I Am Blessed!

Tonight I went with a few friends to see Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion. It made me laugh, cry, awe, and love. It's a story that has every type of drama in it. And I'm not going to tell you about it. Not the part about how it reminds women how we should be pursued or how much strength of character God has instilled in men.

But I'd definitely recommend it. Yes, the romantic in me loved the storyline about a woman who is genuinely pursued by a Godly man. A man who is the earthly representation of God's love for her. The "one" creation that He made specifically for her, just as she was made specifically for him. Or the deeper meaning in the story about how God pursues each one of us and we sometimes forget our identity with all the confusion in the world and our everyday lives.

On the way home a song came on the radio called "I am blessed." And it was just a great reminder of how God's blessed me in my life. He pursues me, He guides me, and walks through this life with me. Each and every day He allows me to see a little more of His glory. It's my hope that my life glorifies Him in return.

Less Than Zero?

I went to the mall saturday. Remind me never to do that again. It wasn't too bad, just sometimes I get in the mood to not be around humanity. Anyways, not the point of this story. I was there with a few friends of mine. One of them needed to get a suit for a work thing. So we head to a store and I try on a few dresses. I've got a work thing as well in April. It's going to be at a plantation house and I'm going to have to be visible as opposed to hanging out in the shadows where I'm the most comfortable. Dang it.

So I'm trying on dresses. One of them is a very pretty black and white floral printer halter. The neckline is appealing on my frame. The thing I don't find appealing is that it is a size zero. Come on! A freagin' zero? Grr.

I want to gain a few pounds. I was telling Katie today that I need to because of my jeans. She looked at me with a huh? look on her face. My jeans don't fit anymore so I have to wear belts. But the belt is cinched so tight the leather rubs against my hip bones. Not the most comfortable experience, let me tell you.

I don't want to get the to the point where I'm overweight, but I'd definitely like for my clothes to fit. What's the size lower than zero? Pre-teen sizes? Sheesh!

Lost

There's a show on tv called Lost. It's about a group of people who have survived a plane crash and are living on this island. Season two is on currently. Well, in my social set, Lost is big. They talk about it, they watch it before we play phase 10, like I said, it's big.

Well, I never was too impressed by Lost. I'd seen one episode at a friend's house a few months back. It is very intense. Drama everywhere. Sad drama. The kind that makes me cry. Some parts are funny, but its the kind of funny of, o crap, something bad is going to happen because something good just happened.

I've been conned into thinking that if I "just watch the first season" I'll be hooked on the show. So I'm in the process of watching season one. I gotta tell you, it's alright. And then in Disc 3 of season one, they played the God card, so now I have to watch it to see how it all ends. Not that I'll be going out and spending the dough on buying the complete season on dvd. But if I had absolutely nothing to do, no book to read, or no other way to better myself, I'd waste a few hours on it.

Who Knew?

Today I'm driving a friend of mine's Toyota Tundra. It's got something in common with my Volvo. It's so fun to drive! Who knew? It's a four door truck that has plenty of room and just like my Volvo, rides well so you don't realize how fast you are going. Which, just like my Volvo, has the potential to get me in trouble.

I'm driving it because of the ding in my bumper. It's getting looked at. While I don't mind paying to fix it, there's a limit. And it looks like $526 is my limit. So we've switched out vehicles for the day. We swapped at church last night.

I'm a truck girl. I learned how to drive with my dad's truck on his oil leases in Texas. (Yes, in some ways I'm a stereotypical Texan.) We'd just bounce around the roads, and I use that term loosely because they were mostly ruts cut through the mesquite, until I got used to the idea of driving. Before I was at the age to learn how to drive though, he'd let my sister and I "steer" the truck. As in we'd be sitting in the cab, age 8 and 9, barely able to see over the dashboard and we'd both put our little fists up like we were steering and Dad would make the truck go wherever we were steering. Ha, it was so much fun! We were fascinated and it further cemented the idea in our heads that our Dad was Superman. O yes my friend there are many ways to have fun on an oil lease. I didn't learn how to drive a stick on the lease though, that was a few years later on a backhoe during a summer I worked for my father.

So in ten years when my Volvo goes, I'll consider a Toyota truck. Even though growing up I was told the only trucks to buy were Dodge or Ford. Although I don't even think Toyota was making trucks, so there you go.

His Promise is Sitting Next to Me?

God showed up this evening. He did, really. Tonight at the ring, T talked about living life abundantly. He started off talking about how when we talk about living life to the fullest, its always happy stuff. Carpe diem. Seize the day. Breathe deep. Taste every ounce of your friendships. Stop and smell the roses. Live the moments you're involved in.

But life isn't always happy. And yet God has given me the resources to live abundantly. It's Him. He is the never-ending resource for living my abundant life. That doesn't mean I'm always smiling or that life will always be a piece of pie. But God is still there with me, no matter what my days look like. Rainy days, weeks, and months go by, but that doesn't mean the sun isn't there.

Towards the end of his message, T talked about God fulfilling His promises. He said the fulfillment of His promise might be sitting next to you. Then he mentioned a quote by a guy named Larry Crabb.

"Trusting God is risky business unless you're trusting Him to fulfill His promises."

Am I trusting God to fulfill His promises in my life? Heh, it depends on what time you ask me. The romantic girl in me says absolutely without a doubt I trust Him. But then real life slams into me, or doubt whispers in my ear and the science nerd in me starts looking at the facts. And I become unsure that I'm in the center of His will. Every time I get to the point where I'm about to seriously lose it, God sits me down, tells me to breathe a bit, and trust Him. I keep asking that His desires are my desires and I have the feeling sometimes He wants to just shake me. Not in a bad way, more of a remember who you are way. I'm His. And I'm also a saint who sins. And no matter how many times I mess up or think I mess up, God still is right there. Waiting on me to let Him fulfill His best for my life.

Alright God, no more waiting. I'm Yours to do with what You will. By the way, thank You for the reminder this evening. I'm stubborn and You're patient to a fault.