oh to live this...

"...the faith that surmounts the evidence and is able to warm itself at the fire of God's love, instead of having to steal love and self-acceptance from other sources, is actually the root of holiness..."















The Miller-4

The Miller-4
Indivisible!

BREATHE!!!!

BREATHE!!!!

soooo love the beach

soooo love the beach
Ormond Beach, FL

1 Peter 2:15


"For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant
talk of foolish men."

Song lyrics that I love.....

"Rid me of myself, I belong to you....lead me to the cross"
"Your Name brings life more than the air I breathe"
"You make everything glorious and I am Yours.....what does that make me?"

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personality plus

Surely, you've heard of the four "personality types"?
Phlegmatic, Choleric, Sanguine and Melancholy.  Everyone is the world has one...or a mixture....but, basically we are all just 4 "types".

Phelgmatics (top left) Wikipedia says are relaxed, quiet, kind, observant thinkers and shy...but can be perceived as lazy or unadventurous.


Cholerics (top right) are ambitious, leader-like, task oriented...their motto:  DO IT NOW!...They can be dictatorial and tyrannical...but they get the job done (or better...have it done for them!)


Sanguines (bottom left)  are fun, sociable, pleasure seeking, impulsive and charismatic...but have difficulty completing tasks, being punctual...or staying the course...Sanguines play!  I believe I am pure Sanguine!

Finally,

Melancholerics (bottom right) are introverted, creative, sensitive, often depressed, perfectionists...others cannot please them.

"They" say (whomever 'they' are) opposites attract...if a couple behaved the same...one would not be necessary.  I do not think I believe that. I think after the initial attraction...well, I believe humans just irritate each other...it's the sin nature inside.

I also believe there is another personality out there...I will call them ...."odd people"...I think I should like to describe them...because it seems they are growing in numbers...or maybe just around me...maybe it's Florida...too much sunshine...too much down time?  Not sure.

I'd like to present here some things that "odd people" do...often.
  • when odd people are late for work, and in a panic to get out the door as quickly as possible...they don't grab the newly pressed work clothes from the cleaners...they grab the next "set" in the rotation (because there is a rotation) and rush and sweat to press them and wear them one more time before sending back to the cleaners...when questioned...they become irritated and respond (always this is the response), "I just do what makes me feel good".
This confuses me.  If you are short on time, feeling anxious because you will probably be late...why does taking on an extra time consuming task "make you feel good?"  I'm just curious....
  • some odd people I know are constantly trying to lose weight...and are upset with their current physical condition.  These same odd people, I've noticed, are big on "snacking"....and when reminded of their "diet program"...they respond..."I'm just doing what makes me happy".  Ok, then why all the talk about the diet plan?
  • these same odd people like to be on a REGULAR scheduled exercise program...to lose weight...but please oh please do not try to help them in any way.  ANY advice or even a plan of action that has worked FAMOUSLY and SUCCESSFULLY for you...well, it is not welcomed.  When asked why they don't want to take any advice or suggestions?...well, you know the response already... "I'm just doin..blah blah blah.
  • Odd people eat weird food, not normal food.  They "mix" odd things together...like all the leftovers in a 'frig...with some, oh, soup? maybe.  They eat ketchup and grape jelly on potatoes....but would NEVER EVER eat something "weird" like deer meat or gator tail...nope, not gonna mess up their taste buds with crap like that...no way!
  • My favorite thing odd people do is ask questions but not to get an answer.  Sometimes I just think they like hearing the sound of their own voice.  For example....and odd person might say, "Hey friend, (with you in the car) where would you like to go to lunch?  I'd say, Blah Blah....because it takes a Sanguine a split second to completely make up their minds about decisions.  Odd people say, "mmm, sounds good".  Now, in my non-odd way of thinking...I'm guessing Blah Blah is where we are headed. Nope...the question was NOT asked to obtain an answer...it was just asked...and so are the next 5 attempts at asking me where I'd like to eat.  They say, "How about... or ....?"  Are you kidding me?  What game are we playing here?  WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU ASKING ME WHERE I WANT TO GO IF WE ARE NOT GOING THERE?  Answer:  "I was just curious where you wanted to go".  Then they pull into the restaurant of THEIR choice...and wonder, clearly confused...why I am heated.
  • Odd people do not like dining out...well, maybe they do...but they are easily irritated.  Sounds irritate them, as well as people and OH YES, babies, loud talkers, kids, temperatures too.  Odd people are not usually satisfied with where the Waitstaff seat them...they generally want to sit..."over there".  The music is usually too loud, the temp too cold and the tables...well, shoot, they are ALWAYS too close to other people.  Once alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll of that has been remedied...well, it is time to eat...like there is NO TOMORROW...because today, remember there is  no diet and who cares about physical fitness...Today we eat for tomorrow we may die..it's what makes us "feel good".
  • One last thing...Odd people speak ...well, oddly.  They talk in very long, drawn out sentences using lots and lots of extra words...and if you interrupt them mid-sentence...well, they gotta start again....usually with a "huff"...  For example...I believe (because Sanguines are very confident they are 99% right 98% of the time) a sentence should go like this: 
  • Hey, I saw Suzy yesterday.  She said to tell you hi". 

    The odd person will say,

    "Hey, you will never guess what happened to me yesterday. I can hardly believe it myself.  I was in the most southern section of the Bellechase Subdivision that we live in while on my way to see Gary Gentry, the Sr. VP of Accounting for Exxon's Corporate Office, USA and lo and behold a white Chevy Blazer came driving up Easy Street right towards me at the stoplight.  While I applied my breaks, not 20 yards before the light I noticed in that white chevy blazer was Tom Carson's wife.  YOu know Tom Carson, the General Manager for Penn Flooring on 1st Street downtown.  His wife, is the one with the brown hair that works at Allstate Insurance office for John Brown in Accounting.  Suzy is her name.  I rolled down my window as the white chevy blazer came almost to a dead stop beside my tan jeep and there she was.  I couldn't believe it.  Suzy said, "Hi odd person", how are you?  Please tell Cindy I said hi the next time you see her will you?" I told her I would be happy to relay that message to you as soon as I saw you next."  So, be sure and let Suzy know I told you that I saw her in her white chevy blazer in Bellechase yesterday at the stop sign."
  • That was not an exaggeration.  While I revealed to you that I am a Sanguine, I failed to mention I have ADD...so at "you will never believe"....the odd person loses me...attention span is just a couple of seconds....so my eyes glaze over and I just wait for all the talking to stop....because I know the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng story will eventually be summed up in the last paragraph (because they are always talking in term paper form....intro, body and final paragraph) and I'll catch what I need then...suzy said to tell you Hi!  Oh, ok...thanks!
  • One last observation...Odd people do things in order...the same order...always...and nothing can interfere with that.  I have watched this for a long time.  If, and odd person does something every day....for example..ironing...and there is something ON the ironing board....they will move it off the board...but not put it back on.  IF that same item is put BACK on the ironing board, say everyday for a week...they will move it off EVERY day but NEVER, ever notice or question WHY it is there...it just needs to be moved....and moved and moved....sometimes it can be moved over 10 times...and still never noticed.  Because the task at hand...is ironing....get "that" off the board.
That is all I can say about the this type of odd people today...all I know is that they are odd...in everything they do and say...and sometimes...well, I just get plain worn out...because I stay confused. 

I wonder if I am the odd person to them?  Probably so!




Moving Lessons Learned:
  • I will NEVER pack myself again..
  • I will get rid of EVERYTHING not necessary for life BEFORE I move (bc I WILL have to unpack it and find a home for EVERYTHING.
  • pack special things...very, very well....haste really does cause waste thank you Mother for the overused cliche.
  • Pack things with like things...do NOT mix rooms
  • Pack items you use daily in your car...WHERE IS MY CALENDAR, the polish remover and the TV remote??????
  • PAY DISH to install your TV...don't wait on the Mistah or you will be without cable for a LONG time.
  • There is no such thing as "I might need this later"...NO YOU WON'TTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!
Ok, that's all.  This is day 4 of unpacking and with each box I leave more inside the box and label it "Good Will"....and I take 1 million breaks....not sure why I dislike this process so...but I do....is it 5 o'clock?  Um?  Yep!

The End!
What I want...

What I fear...
 

Whom I serve...

where my heart really lives......

Our "internal circuitry is "wired to seek out something worthy of worship. Every moment we live, we live bowed to something.  And if we don't see God...we'll bow down before something else"  (Ann Voscamp's 1000 gifts).

We're moving....I'm packing...2 days ago was my bathroom....methodically i put all things in only 2 piles...that which is packed...that which is to be tossed...with the tendancy to "keep in case I need it" when it comes to "product"...the bathroom drawers can be...um?....full.  So the tossing process began...it's very carthartic...the only things I now have are those products that I use...regularly.....the question becomes...why "keep" anything "just in case"? when it feels so good to not.
So...
then I pack what is left.  Two weeks before the big move date...everything that gets "locked" in a box..is no longer accessible..that's a rule I've made up...it lives somewhere in my head...even tho' with a quick flip of the wrist and a sharp knife...all contents of every box can be accessed....but still....
I look at the bathroom scale....to pack or not to pack?  Why is it such a struggle?  Ah, I remember....it's the "scale god" mentality that I have. ..I have been serving "him" for more than 30 years....upon awakening...you venture in to the private bath...body emptied....you step on...and the number reveals your "worth"....whether or not you can be rewarded today with food.  Are you good ...or are you bad?
Sickness.

I pack the scale...unaccessible for 2 weeks...
Yesterday...I awake....my god is missing...how will I know who I am today?
Today....awake...no god...and I feel the beginning of freedom.
Food is fuel and without it we are worthless.
BUT...
"nothing tastes better than being skinny feels"
I believe that.
I know it to be true.
I will live to be healthy
and strong
and serve a God, in heaven who has
"forgiven all my sins,
healed all my diseases
redeemed my life from the pit and
crowsn me with steadfast love and mercy,
who satifies me with good
so that my youth is renewed like the eagle" (Psalm 103:3-5)
My God who...
"is in my midst, a mighty one who will save;
who will rejoice over me with gladness,
who will quiet me by his love,
 and exult over me with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17)

"Let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who excercizes kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.  (Jeremiah 9:24)


"Whom the Son sets free is free indeed."  John 8:36

Lord, today, set me free from the idol worship of the scale god.


 

Crazed and Confused?? I dunno...

Sick little Ollie...taking it easy today


My little dog is not feeling well...so...today...in the midst of the craziness of the Christmas Season...we are being quiet....if I am not still...he is not still....so I'm still....time for a blog post. (A quick trip to the Vet for an x-ray and meds....he'll be all better soon!)

I truly believed I was going to "escape" aging.  Everyone else was going to do it...but not me.  Guess what?  I'm going to do it....albeit unwillingly...but I have discovered it will come regardless of my opinion.

It's happening quickly...but I am not alone...others tell similar stories...but that doesn't soothe away the frustration of my not behaving like the "old me"....not to be confused with the "new" old me.  I feel like I live in a CONSTANT state of confusion...spending quite a bit of time just looking for things I have "lost"!!

The last few weeks  have been extra disorienting (and btw I've checked w/my Dr....I do not have early onset alzheimers....thank you Jesus)....so many circumstances have come up...I'd thought I'd list them...and show a picture of the "lost things":

Lost keys, selector, Y card and water bottle
  • I lost my car keys....for a week.  As you can see...they are loadedup with cards and even a coin purse attached...it is NOT small....even so...took a week to find them...in the GARAGE....on the counter BEHIND the temporarily stored house rugs (replaced by Christmas rugs)....



    While my keys were lost I had to get a  new "Y" card from the YMCA...it has my photo ID check in # on it and I have to give it to them each time I come.  The nice woman had it made up for me while I worked out and had it ready to go as I left.  I put it in my Y bag (blue)....then lost IT again 
    BROWN purse vs BLUE Y bag, and yellow Y ID card

    the lost heart (can't MOVE this photo down where it SHOULD be..
    even tho' I could 10 minutes ago....have I forgotten the "technique"?
    who knows....
    because I looked for 3 days in my purse (brown) ....only to remember TODAY (a week later) that it was in my Y bag....but I didn't need it because I had already found my keys....crazy
  • I lost the TV selector for our bedroom...I enjoy having the news on the mornings after coffee so this selector is important to me.  But one day we had a  TV "hooked up" in a new room.  The Tech asked me for the "remote" (most people call them remotes....we don't).  I gave  him all the selectors in the house so he could "choose" which one worked on this particular TV...he got it  "up and running" and left. 
  •  We were packing to go out of town that day and when we returned 3 days later...no selector.  It was missing for 4 days...no morning news for 4 SOLID DAYS (don't ask why I can't watch it on any of the other 4 TV's...just don't).  I look EVERYWHERE...I crawl on my stomach allllllllllll around my room...I check the closet....I search the ENTIRE house...nothing.  So as ADD people do...I move on....I'm unpacking my garment bag (don't say anything about waiting 4 days)....there it is. 
  •  Yep, I packed the selector in the garment bag...it went out of town with us and home again...uh huh!
  • I lost my water bottle...yep, been carrying it TO AND FROM the Y for about 7 years...it's a habit....it's been gone for 3 days...found it...in the YMCA lost and found...yep...just left it behind....uh huh...crazy.
  • I lost my Christmas Book.  Been capturing memories and photos in it since 1996.  I keep it in the closet on the shelf in a BRIGHT GREEN box....looked for it for 2 weeks. Searched EVERYWHERE....found it...on TOP shelf of the closet...in plain view....uh huh...crazy.
  • I lost my phone the other nite for about an hour.  Was working on Christmas cards with the Mistah...he doesn't like noises so as I was texting....getting address updates I had to silence the phone (or I'd get "the look" and the "sigh")....left when we were finished then spent the next hour searching the house for it....FINALLY found it upside down under the chair in the SAME ROOM I looked in 5 times.....uh huh....crazy.  (Upside down and on silent prevents lights and sounds to appear when "calling it"....grrr....finally with all the lights out in the room....I could see the "glow"!
  • Yesterday I put Laundry Softener into the Laundry Soap "cup"...yep...filled it up....my laundry was sooooooooo soft (not sure about the cleanliness)!
  • I ordered gifts for the "out of towners" last week online.  Was checking this week on their "shipping status"...could find no evidence (via email) that I ever ordered Aunt Sondra's even tho' I thought FOR SURE that I did.....checked the inbox, deleted box...EVERYWHERE....nothing...until I check the "internet orders" box (which I thought I checked too)...there it was..it's been delivered....argh.
  • And, ...my favorite crazy moment (bc it seemed to NEVER end and I was doing it to myself).  Last week I had all the outside windows cleaned.  My job was to clean the inside...eventually.  So as I am passing by the room with the big picture window and notice how cute Kippy is sitting in it...I also notice "whoa...that window is D-I-R-T-Y!!!"....so I go into the kitchen to get the cleaner instead I look for my phone to take a picture...it's in the car....  I go back to take the shot and remember the window...I snap the photo...walk back to the kitchen for the cleaner and instead jot down on note paper (where I've been capturing the crazy happenings)...about Kippy...I go back once again to the room WITH NO CLEANER....but I get a great shot of Kippy..then I tell my self...go straight to the kitchen..."do not pass GO"....
  • PURPLE laundry softener vs GREEN laundry soap
  • Only 1 mystery remains (and I'm not sure why I can't "Move" the pictures on this blog like I did just 5 MINUTES AGO...so the necklace picture is "up top").  This has been going on for 4 months.  I bought the bobble necklace (above)....was getting ready to go one morning...got all dolled up...jewelry last....was ready then popped back in the bathroom one more "mirror check ... and voila....only thing on the necklace is the chain.  Yep...gone...the floors are either tile or wood....it would have made a "crashing noise".....I've searched the whole house on my stomach....gone...so with MUCH reluctance and frustration...I just bought it again...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


  • 8-4-2....I still remember the gate code for girls beach weekend... I am NOT crazy.
  • In my defense....it is Dec. 19...Adrianne's birthday was celebrated....all Christmas shopping is  done and wrapped (for home and out of town)....house is decorated inside and out...Christmas photo clothes coordinated, taken, created, envelopes addressed and mailed complete with Christmas stamps and return address labels.  All of the Mistah's staff have their gifts, including his "white elephant gift" exchange, food is here for Christmas and house is clean, laundry is done, and the annual cookies, brownies and rasberry tarts have been baked, packaged and delivered to the 6 guards and 3 neighbors...maybe my head is just too full with "lists"....yeah....that's it!


the end.




Family

Indiana wants me...Lord I can't go back there....was that how the song goes?

Mother/Daughters Photo Op

picking up critters along the gravel road

Mz. Bowler Extraordinaire!!

Rock Carving
Don't mind the signs....
I can go back there...to visit...and love it....I love the slow pace, the lack of guilt (when eating and not excercising) and the "no pressure" lifestyle....  Love it!

EXHALE

Life is most certainly better at the Beach....

The only explanation I have?   It's where life slows down, gets quiet and there is time to comtemplate:

      the beauty of the sea
            the beauty of the sea creatures
                  the beauty of the sea shells
                        the beauty of the ever             changing seascape and sea shore

        the sounds of the sea
              the sounds of the birds
                     the sounds of the breezes

         life, the Lord, family and friends....

Yep, life at the beach is just....well, better!
The Mistah....chillaxin...

what a view

 

chill
my friend...broken leg
Mr. Turtle...chowing down....

sea-birds....fishin


"ceegars" and chillaxin beach time

and sunset turns into sundown...still smiling...

sums it all up

ceegar, newspaper, shade...the man is soooooooooooooo content!

lunch and cold water...delight!


exhale...Thank you Lord for your artistry!


        

Lest I ever forget

The day finally came...1,751 days have passed....but I will count the days no more.  My God has delivered me.

We have been given a cash offer  on our Ramble house...the noose that has so entangled us fo so long has been loosed...thanks be to God Almighty.

The God-incidences have to be counted"
  • The house, being presently leased, was not on the market...
  • The economy?  worst ever for the housing market..
  • The house was shown and sold by a personal friend of Adrianne's...a young, fresh out of college Christian man....(doesn't have the 30+ years of the oh so lazy Realtor)
  • We volunteered to pay him a commission if he sold it before June 1 when it went back on the market (He got the offer 2 weeks before the deadline)
  • The "normal" fee is 6%...He asked only for 4%.
  • The potential Buyers offered cash...no need for a Bank's approval...
  • The offer is contingent upon the sale of their home...WHICH...has already been approved.
  • The offer is very close to our asking price....many homes in the neighborhood are in foreclosure or selling for $100,000's below the asking price.
  • The offer came in just days after the Leasing Office gave us a pricey list of repairs or upgrades they "think" we should make..ummm? No!
  • The potential Buyers LOVE the home....an answer to my specific prayers.
No, I shall not forget this day.  I will not forget that I had nothing to do with this sale other than I pleaded with my God daily...for 4+ years to do it.  He did it...in a depressed economy when we least expected it.

So...I will no longer pay for:
  • new bark mulch 2x/year
  • annual taxes
  • Home Owner Assoc. dues (that are THROUGH THE ROOF)
  • annual changing out of the filters
  • Chem Lawn
  • new trees
  • Spring/Fall opening/closing of the irrigation system
  • the difference in the amount the Renters pay and the amount we owe
  • ANY more repairs (imposed upon us by Renter's)
I will no longer care if there are Renters.
I will no longer wonder we will own it forever.

No, I wish I could say I trusted the Lord fully...but my faith wavered...and I whined and complained and wondered...more often than I care to admit...and I am sorry I did not believe You Lord would supply all my needs.  But ...You did...utterly and completely.

Thank you.
The magnificent "backside"...my favorite view!

Spring is the best time of year

As new Home Owners...not yet tainted by the years of "waiting and paying"


Our last Christmas here.....
Good Bye House...YOU were a royal pain the a--!

well, hello

This is OUR Mom and she MUSTN'T be alone....ever...

How do you spell LOVE?  Rudy Tootie and a marg...

outside time is the best time .....
It's Springtime...that means lots of  "outside" time....and computer screens are difficult to see when the sun is bright....but today...is a "lazy" day....only women understand that statement....it's that "difficult to move kinda day"!!!


So..at 9:44 AM I am still in my jammies...on a weekday...in my bed....it's a good time to blog.  Ever wonder who came up with the word "Blog"?

we help Mom do projects

we tan together


we hang out while Mom reads....


more tanning time

we like to sit close

sometimes we just sit and adore the face of Mom
we even come out of the "jungle" when we hear her voice....

we trust her with her wild brain ideas

we want to be a part of EVERYTHING...


we give kissses even when Mom doesn't expect it...



if Mom's outside we're all outside....

one chair is all we need....

we even TELL Mom when we need to "take a break"...
My first year of empty nesting and I find I spend the majority of my time with 3 little animals...and I like it...alot....they are quiet (most times), they cuddle, and best of all...they adore me.

Argh....the voices in my head...they never "shush"....when looking for pics of my 3 Amigos...I see this....and I am forced to get out of my pitiful comfy state and put my workout clothes on...got to go serve the "idol" which promises everything but delivers nothing long lasting...every day is a new day and everyday there is someone posting (thank you FB) that they have achieved it....oh, why can't it be 1950 and size 10 is sexy and desirable (thank you Marilyn Munroe...if you would've stuck around you probably would be skinny now too).   argh...get up!