Got God sized questions? Alpha has answers!

Seriously, I am not much for advertising stuff, unless its good. Alpha is good. If you go to CCC, or live in the Naperville vicinity, check it out :
Do you have questions about the Christian faith?

Are you wondering how Jesus and Christianity is relevant to your life? Or are you a new Christian who still has many questions about the Christian faith? Check out the Alpha Course “Dinner & A Movie” series on Wednesday, April 11th from 6:30 to 9pm at the Naperville - Yellow Box. “Alpha” is a 13-week course that explores the meaning of life and the basics of the Christian faith in a fun, relaxed way.

Contact: credford@wideopenwest.com or 630.588.5121

Now if you do not live in the area, you can go to the Alpha website to find where there are courses near you.

This is what happens when you come to Alpha:
1. There is good food to eat. I am talking a full meal here. You can donate money, or not... its up to you. But eat it. Also lemonade, water and decaf coffee.
2. There are great people to talk to. People who know Jesus, people who are curious about Jesus, people who are getting to know Jesus, all sorts. They come from all walks of life and have questions just like you.
3. You watch a movie. Nicky Gumble, who started Alpha, talks on the DVD. He is from England, which means he has a British accent. He is also easy to understand and pretty funny on occasion too.
4. You eat dessert. Yummy! Usually homemade stuff too! (Tom, please bring lots of whipped cream!)
5. You get to discuss what you just heard. Talk with others and see how they feel about it, ask questions, share your opinion, or just listen.
6. You get a book. The book is good if you want to read what Nicky just talked about, or take your time with the issue, or if you have to miss a class.
7. You might get to meet me and my husband. We love that Alpha helps people find their way back to God, so we are helping out the leaders this session. Now I won't be there as much as Dave, due to my work schedule, but I am bound to make a few appearances.
8. Last, but not least, you get a taste of small group community. Interested in joining a small group, but intimidated to go to someones house? This group meets at a very neutral location: the church basement. Remember, our church is a gymnasium that looks like a giant yellow box... nothing intimidating about that.

Starts Wednesday, April 11th at 6:30 pm. Seriously, think about coming. Bring a friend! Just let Catherine know so we make enough food!

You may live in Chicago (or the suburbs)

Someone sent this to me in an email, and seeing as I am sick, I needed a laugh. I thought I would share with you. By the way, I could say yes or know someone who says yes to every single one of these...

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Chicago

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Chicago

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Chicago.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Chicago

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of I - 80 for the weekend, you live in Chicago.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Chicago .

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again, you live in Chicago

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Chicago.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Chicago

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Chicago

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Chicago

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Chicago

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Chicago.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Chicago

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you live in Chicago

If you actually understand these jokes, you live in Chicago.

Aww man...

Seems just like me to get sick as soon as the weather gets good. Yesterday I started cleaning out the spare room, and when I got to work I started coughing. I thought it was because of the dusty room, or because the outdoors smelled like burned leaves... nope.

The night progressed so I knew as it settled in. There is no denying it, I am sick. *hack*

I wonder how long I will have to battle this. I pray not long. I think I will be laying down now, and drinking fluids. MMM...popsicles...

The snail on my head

Still not 100% but my boss called last night to ask how I was. I told him "sorry, I didn't have a Ferris Bueller's Day Off!" I only wish... no it was a pajama-rama day instead.

So I am not 100 percent yet, but much better. Definitely well rested and Law and Ordered out. Still debating which Law and Order series is my favorite: SVU or CI. I really like Goran and Eames on CI, but as an ensemble, I enjoy Stabler, Benson, Munch, Fin, and the Chinese forensic psychiatrist much more. Plus I like the captain the best on SVU. The original is still good, but I would rather watch Ice-T and Richard Belzer ham it up. On CI, I am not too "big" on Chris Noth, but I love Vincent D'Onofrio. Or should I say I love his acting, his character.

Didn't I say I had enough? I guess not. Its the characters plus the thrill of the chase that makes this show so successful.

Oh yeah, my head. Comes and goes, hopefully today its mostly goes. The pain that is. So maybe one of these days I can have a Ferris day, but the Cubs haven't opened yet... soon enough, soon enough. In the meantime, radiation, the cause of, and solution to, all life's cancer. (bad, bad inside joke)

My head hurts

Okay, I have been blog slacking, email slacking. Today I am work slacking. Day TWO of a headache.

Too bad, I hear it is nice outside.

Going along for the ride

When you open yourself to healing it means two things. First you must be broken. If you want God to fix the hurt that the world caused in its imperfection, you have to peel back the scab, break the bone again so it can heal properly. In His grace, it will heal more perfect. Yeah, this hurts. This hurts a lot. Feel this pain, let yourself be sad. Go through grief.

Secondly, you have to go along for the ride. This means letting God's grace heal the wound, no matter how deep. Let the light uncover all the darkness. This part is often the most hard for people. See, it means giving in to God WHOLLY. But without this crucial step, you can never be HOLY. Whole, complete, mature, perfected, its only possible by the grace of God through His Son, Christ Jesus.

What is stopping YOU from going along for the ride?

Think about this: sadness is an antidote to depression. Depression is being stuck, unable to process loss or rage. Sadness allows you to let go of what you cannot have to make room in your heart for what you can have. Grieving prepares us for love, when we are ready, the sadness ends.

Don't just get through your feelings, feel them, heal them.

Thanks to Dr. John Townsend and his book HIDING FROM LOVE.

Getting out of the rocking chair

Ever feel like what you do is just rocking on the edge, waiting for something? I do. Sometimes it is just me, scared and unwilling to move. Sometimes it is patience that I need to learn.

I know that God has bigger plans for me than just sitting rocking. So I wait. That doesn't mean I do nothing. I have to do things to change. Read, talk, think, pray...

God created us for a relationship, and He wants us to be loved, not just directly by Him, but also by his Body, the Body of Christ, aka the Church. Its just one of the many ways that He can directly touch us in this lifetime.

Tuesday I rocked my chair for a while, then I got out and talked to someone. I have been thinking about this... honestly, since I first came to the church. That means about a year. Long time to sit in a rocking chair. Anyways... I did it. Oh what, I stepped up and volunteered to help out on Saturday nights. I want to greet people, and make them feel welcome at CCC. We want newcomers, and we want to meet you, get involved with you. I want that too!

Many things prompted this, including the Spirit, but I have to give credit to Bushra at work (or God working through Bushra at work). She said I was good at greeting people. I love it when people tell me I am good at something. Not just because I love praise, but because sometimes I don't always see the things I am good at. (That has to do with poor self esteem) So when I saw Katrina on Tuesday, I knew she was the person to talk to, and I finally did it!

Crawling out of your shell, getting off the rocking chair, whatever it is; celebrate little victories everyday! We put ourselves down enough, don't you think?

Normally I don't complain, but...

Yesterday I forgot to load my book back into my bag. I like to have a book to read at work for the downtimes between patients. Also, if I always bring a book, I never have to worry about what to do.

Don't get me wrong, I like to work. I actually enjoy a day at work where I am steady all night and don't have much down time. That is why I need something to do, I go nuts without it.

Yesterday, I went nuts. Fridays always seem to be crazy busy or mostly dead. Guess what happens on a day that I forget my book? I went nuts. Finally I dug out my PDA and played solitaire. That in itself is a frenzy of obsession I do not need. Mindless sorting of cards only seems to make me more insane, but at least I was occupied.

Next time I should at least Sudoku, or find a good pillow.

Breakfast of Champions

Bet you are wondering why I had puppies for breakfast...

They were too cute not to pass up!

Sometimes I wish I was a puppy, or a dog. All I would have to do is look cute and people would give me biscuits. I could roll around in the dirt, bark at birds, chase squirrels and sleep in the middle of the afternoon.

As a dog, you get judged on lots of things. I just saw a dog show on TV, and loved watching all the dogs prance around looking pretty for the judges. Then later, I thought about the other dogs. The tons of dogs at shelters that can't get homes. The dogs in china that are being farmed for fur and meat. Those Dalmatians that get chased by Cruella DeVille because they have no spots. (okay, the last sentence was an indulgence and bad joke)

As a person, you get judged on lots of things too. How much money you make, what you weigh, what type of car you drive, clothes you wear, etc. We are not that much different than dogs, are we? Lots of us get into the spotlight, while others are just mutts.

Not to God. God judges us by hearts, not appearances (1 Samuel 16:7)
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I wonder how God would judge a dog show?

Kinda makes us feel good to know that God doesn't care if you have the latest BMW in your driveway. Don't believe me? Fine, but listen to what God says in Matthew 6:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Yeah, each day definitely has enough trouble of its own. For example, should I pour milk on my puppies, or eat them dry? And is it polite to eat them with my fingers, or should I use a spoon?

What you want

Sometimes we focus on the wrong things. It is not entirely our fault, the world tells us what is important and we believe them. There is a new Master Card commercial that shows a woman getting a pedicure, then new shoes and a dress to go with it. Could you imagine? Suddenly a thirty dollar purchase becomes three hundred? Master Card is sneaky! They say you are free to buy what you want when you want it. They just don't tell you how you are going to pay it off! If we keep living this way, we are going to run into disaster.

We already are there. I know people in my affluent suburb are living on the street, while others are maxed out in their credit to get that new hot car, hot purse, hot whatever. There has to be a better way to live.

There is, and here is my personal goal for this year: get out of debt. I admit that I took a vacation when I could not afford it, and I am paying for it in low monthly installments while Master Card makes money. I went out to dinner a few times when I couldn't really afford to (okay, lots and lots of times). Also, I never had an emergency buffer account. I need one of those. When I say I need that, I do not mean want, I mean need. Too many times I have relied on Master Card to bail me out. No more will money be my master.

What is in your wallet? Something you can use to help you achieve your goals, or something you are serving like a master until you have it all paid off?

Putting up the tootsies tonight

Work went well, and despite my back's objections this morning, my feet did work. They are almost getting used to the shoes, but if I had to wear them any longer I would have died. I did have a back up plan in bringing my orthotic sandals with me and wearing them before and after, which helped tremendously. Still, tonight I am going to take it easy and put my tootsies up to rest.

I took tons of pictures, and need to download them to a disk so that they can be used at work. After that, American Idol results show (because I am never home Thursday nights) and going to bed early, maybe. I am sure Dave will be tired as well. Perhaps we will be able to do a couple more chapters in our study tonight, too.

I have never wanted to go to bed early before, I must be getting old.