Check Out the Christian Carnival

There are some great posts in this week's Christian Carnival. It is being hosted at RodneyOlsen.net. You should click on over and pick a post that sounds right for you.

Blessings!

Ladybug and the Great Doodlebug Relocation Project

I spent the entire day cleaning my house yesterday, and when I say "entire day," that's exactly what I mean. I started at about 8 am, and was finishing up at about 6 pm. I vacuumed under the cushions on the couch, located a missing princess shoe, and even managed to get the sliding glass door cleaned. I pulled off a more amazing feat by zipping outside to mow and fertilize the back yard while my hubby was home for 45 minutes between jobs. It was a good day of hard work, and I was feeling pretty proud of all I had accomplished.

As I was putting the finishing touches on my day of domesticity by baking homemade banana bread, I heard the plaintive cry of my little Ladybug, Avari, as she was playing outside. She was frantically yelling, "Get it, Mama, get it." I ran to the door expecting to see some unruly piece of nature attacking my darling daughter. What I found was a tear-stained 3 year-old grasping two rather large tufts of freshly fertilized lawn - one tuft per hand.

As she stood on the little piece of concrete that serves as a canvas for her sidewalk chalk masterpieces, I quickly scanned the area for the cause of her outburst. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, relatively speaking, I began to ask her what was wrong. She, still crying in that stuttering, panicky fashion, replied, "The doodlebug, Mama, get (sniff) the doodlebug." I again looked around trying to locate the poor, unsuspecting creature only to find . . . nothing. As she used one of her grass-filled fists to point to the edge of the patio, I figured out that the little guy had disappeared into the grass, thus, the rampage against my lawn.

I knelt down and pulled back the grass to see several little doodlebugs cowering in fear. I scooped one up, and cheerfully said, "Look, Mama found him." I proceeded to pry the remnants of my once verdant lawn from her tiny grasp as I produced the balled up bug.

Then, still gasping and sniffling, my little one told me that I needed to put him in the flower bed. Easy enough, I headed to the nearest flower bed, which immediately induced a fresh wave of panic and tears as she cried, "not that flower bed."

At this point, I seriously wanted to retreat to my kitchen to finish my bread before my dog devised a plan to somehow climb up the stools around the island and eat the batter. I not so calmly asked, "Which flower bed would you like Mama to put him in, sweetie?"

She pointed a shaky finger behind me, and I slowly turned to see her indicating the flower bed on the other side of the yard, the side of the yard I had finished watering only minutes before. Translation: the side of the yard that was going to require me to take another shower after the relocation was complete. I tentatively replied, "Are you sure you want to take him so far away from his friends?" To which she unwaveringly answered, "Y-y-y-yes, w-w-with the buttercups (sniff)."

I obligingly hiked my pants up around my knees while balancing the frightened ball of doodlebug in the palm of my hand and began the short trek to my embarrassingly overgrown, buttercup-filled flower bed. The whole time I'm thinking, "We are now relocating this poor fella to the doodlebug equivalent of 4,000 miles from home." When we arrived at our destination a mere 15 seconds later, I placed our "rescued" doodlebug next to a buttercup and hopefully asked, "OK?"

Again, I endured a seemingly unending round of cries and tears. I hurriedly scooped up the bug and inquired as to my mistake. The conversation went something like this:

I asked, "Wasn't that where you wanted him?"

Ladybug said, "Put him by the buttercuuuups."

My response: "You mean where I just had him?"

Her reply: "Yeeees, Mamaaa."

My desperate request for reassurance: "Are you sure?"

Her meager attempt to allay my fears: "Yes (sniff), by the buttercup (sniff)."

Again, I placed the little ball of bug next to the buttercup and said, "I'm sure he'll be happy here in the flowers." As I walked away (I would have run, but kids can smell fear), I heard her cry, "My doodlebug!!!"

Is there a message in my story? Oh, I don't know. I just really thought it was too cute not to share.

I suppose after it happened I thought about how that poor little bug, from his perspective, got picked up by giant hands and placed so far out of his comfort zone that he's probably still rolled in that tiny gray ball.

I feel like rolling up in a tiny gray ball sometimes. Of course, if I was limber enough to roll myself in a ball it wouldn't be tiny by a long shot.

On the other hand, as Ladybug insisted on relocating our friend, she had his best interests at heart - a vast expanse of beautiful wildflowers where he could roam to his doodlebug's heart's content.

It reminded me that although I can't see the big picture of my life from down here in the grass where I try to roll up in a ball when confronted with new obstacles or fears, my Father is carefully and gently moving me toward his perfect plan. That is a relocation project I can get behind!!

Blessings!

Just Plain Funny!

I had a couple of really important things I thought about posting here today, but I decided that maybe you just needed a good laugh instead. I know I did. So without further ado . . .

A friend posted this jewel on Facebook recently, and I nearly had coffee coming out my nose as I read it. I know - gross, right? Sorry, my husband has rubbed off on me. It's an illness. Maybe I should start a foundation or something. Okay, I said without further ado, and this has been some serious ado. Let the funny begin!!

Are you tired of those Sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, let's try this my way...just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad, I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!

2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused, I will use little words.

7. When you are sick, stay away from me until you are well again...I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall, I'll pick you up and dust you off--After I laugh my head off!

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end.

'Why?' you may ask...because you are my FRIEND!

And, just because it's Wednesday here's a second funny to brighten your day. My daughter and I love this one. Ya gotta love The Muppets!!



If that wasn't spiritual enough for you, let me remind you that Proverbs 17:22 says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Have a joy-filled day!

Blessings!

Christian Carnival CCLXXI

I am excited to be hosting the 271st Christian Carnival. I think there is something for everyone in this edition. So, without further ado, let's get started.

Michelle chronicles a day on the mission field in Nicaragua in her post, Philippians 2:14-16, at Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus.

Over at blog.kennypearce.net Kenny ponders the question, "How does one engage in intellectually honest apologetics?" in his contribution, Apologetics: The Good and The Bad.

ChristianPF reminds us that "Our faith should affect our spending decisions - and help us control it as well!" in How to Control Spending.

Trent gives us a compelling look at fear in his two part post Enemy Behind the Lines: Fear, Pt. 1 and Enemy Behind the Lines: Fear, Pt. 2 at his blog, Christian Men Christian Warriors.

Free Money Finance draws a parallel between the current economic climate and The Story of Joseph as he encourages us to save in our times of plenty for the eventual times of famine.

Jeff at ReturningKing.com gives us part 20 in his Wolves in Wool series with his post, The Consumerization of the Gospel.

We are presented with the thought-provoking question, "Was the resurrection of Christ just a trick of the apostles' minds?" by Chris at Homeward Bound in the first part of his series Objections to the Resurrection.

For those of us who have never had the pleasure of Entering St. Peter's Basilica in Rome we are treated to some beautiful pictures by Victor at his blog, Pictures of the Vatican City, Rome, Italy.

Richard H. Anderson presents Victory of Christ posted at dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos.

Michael takes a look at the sacrifice of The Suffering Servant and why it is important to us at Chasing the Wind.

Over at The Minority Thinker, Shannon delves into the American Family Association's suggested boycott of Pepsi and posits Family Guy and Pepsi: Shooting at the Wrong Targets!

Now, take a deep breath, grab a bite to eat, visit the little girls' or little boys' room, and settle in for the second half of this thought-provoking carnival.

This next offering really challenged me in my perception of what a church should look like. Brian at Boston Bible Geeks gives us The Importance of the Sacraments.

As the wife of a science fiction and fantasy aficionado I really appreciated Ken's look at Science Fiction, Fantasy and an Interventionist God at his blog, C. Orthodoxy.

Weekend Fisher considers some of the sinfulness in inter-Christian dialog (or perhaps the lack of dialog) in her post, Christian Reconciliation: What is the first step? at Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength.

Mark at Pseudo-Polymath wonders whether it is reasonable and rational to be a Christian in our modern world in his contribution, Of Reason (or Warrant) and Faith.

Rani shares her Prayer of the Week - Life of Righteousness at her blog, Christ's Bridge.

In The Incarnation and Compatibilism Jeremy at Parableman presents an argument that the Incarnation, as traditionally understood, fits best with a compatibilist view of human freedom.

Catez gives us an in-depth review and her thoughts after seeing Slumdog Millionaire posted at Allthings2all.

Jason presents Book Review: Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach posted at Pastoral Musings.

When I read Rodney's post on What do we believe? at RodneyOlsen.net, I was seriously surprised at the findings of a recent survey done in Australia.

And, finally, please take a moment to read my thoughts on the Jesus-lover's role as an encourager in my post, Don't Make Me Read Your Mind right here at Fathom Deep.

Now, for a little light housekeeping. No, I don't want you to dust. Well, I mean, if you were to offer, I wouldn't turn you down. But, that's not what I meant by housekeeping. The next Christian Carnival will be held over at Fish and Cans. If you would like to participate (and we would love to have you), go here, complete the submission form, and I'll be reading your post this time next week!

Thanks to everyone who gifted us with their thoughts this week. It was a treat to host again, and I'll see you all next week at Fish and Cans.

Blessings!

Don't Make Me Read Your Mind

When my sister and I were young, we had a bad habit that drove my mother absolutely insane. If we were looking for something and went to ask her for help, we had the propensity to say, "Mom, can you help me find the 'thingie' for the 'doodad' that does the 'stuff.' Or something of that nature in any case. It was a real sticky point with her when we did that. Of course, we knew exactly what we were talking about, but Mom would say, "I'm not a mind reader. You're going to have to tell me what you're looking for." To which we would so sagely reply, "I told you I'm looking for the 'thingie'. . . " It was like a bad version of "Who's On First."

Well, my sister and I both have children now, and we feel Mom's pain. Our kids, despite being extremely intelligent and capable of complex conversation, insist on asking us to find 'thingies' and 'stuff.' I've heard my mom's words tumble back out of my mouth as I stood there having the oddest sense of deja vu.

Now, after a particularly long session of the "I'm Not A Mind Reader Game" with my daughter, I started thinking about how I still fall into this trap as an adult. Oh, I've grown past the 'thingie' requests of my childhood, but I still expect people to read my mind sometimes. I think maybe we all do it to some extent.

How often in a day do you think, "I really love my husband" but not tell him. Aren't there times when you spend time with a friend and are reminded how much their friendship means to you, but you don't stop to tell them? We tend to pass over the positive things while we are quick to point out negatives. We do it to our spouses, our children, our friends.

I've been struggling off and on lately. I'm sort of trapped alone at home a lot. My husband is working two jobs, and we are a one car family, which gives me way too much time to think. I tend to pick myself apart, and the enemy really loves to sow seeds of doubt in those times. I doubt my abilities as a wife and mother. I beat myself up about my lack of perfection as a musician. I question whether I'll ever be a good photographer. I have a million of them, and the devil loves a good opening. He jumps right in and starts offering suggestions of my other shortcomings.

Do you know what stops those rambling doubts? Encouragement. Words of comfort. Being reminded by a friend of who I am in Christ. I'm not sure when we are all going to figure out that we need each other, and none of us are mind readers. We need to speak encouragement and comfort into the lives of those around us not just think it. Just hearing that you are valued and appreciated makes a world of difference.

Please don't misunderstand me. I have to realign my focus on who I am in Christ and not pin my value to my talents or skills or lack thereof. I have to cast off the doubts that the enemy would place in my life if I allow it. However, sometimes it takes the words of a friend and fellow Jesus-lover to help in that quest.

I found this word in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 this morning. It says:

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

So, next time you think something good about someone, don't just think it, share it. It's so easy to pick up the phone, walk across the street, send an e-mail, or write on someone's wall (on Facebook, of course). Through that simple act of sharing a word of comfort or encouragement you are not only showing your love and concern, you are sharing the love of our Savior. And there is no greater gift than that.

Blessings!