I'm not judging you, but...

Today was magnificent! I made it to church for the most wonderful service. Still celebrating the upcoming birth of Grand #5 (or should it be #B1, with A1,2,3,4 the others? IDK) it brought me to tears to witness the special events today. Four graduates were honored before the congregation. All four were read to as they stood near the alter. The youth pastor read letters written by their fathers... Words like, "...when we first found out you..." and "...our little bean!" Thanks what Tim & Jessica call their long-awaited. And if that wasn't enough? Following the grads was a family for a baby dedication. The baby's name? Brody! Close enough to Brady to make me grab my next-to-last tissue!

Oh well... I know you're all ready to O.D. on my baby babblings. Back to the point of my post...

[Warning: If Jesus offends you, click the little x in the upper, right-hand corner. Or better yet, read on anyway...]

Friday, after Jessica 'delivered' (I love that word) the news, we were talking about church. I commented about some of the people that are there whenever the doors are open. (no names, not a gossip session - just opinions) Yes, we do need those dedicated people to keep things in order. But, (and again, I'm not judging) that's not what it's about folks! Remember the Great Commission? Did Jesus spend his every waking hour inside a synagogue? No! He went out! Out to where they needed HIM!

I am being judged. I don't know by whom, but I know it's happening. People know us. They look around at the small group gatherings and miss our faces. They have a BBQ and we're not there. They have the ladies lunch bunch. I made one. Men do a Saturday breakfast. I don't think Hubby's ever been. We've missed numerous prayer meetings and special events. I'm not saying we never go to them. We do. Some. Want to know the most horrible thing about me? I've skipped church because of reasons other than death. I KNOW!

Yes, Jesus clearly directs us to gather together. It is important to strengthen our faith. Our church family upholds us. They pray with us. They are so very important to me. It is hard to grow our faith in the world without a strong bond with our Christian sisters and brothers. 'Nuff said.

Pastor's sermon today said it all. He reminded us that, yeah it's great to come here, but that's not what it's all about. We come to be equipped... to go. On the Day of Pentecost, the followers waited. The Spirit came and filled them, giving them the ability to speak in all the tongues of the people gathered in the city. Not to communicate with each other, but to go out.

Now, I'm not bragging that I'm this 'pounding on doors, bringing people to the Lord' person. Far from it. I fall miserably short. I've missed many opportunities to witness about what God has done for me. But I've shared a lot. When I was a MySpace addict, many of my posts shared how God was moving in my life.

Our church purpose: "To turn people into passionate followers of Christ" Pastor reminded us this morning that we can't do that sitting in the sanctuary. And Pastor, if you're reading... "HONK, HONK!"

What's his name?

Sorry about bombarding you with all these new posts, but things are happening in every aspect of my life right now, and I'm just overwhelmed with the urge to share. Following is my attempt at humor, even though this is pretty much word for word.

Some background info: My F-i-L is named J.C. That's it. Just initials. Gave him problems in the Navy. Tim adores his grandfather - puts him on a pedestal as all should. He has said in the past that if he had a son he would name him J.C. Just initials! I have to side with Jessica on this one. Hey, call him Joseph Christopher or something...

So now they have told us a girl will be Isabella (lovely) and a boy will be Brady (very country-sounding to me - I like it).

So we sit down to dinner tonight, me, Hubby and the in-laws and, of course, the conversation immediately turns to the new baby...

J.C. beaming: "I told them what to name it - James Cecil..."
Lily interrupts: "They're not going to name the boy Cecil. It's not a popular name in this day and age. He would probably get beat up on the playground. Besides, they said a boy would be named Brady."
"Well, I knew a guy named Cecil..." J.C. rolls on and on...
Hubby interrupts: "I know a guy named Cecil, Who do you know named Brady?"
Me again: "I imagine the girls go to school with boys named Brady - not Cecil."
Hubby: "Who do you know named Brady..."

My New Husband...

The last twelve hours have been a joyous ride! (miracles-do-happen) The baby news sure helped my dry-eye problem and helped loosen my sinuses! Just what the doctor ordered ;)



I've already contacted Hubby's ex about our joint shower. She replied with smileys. Of course, I posted the news here and a link on Facebook. Oh no! I forgot MySpace. Be back in a minute...



OK, I'm back. Sorry, had a couple of comments to read. Anyway, back to Grampa...



Since we are a middle-age hook-up, I never got to experience Hubby's new daddy days. I'm beginning to think it was probably a lot more emo than the new daddy days I had. He is funny! You know, that cutesy funny that you don't expect from 'that kind of guy'. Oh, I know he's got that soft side. It shows with our four granddaughters. He loves them more than life itself, but those are 'my' daughter's children. He loves my daughter too, but it's just not the same. I was a gramma when we met. He had his children at an older age (not much) so his son Tim was just graduating high school about the time Grand #1 started school. By the time Tim married, Grand #2 danced with him at the wedding reception (and had a serious crush on the groom.)



Now it's 'blood'. That little boy that followed him around with the plastic mower, is becoming a father. And I love his reaction! Last night he was in the living room watching his MAN shows when I came out and mentioned her 'positive test' blog. wanna-hear-secret So there we were, both of us wiping our eyes again...

A little bit ago, he came in, sat down and said, "Good thing I got five of those coin cards," with a mile-wide grin. He has been saving coins for the Grands and, believing this would happen soon, started one for Baby Isabella/Brady too. Last night when the lottery numbers came on the local news, he declared that we needed to win it to help start a college fund. (Better be a big jackpot. That makes five college funds and counting!)

Yes, it's going to be a wonderful seven months!

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!

This has been the most wonderful day! My step-son and daughter-in-law are one of the most got-it-together couples you'll ever meet. High school sweethearts, she waited for him to serve his country, then he came home to marry her. After enjoying a bit of married life alone, (and after being asked over and over again when they were going to have a baby) they decided to start a family. Then things went south...





At first it was a casual thing. "We're not on birth control anymore." Then it got more focused as time passed and nothing happened. Finally, it was time for some tests. One day she told us the doctor found a little hormone level problem and now that they took care of that she should get pregnant very soon! We were all so excited!





Time passed. Nothing happened. The road led to specialists, expensive drugs, uncomfortable procedures and insurance battles. Jessica was diagnosed with PCOS (PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome). I know that many people wait for much longer periods, some never have success. But I still think that every day must have seemed like an eternity as her frustration lingered on.





To keep from having to explain things over and over, and to keep those of us that didn't want to keep asking up-to-date, Jessica started posting blogs on her MySpace page. She added links for weirdos like me to click and soak up all the information we could about it.





That's what brought her to blogspot. And I followed. You can find her story (and some cutesy vlogs) at Hey Mrs Robinson....

Anyway, tonight they came over to dinner... We visited a bit, then sat down to eat. That's when the ultrasound picture came out! She has known since Mother's Day (from a home test) but didn't want to announce it until they heard the heartbeat. Here is first picture of Mommy, Daddy and Isabella or Brady. (subject to change, of course)

"I once felt sorry...

...that I had no shoes, until I met the man that had no feet." This is probably the quotable quote I quote the most, and that says a lot coming from me. I'm a notorious quoter! Too bad I can seldom remember who said what. (Mark Twain & Thomas Edison were very wise!)

Back to the subject... Not that I'm having a pity party - far from it! Thanks to that little saying, I've not fallen pray to the invites in some time. It has become second nature to me that whenever I have to do something or experience something unpleasant, that quote immediately comes to mind. I think it's my answer to a frequent prayer. I asked God to continually remind me to be thankful and deeply aware of other's needs. It is amazing how your mountains can instantly become the most beautiful fields of wild flowers!

Next on my agenda is strapping on my pollen mask and tackling those resilient sticky things in my front garden. I am taking a breathing treatment 'as we speak'. The new medicine my doctor added to the regimen tastes nasty! And I have to wait for the jitters to subside before I dare try to bend over on a slope. But thanks to God and that little saying, it is no more a bother to me than brushing my hair in the morning. Besides, it gives me time to share one of my favorites with you...

Awards Time!

Please check out my blog entry at essays & utter nonsense. I've got a new award to tell you about...

Since different followers of mine read different blogs, I'm posting this short message instead reposting the whole story here.