The purple dinosaur

(No, I'm not talking about Barney....)

At Alex's favorite park, there is a purple dinosaur that has 2 seats....its like the little cars and little animals you find at most parks....its on a spring so you bounce on it and make it sway forwards and backwards. Well, just about every weekday, after I drop off Trina, we go to this park and part of the experience is riding the purple dinosaur...together.

When you are a parent, you are invited to do things you never thought you would again...and you have the choice....will I participate with my child and have fun with him or do I act "too big" and refuse. In the past, I probably chose the latter a little more, but lately, I'm swallowing my pride and just relaxing and having fun.

Part of the story is that there is a small horse nearby the dinosaur and every day, Alex finds the horse while out for his daily dinosaur ride, decides it is sick, gets off the dinosaur and feeds it medicine, and then remounts the dinosaur. Sometimes I'm then asked to ride the horse, but usually we finish the story both riding the dinosaur.

Well, if you know me well, you know I have an innate ability to feel when I am being focused on by a camara. The digital age...and perhaps my own age, have lessened this to some degree, but I'm looking at the camara in nearly every picture I am in....including today, when 2 young men in red ball caps took a picture of me sitting alone on the purple dinosaur.

I'm greatly disturbed by this. I'm not sure if its because of my pride, the sick minds of people, or the fact that I have pegged them as not the nicest young men. But if you run into any random pictures on the internet of a woman on a purple dinosaur...and you think it looks like me....um...well...don't tell me.

Clutter

When I look around my living room, I see all kinds of clutter. It's not trash necessarily. Maybe it's a misplaced toy or a paper from school that's on the floor. Maybe its a receipt I need to shred or something left behind by someone close to me. Eventually there is so much I feel overwhelmed. Where to start? How do I get to some of the things I really need to do with all of this STUFF in my way?

And it reminds me of my heart.

Yesterday, my mind was so full of stuff, it was hard to wade through to sit down with the Lord and just focus on him. I kept seeing the big decision that needs to be made here or the person I need to touch base with there or the thing I should have said and didn't. There was my football team's loss and my husband's weekend plans that didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped.

And there was conviction...despite the clutter or maybe because of it.

Now, how do I wade through all of it to attend to the important things the Lord has laid before me?

I can't do anything on my own...neither clean my house nor my heart. OK, Jesus, I need Your help!

The newest pony

Drano Dash---A super pony who unclogs your sink

OK...so this random quote came from my kids and me discussing the names of the "my little pony" series.

I wonder what color drano dash would be?

Sept 22, 2004

a plane crashed on a strange island. Little did I know, the people on the plane were already Lost.

We had fun watching the first half of the Lost pilot last night. I can't wait until 2009 when I'll have more mysteries to obsess about and more character development on this fantastic show.

(Wo)Man Vs. machine

Well, I'm frustrated with my dishwasher....

I don't believe that a machine meant to wash my dishes should require me to pre-wash my dishes. If I want to rinse them off, I might as well wash them by hand.

So, in utter frustration today, I took apart my dishwasher...not completely...but enough to realize how gross it is. And now I'm running it with a cup of vinegar to see if I can get the silly thing to DO ITS JOB!

Stay tuned!

Only at my house

my 3 other family members are watching Return of the Jedi to the soundtrack---they are listening to the CD of the soundtrack and watching the movie. How geeky is that?

3 words

that sent a sickening chill down my spine.

Beverly
Hills
Chihuahuas

please look away...I may lose my lunch

within

So, I've been thinking a lot about the concept of a church within a church. A smaller body of believers who function somewhat independently but are a part of a larger body.



First, every church building in America hosts a church within the Church.



Second, when a biblical community is functioning well, it is going to become a church within a church. It is going to meet the needs of community members--caring for those connected to it. I see this in my Sunday School class. We are bound together by common beliefs, we meet together, we meet each other's needs, and we have leadership to guide us. We are still a part of a larger body...Grace Chapel. So, what binds us to GC? Our common beliefs, our dedication to the same mission, the resources GC provides for us. Many of us attend the larger church service--so we get the same messages and can theoretically talk through those messages.



So, is there a problem with this concept? Is it wrong to have a church within a church?

Or more importantly--How can any such entity with its own identity stay connected to the whole? By submitting to the elders of the larger body and connecting through the vision and mission of the larger body, it is both possible and exciting to see smaller bodies unite to be one larger body.