please agree with me in prayer for these 7 miracles and for me to be diligent and mindful of what I am praying for. I pray I would see the answer to these requests even if they are not the answers that I am looking for. I pray that whatever the Lord has in store that I would be more grateful tomorrow than I am today and that I can be faithful and trusting of God's very best for me and for my family.

Mercy and Grace

I am reading Henry Blackaby's book CHOSEN TO BE GOD'S PROPHET: LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF SAMUEL from his Biblical legacy series. I highly recommend it and though I am not even halfway through yet, it is just excellent. Perhaps it is just hitting me on some issues that I have been struggling with lately. I have marked up lots of passages so far but wanted to share one in particular.

"Many book have been written about grace, but preceding grace is mercy. God's nature, revealed to Moses, was - 'My name is mercy'." This is described in Exodus 34:6-7.
"Before God can give you what you do not deserve, He will have to withhold from your what you really deserve. God must first cancel your sin. When you cry out to God for mercy and plead with Him to extend His mercy to you, you do so because you have sinned grievously against a Holy God."

We all deserve everything but mercy. We do not have a full enough concept of our sin and how it disgraces the Lord God in front of the multitudes of saints. We think that what we do, we do in private. No so, says the Lord. That is really scary to think that all our sins will be exposed and we will have nowhere to run except to beg for the mercy of God. This is where we find our hiding place and safety. There can be no better place than in the arms of the Creator of the universe.

Crying out for mercy is the only hope we have. When is the last time you found yourself crying out for anything other than additional comforts for your life? When was the last time I did that? There is so much more that we need besides comfort and thankfully he is more concerned with our character rather than our comforts.

Father, we do cry out for an outpouring of your mercy and an overflowing of your grace. We are nothing without You.

A Walk in the Park

So, let's catch up on sweet little Vivi...

She is so adorable... when she is not urinating on the floor, throwing up in the den, or chewing my favorite socks. Absolutely precious, I say. The puppy is CLEARLY a sanguine puppy, kind of like her Aunt Christi. Playful, fun, short attention span... you get the picture. If not, go back and look at a few posts ago. It's right there.

Let's talk about our little outing today.

Yes. Today, we had a little aunt and puppy time together. We talked, she slept, I drove, we listened to Carrie Underwood. A great time was had by all. My friend, Sharon, and her mongrel, I mean, dog, went with us. I invited them because I LOVE Sharon and her dog needs some social skills in a major way. This dog has no friends and let me tell you, her last days will be lonely. I, in my own way, am trying to help that (rat dog) pet become all that she can be. And she is completely ungrateful and wants to bite me on the backside for even attempting to help her. She did lick me today for the first time. Sharon thinks it was primarily to determine if she needed A-1 or Heinz 57 when she finally took a bite out of crime. I can't say that I disagree with her. (Just for future reference, this lovely dog is named Georgia, but she has several nicknames.)

So, Vivi and I (and our "friends") decided to try out the dog park in East Nashville today. This was not going to be an all day affair, but something that lasted a couple of hours at most. My friend at work was hyping the dog park dynamic so I took the bait. Plus, I don't have to wear those stupid footies there so I said, "Vivi, git in the car - we're goin'!" After driving approximately 90 minutes for a 12-15 mile drive, I knew today was going to ROCK! Growling Gidget was scratching the steel from her cage bars in the back of the car and Vivi was chillin' in my lap. Sharon and I are discussing lots of things from both of us being poor map readers, both of us having a terrible sense of direction, and me having less than 1/16 of a tank of gas left. Fun times. Anyway, Chewbacca finally quit shredding the steel and we arrived at the dog park after becoming friends with 8 cops, 7 random walkers, 6 random passengers in cars, 5 dog walkers, 4 adolescents heading to the community center, 3 marathon finishers, 2 children in strollers and 1 security guard. This dog park was hard to find.

We get there and notice there are caterpillars everywhere. Gross! Not the inchworm-ish critters. These are the plump juicy fuzzy, yellow and black caterpillars that I am positive are poisonous and will NOT turn into butterflies. Everywhere. I get out and haul out Vivi's diaper bag. You think I am kidding. This puppy travels in style, Baby. She has her own travel bag, and in the bag, she has: food, food bowl, treats of many different flavors, regular leash, retractable leash, small towel (for when she sweats), bottled water and water dish, eye cream for when her eyes drain and we don't want them to stain, and "pet wipes" for ... well, the name speaks for themselves. I wish I was kidding about this, but alas, I am not. I will say, I have NEVER EVER used the "pet wipes". This girl has to have her standards and I am not doing that. Sorry. Call me a bad aunt. I am totally OK with that.

Vivi walks me over to the fenced area while I am carrying her bag and my bag (which carries my reading material and bottle of water - THAT IS ALL!). The Queen of Mean is growling the entire way over to the fenced area because she has to walk and wants to be carried exactly 4 ft, 6 inches above the level of other dogs and she ain't makin any bones about it... she's ticked. Vivi looks at her in a very friendly way, she snarls. Georgia's learning curve is a little steeper than other dogs her age in the area of social skills. I don't know what else to say about that.

We go in and meet the first pooch, a cairn terrier, whose owner keeps telling him to "SIC 'er" toward Vivi. Clearly, another dog who needs social skill training... perhaps the owner as well. Who does that? First rattle out of the bag, not even a "Hey, what's up, let me have a sniff." before "SIC' er!" Anyway, luckily there was another dog, Tiger. I liked him (and the single male owner) but alas, there was no love connection for Viv and Tig. Tiger was about 8 times Vivi's size anyway so I don't see that working out. I learned some things about Viv today. She has no fear and she runs really fast. She also shares very well and is very modest....all of which makes me very proud to be her aunt.

Move along to meet the other dogs: Let's see... we had, Tiger, Chester (the hound), Jake (the Weimariner), Stella (the brindle medium dog), and Bartlesby (the dalmatian mix). All very nice dogs, all much bigger than Vivi, all very into Vivi. It was SO MUCH like HIGH SCHOOL!!!! Vivi was clearly the cute cheerleader in high school and Jake was the star QB, Chester was the strong but silent Valedictorian, both fighting for the same girl and Stella was the jealous dance team member. I could not have seen this more clearly. Viv was the popular girl and the other guy dogs danced around her and acted cool but when she was about to leave their vicinity, everyone became very territorial with Vivi ... except for Stella who was whispering malicious lies to Georgia about Vivi for the ride home. Georgia heard every word and was clearly calculating her next move. Classic KHS!

Sharon and I are making friends with the owners and watching the dog soap opera play out when she and I felt something crawling up our legs. OH YEAH! The caterpillars were alive and well and scurrying up our legs and all I can say is that YOU WISH that you had been there to see it! Others present in the park DID see it and came over to make friends with the freaky girls dancing on the bench with poisonous caterpillars crawling up their shorts by now. Thrilling to say the least. After that show of emotion, Georgia was more than miffed that she had been disturbed and actually had to stand on the same ground as the other dogs and basically demanded that Vivi share her best treats with her. So, we got them out and then Georgia totally turned her nose up at them. Snooty Patootie! By this time, the entire population of thepark had migrated over to our little corner. People pulled up benches, the boy dogs were whispering about Viv's silky coat and gams (you know guys are visual), and Stella and Georgia were catty and cracked open a cold one to spike the water buckets. Typical.

But wait... where's Bartlesby? Remember, the good looking Dalmatian mix. Oh, here he is...

PEEING ON MY BAG!!!!!

And just like typical boys, Jake and Chester started laughing (they love bathroom humor). And don't think for a minute that Gnarly and Snarly didn't plan that! Oh, they acted like they were genuinely surprised but you could totally see the evil sneer. And then, they went behind the tree, high fived and drank the rest of the hooch. I have one thought for that: Vivi and I are Christians (she became one three days ago when she quit pottying on the carpet) and we will ignore this incident. They only serve "warm" beer where those kinds of girls will be going and it just won't be as fulfilling in the heat.

We left in a blaze of glory with yet more caterpillars crawling on us and honestly, we just got tired of all the tricks Jake and Chester were doing to get Viv's attention. It got a little embarrassing. Come on, guys! Keep it together! A little give and go - don't drown her in attention. I personally am pulling for Chester but as her aunt, I will support her decision. It's a girl's perrogative - just ask Britney. She knows.

We are certainly going back in the near future. Who knew the dog park could be so much fun?

Beware of Friends Wearing Slingshots

...Ok, so I am eating lunch with my good friend, Leah. Let me branch into how much this girl ROCKS! Love her! She is new to Vandy and such a breath of fresh air up there. We have decided that we need to be going to the main hospital cafeteria for lunch. The Starbucks, the Pesto Minestrone soup, the doctors and the time away from the clinic. What is not to love?! So we took a jaunt down to the courtyard cafe... Herein lies today's funny story...

So, here we are, hair brushed (perhaps stylishly mussed), nails polished, debit card in hand walking at a good little clip to be sure. We have a rule up at Vandy... no open toe shoes.

Yeah. That stinks, especially in the spring and summer with cute sandals. However, this is NOT the worst rule we have.

We MUST wear stockings or socks or the ugly little footies that "try" to hide under the leather of your shoe but let's be real. They are not foolin anybody. You can see those ugly footies eight people away and they are not pretty. IF you cannot tell about my opinion about this rule, let's spell it out...

T-o-t-a-l-l-y stupid rule! (Yeah, I said Stupid ... and I think it IS a stupid rule.)

Anyway, Leah and I are walking around, finding our food, rubbing elbows with lumbering eligible long lab coats and looking for a table. Long story short, Leah found a table as I was paying and I walked over to the table she picked across the way. As I walked over there, my little stupid footie slipped off the bottom of my heel in my shoe for the 847th time that day. SO ANNOYING! I sat down and unloaded my tray. We were chatting and trying to present our best angles in catch the best lighting, you understand. IN a flash of brilliance, I decided I would just casually reach down and fix the little booger in my shoe and try to be as inconspicuous about because really... who honestly wants to see that?

I reached down to pull the footie down over my heel and my shoe slips off...

... AND I SHOT THE UGLY, STUPID, LITTLE STINKY FOOTIE ACROSS THE MAIN HOSPITAL CAFETERIA!!!

OH YES, I DID!!!

It landed in the hot doctor's soup at the table beside us.

NO IT DIDN'T!!!!!

What kind of moron do you think I am? I have other ways of getting physician attention. I am not going to make him puke by shooting my sock in his lunch! Good grief! I have some couth!!

I became aware in this situation just what kind of friend I am. Seriously. This is what I thought...

Thought #1: "GOOD GRAVY TRAIN, I JUST SHOT THAT STUPID FOOTIE ACROSS THE DANG BLASTED CAFETERIA WITH ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL LAB COATS ALL AROUND!"

Thought #2: Fake it. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN! Admit NOTHING! That is somebody else's stupid footie. Quick, find your happy place. HAPPY PLACE. HAPPY PLACE. HAPPY PLACE.

Thought #3: Where in the cocoa puffs did it go? DON'T MAKE A SCENE, CHRISTI! Probably not too far away, I bet I can reach out with my foot (which is bare by the way, now) and pick it up like Jennifer Little used to do back in middle school with those amazing long toes.

Stinky footie spotted... walking distance away. OH yeah.

Here is where I feel ashamed, sorta...

Thought #4: It is kind of by Leah. Closer to Leah than to me. Maybe I could... NO! You can't! OR could you? Maybe I can leave it there and somebody will think it is hers and they won't notice my OTHER ugly stupid little footie hanging out from under my other shoe. Oh yeah. That's my play. (Enter GUILT, GUILT, GUILT...)

Holy Spirit's thought #1: Classy move, Hot stuff. IF you are going to shaft your friend, at least do it when you have used odor eaters. What you are doing is just WRONG! You are a skanky new friend." (I am a little fuzzy on the last phrase the Holy Spirit used. I cannot be sure if He said "skanky" or "stanky" friend. I actually have never heard either phrase used before by the Holy Spirit but let's face it.... that was poor performance in friendship 101.

Thought #5: Well Crap. I am going to have to go pick up that totally useless footie off the floor. So, then what? After it is in my hand, then what? Put it back on so we can have a repeat performance in 12.7 seconds? Dude, if it happens again, I am TOTALLY blaming Leah!!! Just go get the stupid sock.

I slipped on my shoe without the footie and walked over and picked it up off the floor and walked briskly back over to my table where Leah was transfixed on my face which by now had taken on SO many expressions including: annoyance, horror, fear, guilt, conviction, defeat and finally, the inhalation of humble pie. She, oh sweet friend, full of innocence and blissfully unaware...

Here is a question for you: What do you do with the sock now that you have picked it up and brought it back to the table with you? Put it back on the footie-less foot? Put it in your purse? Try again and aim higher so as to show your sense of humor to the only Dr who didn't see it the first time since the rest are snubbing their nose at you? What do you do?

You want to know what I did?

I sat on it.

Right under the left cheek. Just couldn't handle the whole situation so I just sat on it. I don't know what that solved, but it made me feel better and I just wanted it to go away. It became funny shortly after that and I eventually put the stupid footie back on.

It was truly a character building moment. Glad you could enjoy it with me.

Sorry Leah.

Say "Hello" to my Li'l Friend

Is this the cutest dog you have ever seen in your life? Seriously. This dog could take ALL of your dogs in the Miss Dog America pageant!

On Friday...

She will live with me!!!!!!

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

More pictures to come.

OMGosh! She is so cute!!!!!!

God's Goodness

I spent a good six hours yesterday reading, studying, journaling and praying. It was the best day of 2009 thus far. It was a beautiful day and I now have a porch overlooking some ready-to-bloom dogwood trees and some blossoming pear trees so I brewed a pot of tea and got all my books and a brand new journal and just sat in the gorgeousness of it all. The Lord is so evident on days like yesterday. The weather is perfect, the world is ready to burst forth with color, the daily pulls of things to do can be at least put off and at best forgotten for just a few hours of much needed time in the Word. God is so prevalent in settings like that.

How many of you had Saturdays like I had yesterday?

What? You didn't have 6 hours of uninterrupted time. To read. To pray. To journal what the Lord is doing. To study the Word with commentaries and other resources.

I am treading on very, VERY thin ice. I know. I can feel the death stares and the hear the grumbling under your breath. Actually, it is not quite under your breath, huh?

I know that there are MANY of you, probably MOST of you who don't have that kind of time to yourselves. I know not from experience but from personal reports from people like you and the rest of the world.

At this stage in my journey and where the Lord has me right now, I am blessed to have that much time to myself to do what I want to do. I say this not to brag or remind you of how much YOU need to get done before Monday rolls around. I say this for the benefit of myself and the recognition of blessing that I have during this season on singleness.

As a single women in her 30's, I struggle at times with being single this far into the journey of life. I am friends with women who are at many different stages of life. Some are just gathering their wits about them a few years after college/grad school. Some are settling into life as a newlywed. Some are "enjoying" the sleepless nights with young children and the strain that this economy is putting on the typical family of 4. There are some who are struggling, like I do, with protracted singleness. How does this translate into blessing for each of these stages?

Several truths:
1) God is always good: His provision, His timing, the circumstances He allows... He is always good,
2) He has storehouses of blessings for His children. These are not going to be bestowed upon us all at one time. They are called storehouses because they are for storing. They store up blessings for Him to distribute all along the journey we walk. If you are His child, you will have more blessings to come in the future.
3) God is going to receive the glory, no matter what. If there is something that you can manipulate and receive glory from, there will be a very short shelf life for that particular accolade, promotion, "jewel", etc.
He is the beginning and ending of all things. God promotes and God demotes at His leisure for our very best good and His glory. Take it to the bank!
4) God loves you and me! He is not looking for ways to trip us up. He is not looking for ways to ambush us. He is lovingly guiding us to Him and towards godliness. This is love. It doesn't look like the love we are used to here on earth given by man. It is altogether different. Those that are supposed to love us the best, do not compare to the love of God. They are in different leagues.

So before, you start throwing tomatoes at me for pointing out all the time that I have available to myself, I want you to think of all the good morning kisses you get, the love of a man/woman who chose you to spend the rest of your lives together with, the coos and giggles of little kids who love you beyond measure, the home full of love (and trials - I know), the teamwork , the help, the camaraderie...

See. There are so many blessings on either side of the coin. I think this is how God intended. He didn't want us to look across the yard and see all the flowers where "they" are and simply notice the weeds where we are. God is always ready to bless and knows exactly where we need to be at all times. If you needed to be single, you would be single. If I needed to be married, I would be.

This week, try to find things that demonstrate the goodness of God in your personal life. One thing for me is that today, I am able to make the time to update this blog. I know there are flourishing writers out there that do not have opportunities given their current status to do some writing. I am blessed and I am thankful for where I am today. God is good to me in all things. I know this to be true.

What about you? What are some things that demonstrate the goodness of God in your life today?

My Dad

I wanted to take a little post and say thank you to several of you who were praying for my Dad this past week. He is back home and back to his old tricks. Some of you know how he can be, huh? Back in the saddle as they say.

For those that don't know, my dad was hospitalized for a few days this week for some chest pains and some headaches. He is fine and the Lord gets the glory for his complete recovery. Amen! However, I find myself pondering a situation that thankfully, I haven't yet had to experience. The possible physical loss of a close friend or family member.

I don't want to be dramatic or anything, but when you receive a phone call with news on the other end saying there is someone that you love dearly is in an ambulance, I don't care if it is for a hang nail or dandruff, that is scary! Maybe it is scary for me because I live so far away from so many people I love or maybe it is because I haven't fully pondered what it would be like to lose someone that is that close to my heart and it comes as a shock. Now that things are fine, I have been thinking about my Dad and the things that he means to me.

My dad is like no man I have ever met.

I guess Dads are like that.

He is a distinct mix of hot and cold, of hard and soft, of weird and wonderful, all wrapped up in sacrifice and love. He's a talker and he's a thinker. He's a giver. He does everything with 110% passion and drive. He's a disciplinarian and a big softie. He's learning and he's an educator. He's an optimist and he's a realist. He has been given much and is required much of. He has high expectations for others, but higher expectations for himself. He's not funny when he tries to be and HILARIOUS when he doesn't mean to be.

He's my dad.

He is the one that our infinitely wise Almighty God hand-picked and groomed for me and my siblings.

- The one who would know the marketing scheme for both a snowcone man and an "up and coming" singer.

- The one who can teach his daughter how to shoot a pistol and go shop for another daughter's prom gown (without Mom no less).

- The one who can encourage us all on to greatness in spite of ourselves because he is a big picture person and yet in tune with the tiniest details.

- The one who is strong enough to stand up to anyone and soft enough to cry about it afterwards.

This man is not perfect. He is only a man. Just like you and just like me. He will never be perfect and is not expected to be perfect. But he is the perfect father for me. I thank God that in all His wisdom, He chose this man to be the one who lead our family and taught us God's Word. He chose this particular man to be the one who helped me with algebra and with teaching my first Bible Study. He chose this man to be the role model for who I will choose as a husband and how I will work steadily as unto the Lord. He chose this man to be my children's grandparent (if He so blesses me in that way) and to be the one who loves my mother infinitely more today than yesterday but less than he will tomorrow. He chose this man to show me what a man growing in godliness looks like and how to accept the discipline when we stumble and fall with grace.

Some call him names like philanthropist, deacon, leader, entrepreneur.

Some call him names like Jr., Hoops, Boss, or Doc.

Some might call him names that might be unmentionable here.

I just call him Dad because when I read that Father God sacrificed everything He had for those He loved the most...

... I saw the resemblance.

I love you, Dad!

Glad you are OK!

Wanted: Dietary HoHos and a Toothbrush for Jabba

I know, I know... It is either feast or famine with me, huh? Three posts in one night. The other two were ridiculous but this one is serious.

Serious as heart attack.

I have seen it.

The Force must be with me for I have seen it.

What, you may ask, have I seen?

If you were Yoda, you would know.

(Crickets...)

The CD.

I have seen it.

Soon, Luke, you will see it, too...

Until then, dress up like Princess Leia and don't eat as many HoHos as Jabba the Hut.

It's just not pretty.

"Man Looks at the Outward Appearance..."

NOW... THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!!!

First picture in the 8th file.

PROMISE!

What is this, you may ask?

I call it a Rat Bat.

I don't know what it is but a friend sent it to me to cheer me up one day and it scared me so bad when I opened it up that I screamed a little louder than I expected which then made me laugh. For quite a while actually. I think I needed to vent some pent up emotion and this did the trick.

Isn't this the UGLIEST creature God ever made?

It is HORRIBLE looking thing.

It probably secretes something that some ridiculously smart physician can make medication which will cure cancer or maybe it is what God has put in charge of eating all cockroaches. Both VERY good things. Ugly on the outside, beautiful on the inside. Kind of like coal with a diamond in the middle. Or a HoHo.

See, man looks at the outside but God looks at the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7 - paraphrased)

It must be a very GODLY creature.

(I do still think it is ugly, though... good heart or not.)

Fried Rice with Coconut

Ok... I know you are wondering why there is a coconut leading the entry. I was tagged with some very explicit instructions from Jenn at Always a Texas Girl (See blog list to the right). It said to post the FOURTH picture from the FOURTH file of where I kept my pictures. Unfortunately for all of you, the FOURTH file happens to be of a work presentation about Childhood Apraxia of Speech. For those that don't know what that is (which I fully expect will by 99% of you), that is, in layman's terms, a motor speech disorder in which the mouth, lips, cheeks, jaw, teeth and tongue (oral articulators) "don't move right" just to put it very bluntly and succinctly. The specifics of the definition don't matter (in this forum). How does the coconut come into play?

When I make presentations for work or spend time teaching on a variety of subject matter, my presentations will not be boring. They cannot be because if they are, there is a very strong possibility that I would seriously drift off to sleep during the presentation. Don't question me here. I have fallen asleep in the middle of therapy before. (Just kidding.... or am I???) If it is boring for me, why in the world would I think it wouldn't be boring for them? I have to have some visuals or some significant and overarching analogy or something. For this particular presentation, my colleague and I took the previously developed analogy of Fried Rice that we took from another SLP and all the different versions to be had and made visuals for this. I have pictures of chickens, onions, garlic, peas, pineapple, pigs, shrimp, and green pepper along with COCONUT as possible fried rice compliments in this folder. Hence, the coconut picture in my FOURTH file as the FOURTH picture.

Having a blog really shouldn't be used for nonsense like this, eh? I could have totally smoked it if I had fudged and used a different picture from different number file. In fact, let's play a little chicken with that. I will now change the rules. I can do that. It is my blog. I now say, choose the .... the 8th picture in the 1st file OR the 1st picture in the 8th file.

I tag:

Jenn L

Mandy B

Amy M

Jodi M

Laura R.

GO.