brain dump edition

This week has been weird for me, with my quiet times.  I keep waking up extra sleepy (I've been having REALLY WEIRD dreams), and I know if I go to sit down and pray and read the bible that there's a good chance I'll fall asleep.  So I've been bringing my first cup of coffee into the living room and turning on the Today show for a few minutes before settling down at the table for quiet time.

And here's the thing about that.  This is not necessarily bad that I'm having days like this.  I still have quiet time, it's just not the very first thing I do when I come downstairs.  I prefer to have my quiet time first thing every morning, though. so I've been feeling "off" all week.

Having said that, I'm reading through 2 Timothy with one of "my" girls from church, and here's the picture I texted her on Monday or Tuesday.

I LOVE the book of 2 Timothy, and when I studied it last fall with my friends, I highlighted and wrote the whole thing out.

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D-Now is a mere day away, and I've been waiting on the email to tell me (officially) which group I was placed with.  It doesn't really matter, (though honestly I wanted the senior girls because it's their last D-Now and I've been with them in some fashion since their ninth grade year) but I just needed to know.  My brain is super detail oriented, and I need to know all the details.  This does not bode well for me, because most people are not this way and don't think ahead like I do for things like this.  I did find out that I am with the senior girls, along with my friends Missy and Risa.

I'm really excited about our weekend.  Please help me pray for the students and the leaders~that there are salvations/renewals of relationships with the Lord, for safety/health, for ZERO pettiness, for relationships to be restored and healed between people, and just for strength.  This is a wearying weekend, and I will need a long nap come Sunday afternoon.

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Speaking of D-Now, remember when I mentioned in a recent post how much I love sleepovers?!  I do.  And it's a proven fact that Missy and I are often up later than others, talking and laughing.  It's just a FUN weekend being with teenagers I love and people I love serving along with.  I am so incredibly grateful to God for allowing me to serve in this way, in the lives of teenagers and with such fun people.

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I sat down yesterday and actually made a blog schedule.  It's hard to think of things to come up with continually on the weekdays for my blog, and I decided to try a little schedule.  I've never done this before with the blog, but after eight years of writing here, I'm starting to lack in ideas.

I purposely didn't show the whole thing, because I don't want to spoil it for the tens of people who read this.  ;)

I did put a lot of ideas down on paper.

People have told me for a long time that I need to write a book.  I honestly would love to do that someday, but I have no idea what I would write about.  I've somehow gotten on an email list of an author who gives online conferences and classes, and though I've not sat down and listened to those yet, I've read his ideas for good tips on how to write.

The only reason I say that is this: I could use prayers on this.  I do think that God will have me do this someday, but I don't feel that now is the time.  First off, because I don't know what I'd write.  Secondly, because I keep saying how I'm in this weird phase of just waiting right now.  My kids are still at home, and I'm homeschooling them all, and I just feel like they must be my priority.  I don't even leave my house that often with them home doing work, so how in the world would I dedicate hours and hours for writing?

Until that day, I am content to keep writing on this blog that God uses for His glory and honor and waiting on Him.

I know that if this is God's will for my life, that He will give me the book idea someday.  I trust in His timing.  (That's for the ones who keep telling me I need to write.)

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I won't go too much into details yet, because I have an idea for this top for a later blog post, but may I just tell you how thankful I am for friends that call me?  Or that answer my phone call when I call them?  In this day and time of feeling so connected all the time, as connected as we feel, rarely are calls made anymore.  I texted my best friend last night and she immediately answered me back, "Give me a few minutes, and I'm going to call you."

She didn't have to.  In fact, she was taking care of her family member who had just had surgery.  But she called me anyway, and then we talked for the next thirty minutes.  We talked THREE TIMES on the phone yesterday.  THREE.  I am not kidding, and our shortest conversation was ten minutes, probably, with the longer ones being upwards of half an hour.

I pray and hope that all of you have this kind of person.  I did not, for years and years, and I began to ask God for this kind of friend.  I have always had friends for seasons of life, and some of them have moved on and some are still around, but I've not had this kind of friend in a very long time.  The kind who will ALWAYS answer my phone call, and will literally drop everything to talk.

If this is a desire that you want, just start to ask God for it (if you're a believer), for the type of friend who is an iron that sharpens iron friend (somewhere in Proverbs), one who will spur you on to love and good works (somewhere in Hebrews).

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I have read two whole books this week.  I've got a third waiting on me, but I needed to have a twenty four hour break for my brain.  I'll write more about them in a later post.  (Remember that blog schedule I talked about?)

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Yesterday, our German shepherd, Callie, got a bath because Crash PEED ON HER.

Have you ever heard of a dog who peed on one of his own kind?!

He was in so much trouble.  I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, saying that maybe it was his retaliation for how she bites him all the time, but nope.  That wasn't the case.  He did it just do it.

He spent a long time on his dog bed in timeout.  Every time I caught him tippy-toeing off his bed, the time would be extended because he kept trying to get out of his punishment.

(Yes, Crash tippy-toes.)

I told my stepdad that one time, and he just about spewed his water across the kitchen.  That's probably what my future book needs to be about~Crash Bandicoot and the Very Bad Day.

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Well.  I think that's about all I've got for today.  I'll see you on here tomorrow for my favorite day of the week~FRIDAY.

Love to all!