Notes...

Sometimes, I have to admit, my mind wanders while I'm sitting in church. Of course, that doesn't mean that what it's wandering to is completely useless.

John 6

5 loaves & 2 fish : no matter what amount you have, if it is blessed by the Lord, it will be enough.

Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly. -Job 8:7

Pray! Read/study the word! It takes humility to be taught.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. -James 4:10

Decrease so that He might increase in you; the increase of blessings. Jesus is the ultimate blessing.

He must increase but I must decrease. -John 3:30

Closeness with Jesus gives you ministry insight.

All Jesus requires is you.
And he has everything you require.

Give your gifts, no matter how small, and God will increase it.

So these be my notes. :-)

Popularity Contest

I AM A CHRISTIAN By Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin." I'm whispering "I was lost," Now I'm found and forgiven.
When I say..."I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect, My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain, I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow.

My righteousness is as filthy rags....
...for without Him, I am nothing.

Quotes By Women

This was from an email I received today:

Inside every older lady is a younger lady -- wondering what the hell happened.
-Cora Harvey Armstrong-

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut her up with cookies.

The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.
-Helen Hayes (at 73)-

I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows.
-Janette Barber-

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.
-Lily Tomlin-

A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car.
-Carrie Snow-

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.
-Laurie Kuslansky-

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
-Erma Bombeck-

Old age ain't no place for sissies.
-Bette Davis-

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't.
-Rhonda Hansome-

The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
-Jane Sellman-

Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows.
-Jennifer Unlimited-

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.
-Caryn Leschen-

I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. -Jennifer Unlimited-

If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.
-Catherine-

When I was young, I was put in a school for retarded kids for two years before they realized I actually had a hearing loss. And they called ME slow!
-Kathy Buckley-

I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde.
-Dolly Parton-

If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them.
-Sue Grafton-

I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr-

Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
-Maryon Pearson-

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.
-Gloria Steinem-

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.
-Zsa Zsa Gabor-

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
-Eleanor Roosevelt-

POEM FOUND

I am a tired, fading star overlooking the fresh beauty of all creation,
I am a lonely ruddy sailboat whose been tossed across the raging sea,
I am a general in an army of only one often fighting against myself in a battle within my mind,
I am an old familiar hymn that brings tears at its remembrance,
I am scars and tears because of the kindness I once extended freely,
I am faded photographs and fond memories of a childhood innocence lost,
I am a lavender tulip standing confidently in it's beauty,
I am a mighty warrior in a battle that is no more,
I am a wilting flower whose been trodden upon by loved ones,
I am a faithful friend who now laughs alone,
I am a timid lamb in desperate need of a loving shepherd,
Lord what will you do with me?
Sometimes I feel as though I know nothing at all except to trust in you and to hold tightly onto your hand,
I know enough to put my hope and trust in you,
This is who I am, collectively, metaphorically, and unashamedly, me... spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally, me...
So far away from your perfection but forever inscribed into the palm of your hand,
By your mercy, by your grace, and by your stripes, this is who I am.

~Christina S. Lovejoy

A friend of mine found this...it was strangely familiar, yet I don't really know that girl anymore. She sounds like a girl I think I used to know.

Sackcloth

As the cool breeze of the night creeps through my window, the sorrow of my heart weighs heavy on my mind. Staring blankly at the blackened sky, hands tied...it seems the options before me are limited. I cannot make the situation better and have even attempted in my boldness to stand up to injustice. But it did no good. I seem farther away; more alienated. And the resolution is farther out of sight than when the problem first arose. I was yelled at and told to get the hell out, dismissed by a door slammed in front of me. A similar thing happened a few years ago…a door being slammed in your face is like being spit on; rejection in the truest sense. If I could go…I would. I left for a little bit, but the beach no longer holds my solace. So I drove. Tonight, I wept...my body somewhat violently shaking as I almost melted into my grandma's arms and awkwardly cried out. I had come to my end with this and my cousin looked with wonder as if she wasn't able to comprehend the effect this is having on me. Today was just a hard day. I worked longer than I should, got no breaks except a 20 minute lunch and tomorrow (and the rest of the week) looks to hold the same in store for me. I am emotionally drained and tonight I even lack the zeal to pray-one of my only options.

And to make things worse...I can't afford to see No Doubt in concert. (It's the little things that make the big things seem that much bigger.) But this...because it has to do with my mom...is pretty big.

How do you face someone who has little regard for your opinion--much less anything else of you?

Is this what it feels like when you ask, "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God"?