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Sunday Funday!

This Sunday was very busy. I helped my aunt with an organizational project. We’re nowhere close to done, but I’m proud of what we accomplished.

Plus, it was really nice to visit with her and my cousins. Baby Illyana even came over (my cousin’s little girl) and I got some pictures with her.

  
My weekend was pretty good overall. Not super restful but it reminds me of a verse from an old hymn:

In our joys and in our sorrows,

Days of toil and hours of ease,

Still He calls, in cares and pleasures,

“Christian, love me more than these.”

We all have seasons of busyness and seasons of rest. Both are necessary and both require us to trust the Lord.

What did you do this weekend? Leave me a comment below.

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I dream of peach ice cream

Good news!

I got to take the kids home from camp today. They were pretty worn out and slept the entire way. That, to me, is a great sign that they had a lot of fun this past week. (I bet their camp counselors will sleep wonderfully tonight as well.)

The trip back home from Montgomery was a bit…tiring. Traffic on I-65 North was crazy. I ended up taking Highway 31 North home. Traffic was still pretty bad, but it was much better than the interstate.


On the bright side, our caravan made a pit stop in Clanton.

If you know anything about Alabama, Chilton County is a magical place in the summer.

 

We’re as sweet as a Clanton peach.

Peaches are in season!
And–my personal favorite–peach ice cream comes back!

It’s a fact: You can’t drive through Clanton in the summer without stopping by Durbin Farms for some ice cream.

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Fridays are for fun!

Let’s have a little fun this Friday.

brainHere are 5 random things that made me think/laugh this week:

  1. Grannies singing a karaoke version of “Forever Young” by Alphaville
  2. God sitting in front of a big soundboard where he can listen to all the worship that happens in the world. He can turn the volume up or down on anyone. And the question is: Who does He like to listen to?
  3. I saw a dog being pushed around in a baby carriage (enough said).
  4. What if every thought you had in a day–and the original emotion behind it–was projected on a big screen?
  5. There was an article on Facebook about when to take a shower…Let’s just take that in for a minute….

What are some things that made you think/laugh this week?

 

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My brain fell out of my open mind

I think that our culture has forgotten what it means to be open-minded.

Here’s my definition of open-mindedness:

I know what I believe, but I am willing to hear your thoughts. My belief system will not be shattered if we happen to disagree.

Scroll through your newsfeed or listen to talk radio. That’s not what’s happening.

We’re so “open-minded” that we can’t imagine anyone else’s open mind being offended.

Healthy debate is being replaced by political correctness.

Here is our society’s filter when making decisions today:

What if they become angry? What if they cry themselves to sleep every night? What if they’re upset, eat 12 pints of Ben and Jerry’s, and become fat? How can we make sure that everyone is happy?

Look, I went to counseling for a year. My counselor told me that trying to make others happy will only lead to my misery.

Happiness is a choice we all have to make for ourselves.

I’m tired of this politically correct world we live in. It’s exhausting.

No wonder it’s easier to maintain shallow friendships via social media than it is to hang out in real time.

Most people live in a constant state of offense.

You can’t talk about anything but the weather, cat memes, and Candy Crush. 

We’re so afraid to hurt each others feelings that it’s just easier to not talk about the hard things.

Our “open-minded” society, I’m afraid, is lonely. We desire connection, but can’t handle what it means.

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The suspenseful side of grace

I have a love/hate relationship with suspense movies.

suspense 1

I’m ready to face the ideas in this post.

I love the plot twists, action scenes (cue bomb!) and creativity involved.

I hate the scenes where you are clutching the popcorn bowl, screaming at the TV.

Don’t do it! It’s a trick!!!!! (Big swig of coke) The bad guy’s right behind you!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then it goes into a wicked awesome fight scene and I fall in love all over again.

Watching a friend make a poor decision is a lot like watching a suspense movie.

You know it’s a bad idea, but your friend? He or she is totally clueless.

Or, worst case scenario, your friend willingly makes a bad decision.

But, let’s assume that your friend isn’t willingly making bad decisions because most of us don’t go into a situation thinking:

How can I really screw this up?

At least, I don’t anyway…

Your decisions are scaring me!

Your decisions are scaring me!

Somehow, though, we have the worst thoughts about our friends and family when they mess up.

My grace is always on vacation when this happens.

Until, of course, I mess up.

I can then give you a million and one reasons that I made a mistake:

I didn’t mean to say that, okay?

I had to make a snap decision.

I thought bangs would look good on me. (Let’s take a moment to mourn all the bad haircuts in our life. Okay, I feel better.)

Can’t you see that I need a little grace?!? Seriously.

Put yourself in your friend’s shoes. (Unless they don’t fit and then metaphorical shoe wearing will do.)

If you would want someone to extend you grace, then that means your friend wants grace too.

It’s a lot easier to be the one on the couch, clutching the bowl of popcorn, screaming your head off.

It’s a lot harder being the one walking around the corner in a poorly lit hallway.

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No spirtual hermits allowed!

That’s it! I’m disconnecting from social media and going off the grid! This world is ridiculous.

Being a hermit sounds like a great alternative to the craziness.

Why bother trying? Nothing will change.

blog 3Unless…..

I start seeing myself as a world changer, a warrior, a follower of Christ who is here to spread the gospel.

Notice that the early church didn’t run and hide when faced with adversity. They were bold. Not stupid, mind you, but bold. When they had to scatter because of persecution, the church grew.

Kind of ironic, isn’t it? That’s not what you’d expect.

Look at the church today in China and the Middle East. The body of Christ is growing exponentially! They are being persecuted and martyred every day.

Their persecutors can’t figure it out: Why can’t we defeat these Christians? Nothing we do can stop them….

And yet, in North America, Christians start crying like a bunch of babies when things don’t work out.

blog 2 Can you believe the government is being so mean? This used to be a Christian nation. Now all I can do is post mean things on Facebook about those wicked unbelievers.

And then we lay on the floor like a toddler and pitch a fit.

Wow. I bet all of those sinful wretches want to be Christians now. You really showed them how strong faith can be in the life of a believer.

blog 1Throwing a temper tantrum changes nothing. It never does.

Read the Bible.

Jesus was hated by the world and He told us we would be hated too.

The disciples told us things would get really hard before Jesus came back.

What are you expecting?

Is your faith only strong when things are going great? Is it really that wishy-washy?

If so, I wouldn’t call that faith at all.

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Breaking News: Workers go on strike at the Excuse Factory

 Forgot an appointment? To pay a bill? A birthday?

Mess up on the job? At home?

Mean to your husband? Wife? Kid? Friend?

It wasn’t really your fault….no, no, no!

Just make an excuse and get out of it.

Need a few good ones?

  1. My computer crashed.
  2. I didn’t see your voicemail.
  3. Your email was in my junk mail.
  4. I forgot about our plans.
  5.  The zombies made me do it (which is better than “The dog ate my homework.”)

All of these–minus the last one–are valid reasons for not doing something, but let’s be honest:

We’ve all used good, valid reasons to excuse poor, inexcusable behavior.

strike 1Accepting responsibility is taboo. No one likes to be wrong or admit their mistakes. I get it. I don’t like to be wrong or admit my mistakes.

Owning up to our shortcomings is on the list with filing taxes and going to the dentist.

strike 2

Guess what?

If I don’t file my taxes, the IRS won’t pet my head and say, “No problem, Ms. Kennedy, we understand that this isn’t fun for you. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

If I don’t go to the dentist, my teeth will fall out and I’ll look like all the rednecks on the news….(this is why I choose to go to the dentist, btw. I have an irrational fear of being a stereotypical redneck.)

Shut down the excuse factory. Tell the truth. Face the consequences. And then move on.

You’ll never learn and grow from your shortcomings if you don’t admit you have them.

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A camping we will go! 

Today’s post is more of an update. I had the opportunity to pick up kids for Camp Shocco for the Deaf.

For many deaf children, it’s the first time they’ve heard the gospel. Also, it’s a camp that allows a deaf child’s hearing brothers and sisters–and other close relatives–to come as well.

This year’s camp attendance is great! Over 100 kids filled the chapel when I left this afternoon. Wow!

 Please be in prayer for camp this week. Pray for all the kids and staff. I’m believing that a lot of kids will be saved. I’m also believing that everyone will be safe and have lots of fun.

On a personal note, I’m believing to be off this Saturday so I can help take kids back home and hear about their week.

Birmingham Community Deaf Church, Deaf Christian Fellowship, and the Alabama Baptist Conference for the Deaf are paying for camp this week. 
They still need donations to pay for students’ tuition. The cost per camper is $250.

Donations of any amount are appreciated.

Feel free to send a check to one of the addresses listed on the letter or leave me a comment if you want to send a donation electronically.

Remember to pray for camp this week, okay?

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Dare to be seen

Saying something out loud helps me release the thoughts bouncing  around my head like caged monkeys.
This is not easy, especially for a professional emotions stuffer like myself.

Letting the cat out of the bag means you can’t put it back in–and that’s scary.

Here’s what’s scarier: Being invisible, a bench warmer, an old lady or old man filled with regret over things not spoken and dreams left to die.

Never talking, never being seen or known is a crummy option that stunts personal growth.

Here’s a question to think about:

What would happen if you talked to that friend or relative? If you dusted off that dream?

Dare to speak, to show up.

I’m right beside you in this one, okay? We can do this together.

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No one likes a mean comedian

I love to tell jokes. They’re a lot of fun–if told with the right attitude.

Which brings me to today’s talk…

Being mean spirited in your humor is not okay. Here’s a few categories:

  1. Racist jokes
  2. Fat jokes
  3. Lewd jokes
  4. Political jokes
  5. Handicapped jokes

This list can go on and on because anything that has a positive side also has a negative side.

I would be a liar if I said I’ve never laughed at or told a mean spirited joke. We have all laughed at inappropriate things.

But that doesn’t make it okay.

And that’s the hard part….

Look, I’m a fairly black and white person. There is no middle ground with me. Right is right and wrong is wrong. The end.

I’m not a prude or a religious “everything is sinful” kind of person. At some point, though, we all must decide a standard to live by.

We can’t say it’s not okay to discriminate or disrespect others in all areas–except joke telling.

Just because something is funny doesn’t make it right.

And saying “just kidding” is not a magical eraser that negates the power of your words.

Please, everyone, have a life filled with joy and humor. I’m not  saying you can’t ever tease in a playful way.

We all know the line.

We all know when a joke’s bad or gone too far.

Use discretion, okay? What if it was you on the receiving end?

Now, back to reading my joke book…