Blankets and Chocolate

God has not overlooked you
He has not ignored you
He hears every petition
And intimately knows
The heart beneath it.
Give Him full access
To all your longings
Pray every single day
To become a person who delights in Him.
When it seems to disappear
Remember to check your JAW
Are you jealous?
Are you angry?
Are you worried?
Roll it all on Jesus
He's strong enough to carry it
Big enough to handle it.
Trust God with all your heart
Now leave this place
And go into the world
And do some GOOD.

Above was from a Beth Moore conference from a few years ago.  I saved it and came across it again today on my laptop.  It hit me afresh and in a timely manner.  It is so encouraging. And being the encourager that I am, I wanted to share it here with you in the event you needed the reminder. 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:24-26

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:3-5

So we are to cast anxiety – what does that look like?  Here it is for me.  You go fishing.  Put your fear on the hook, cast it into the lake, let some big fish (The Almighty) take it off the hook.  Now comes the fun part.  God replaces the anxiety with chocolate!  So when you reel it back in - ta da – chocolate!  And the best part – no fish to clean.  For me, this is a win, win situation.  After all, chocolate is one of the desires of my heart!

So, the reason I am the size I am is due to the amount of chocolate I have eaten in the last 10 years.  I had many fears.  I had much anxiety.  I cast them away.  I ate chocolate.

Now to conquer my hurts – which are many now and coming at a rapid pace.  Some would say they are the same as cares and fears.  I say no.  My hurts are not from within or attached to a circumstance, but come from a source without.  Anxiety comes from within.  They are different.

May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.  Psalm 119:75-77

Grateful for his unfailing love; grateful for his comfort in my time of need.  I will cast my cares and He will cover my hurts – like a blanket.  Blankets and chocolate – life is good.  God is good!  Cacao!

Fit to a 'T'

In the early years of our marriage, we had two Yorkies.  For me, they are the most wonderful breed of dog.  Some of my friends have sweet little Yorkies and I have contemplated on several occasions out and out dog theft.  I restrained myself…

Currently, we have a different breed of small dog – a Papillion/Terrier mix named Trixie.  She was so named for two reasons: one, she tricked us into keeping her.  She was an eight-week-old puppy.  I had never had a puppy.  I was nervous about a puppy.  (The kids begged, they made promises, blah, blah, blah.  She was REALLY cute.  She stayed.)  Two, she had to have a name from a movie character.  Can you guess which movie?  This tradition started with the dog before her.  More about that later.

She is the perfect fit for our family and not high maintenance at all.  Chasing balls?  No thank you.  Play tug of war?  She’ll pass.  Come and pet me?  Depends on her mood.  Haircuts?  Very rare.  Her only demands are her evening treat bone.  Don’t give it to her on time - she will talk your ear off and nudge you until you cave.  

When our family returns home from being away for many hours, she does not run to the door and great us with a happy tail.  She stays put, on the couch, and looks at us with her adorable eyes with an expression that speaks, “Oh, ya’ll are home.  I didn’t miss ya.”  We think this is cat like behavior.  Yet, when we put on our shoes, she is barking happily and fully expecting to go on a car ride, where she hangs her noise out the window with the best of them – all dog!  Visitors – you will get a greeting from her.  Lots of happy barks but she won’t let you pet her until you sit down on the sofa or floor.  After about 10 minutes, you are her new friend.  We love our Trix, Trix.

So it is later ...  Our first two dogs, the Yorkies, came pre-named from the previous owners.  When we rescued a beautiful Border Collie, I realized that the dog needed a name.  I had a four year-old and nine year-old to help me.  How do kids pick out names?  They pull from what is going on around them.  What had they been doing in the hours before we found the dog?  Watching a movie, titled “Because of Winn Dixie”.  The movie is about a girl who adopts a stray dog that she found in a Winn Dixie store.  So in their mind, the obvious name was ‘Winn Dixie’.   “NO!” was my reply.  “And we are not naming her Kroger, Publix or Ingles.  However, if you want to name the dog after the movie, pick a different character, like the little girl – Opal.”  They smiled from ear to ear.  And Opal it was. 

Not long after we adopted her, a tropical storm came through – it was named Opal.  What are the odds?

So when it was time to name the rescued puppy, it also had to be a character in a movie.  My son was into Speed Racer.  Speed’s girl in the movie is named Trixie.  Ta da!  It fits her to a ‘T’!  

How did you decide on the name of your pet? 

Fun and Busy

It is my hope to write at least once a week, but alas, life happens.  Last week was unusually busy for our family, so there was no time to write.  Well, actually, there was time, but I chose to use it to watch the Olympics.  They are my favorite sports to watch.

This week, I am doing school planning and preparing to start next week.  I am in denial that my my oldest is starting her Junior year and my youngest is in 6th grade.  Even as I enter their schedules in our school planner it does not seem real.

My daughter reminded me today that this time next year, she will be starting her senior year.  She spoke this in English but I translated it in my "what did you say?" language.  If you are a mom, you know what I mean.  My response to her was non-verbal - she got tickled and tickled a bunch!
 
I have been taking notes and working on some future posts.  In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the Olympic Games and spending some time with family.  The kids and I have two fun events planned for this week and we hope to get in one more splash at the pool.  

Go Team USA!!

Have you been enjoying the Olympics?  What has been your favorite moment/s so far?