Unexpected guest

Ladies' class last night was a little more exciting than normal. And it had nothing to do with my teaching. lol. We had all just gotten into the classroom and were talking and catching up on each other's weeks. Something up on the ceiling caught my eye, and the girl next to me saw it too. We looked up and inside the fluorescent light was a little bitty mouse walking around. No idea how the little booger got in there, but he was. And he was probably getting a pretty good tan too. =) So needless to say, everyone was a little distracted for a few minutes. Then a few of us got some pretty good entertainment after church when a few men went back to try and get it out. They pulled the panel off, the mouse ran out the door, straight at the girl who was standing there watching. Of course she freaked out, especially when a man with a small garbage can came running at her after the mouse trying to catch it. lol. Unfortunately, his aim wasn't the best, so he crushed the poor little guy when he tried to put the garbage can over him. Granted, he did have to dive down the hallway after him... Micah later accused me of being a girl because I stood on a chair the whole time. Well, DUH! lol.

Speaking of ladies' class, next week's topic is jealousy.

Saturday I'm going to a ladies' day at the congregation where we used to attend. I'm not sure who the speaker is, but I'm excited about it. =)

Funny story before I go:: Most bloggers that I read tell a lot of stories about cute or funny things their kids say. Well...I don't have kids to tell funny stories about. But I DO have a husband who occasionally acts like a kid, so does that count? I hope so, b/c I have a funny saying from tonight. =) Now, this isn't the funniest thing he's ever said, but that's another blog for another day. (Ask me about mushroooms one day. hehehe)

Micah was loading the washing machine with a load of whites. He told me that he was going to put a few non-whites in there too, b/c he needed them, but didn't have time to do a dark load tonight too. I asked him what he was putting in there, and he replied that it was his basketball shorts, b/c they weren't made of cloth. =) I said, you mean cotton?? "Shut up!" was the response I got to that one. =)

Have a great night! And your quote to ponder for the night is :: Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. :: =)

Busy busy week

So I haven't posted in a week and I am very very sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy around here this week. We got back from the conference Sunday night around 7. Then Monday I had to go back to work. Boo. That night was spent kinda recovering and such. We also got ourselves organized to get to work on our new business goals that we made coming out of the weekend.

Tuesday was work/school, then to Memphis that night for the business meeting we go to every week. Very productive, encouraging, and all that good stuff. And thankfully, the format of the meetings have changed a little bit, so we get out about an hour earlier. =D Which makes me much happier about going b/c it means that I get in bed before midnight, when usually we aren't even home by midnight. So that's really exciting.

Wednesday night was church, and we had potluck before, so we had to head out an hour earlier. I love the congregation we attend, but it is a little bit...I don't want to say frustrating or inconvenient b/c that sounds terrible...but it's 30 minutes away. Which is fine. And I'm not complaining, I promise. Just stating a fact. It's just that we already have to leave by 6.30 to get to church on Wednesday nights, but on potluck nights, we have to leave by 5.30. So by the time I get home at 3.45, shower, and get ready, it's basically time to turn around and go again. But once again, I'm not complaining. I mean, who can complain when it's free food?! lol. And it was Mexican week. Yummm.....
And I'm still teaching class on Wednesdays. This week was my second week. The topic was hatred. We only got halfway through it, so we get to finish the chapter next week. (Any comments on hatred would be appreciated. =)

Thursday was Star Wars installment #5. But before that, I got my hair all chopped off. =) I really like it. It's a wedge kinda, but it's not stacked in back, and it's still long enough in front that I can at least pull the top half up. So I got off a little early at 2.45 or so, ran home and showered, haircut at 4.30, movie night at 5.30. I was definitely not cooking. So we ordered pizza. =) It's kinda confusing b/c it's movie night #5, but we watched episode 2. The reason for that is that we are watching them in the order they were made, not the order of the plot. I think this one was my favorite so far.

Friday, we went to the $2 theater on campus and watched Harry Potter and the HAlf-Blood Prince. I haven't liked any of the other HP movies, but this one was good. Granted, they left a lot of stuff out. I had to fill in some of the details for Micah b/c they left out why certain things were happening. But nonetheless, it was still good. I'm actually kinda excited about #7, b/c I found out recently that they are splitting up book 7 into 2 movies, which I think is brilliant. There is so much happening in book 7 that they would have to take out half of the story to put it in a 2 hr movie.

Saturday was great. I slept in, which I desperately needed after the long weekend and week we had. Last night we went on a date to Zaxbys and to see GI Joe. AMAZING movie. Loved it. Definitely recommend it. It was funny and had tons of really good action scenes. So yeah, go see it. =)

Today was church day. We went out to eat w/some friends for lunch. It was the family that has the 2 little kids that Micah and I play w/all the time. Nap time this afternoon. Then back to church for singing night. Sometimes the congregation struggles on singing night b/c our numbers are usually kinda low, but tonight it was actually really good. Very encouraging.

Looking forward to tomorrow, b/c a good friend is coming up from HSV to visit. He'll be staying w/us for the next 2 nights. So it'll be good to catch up w/him.

Well, I'm gonna head out. I've rambled enough. I'll try to get back into posting every couple of days so that I don't have to catch you up on a whole week at a time. B/c I'm sure you're bored by now. =)

Reading list

So I'm trying to come up with some good books to read this next year. I need suggestions. I've been really proud of myself for keeping up with my daily Bible reading this year, so I want to keep it up in some form or fashion next year. (Ok, so it hasn't been 100% daily, but I've stuck with this Daily Chronological so far. I've never gotten past like, February with other reading plans like this. So I'm happy.) I read somewhere that if you read 3 chapters of the New Testament each day then you'll read it 4 times in a year. So I think I'm going to do that. Then along with that, I'm going to pick other books to read. I might even take on more than one book at a time. (Because I'm a nerd like that.) My breaks at work are always good times to read, but I think I'm gonna leave that time for whatever fiction/leisure book I'm reading. It gets loud in the break room sometimes so it's hard to concentrate. Some sort of commentary or other such book would be difficult to read and get anything out of. So what I think I'm going to do is leave my fiction book at work so I won't be tempted to read it at home.

I definitely want to read a missions book or two next year. Micah has plenty from his classes, so I might tackle one of those. I might also try a marriage book, like His Needs, Her Needs. I know I've started that one multiple times, but I don't remember if I've ever actually finished it. But I need some suggestions for good books to read. Anything spiritual, like a book commentary, or just a devotional type book. Or something non-spiritual but still something that I can get something out of. Like The Magic of Thinking Big, or something similar. So, suggestions anyone? What's a good book you've read recently?

I taught my first ladies' class tonight. It went pretty well. Our numbers were kinda down for whatever reason, so a lot of the talkative ones weren't there. I was a little worried at first. But one of the girls, Jennifer, had read the chapter and really contributed a lot. So that was good. Jennifer and her husband have recently placed membership. Micah used to play ball with him a few years ago, so we already knew them a little bit from Freed. We've gotten to know them a lot better since they've been coming out. They've got 2 little girls, which is crazy because they're about our age. (Well, in between me and Micah. I can't really say our age when we're 4 years apart, can I? lol) Next week's topic in class is hatred.

Tomorrow night is another Star Wars night. We're going back to number 1 now. They all insisted that we watch them in the order they came out, not the order of the plot.

Well, that's all I have for today. Have a good evening! Boa noite! (That's good night in Portuguese. But don't try to pronounce it because it sounds nothing like it looks. lol. The second word is pronounced something like noy-chee. Confusing, isn't it? lol.)

Vultures and Hummingbirds

So I'm teaching the Wednesday night ladies' class at church starting next week. I've never taught anyone older than 4-yr-olds, so it's a first for me. We have decided to study a book called "From Vultures to Hummingbirds: 6 Attitudes to Eliminate, 7 Attitudes to Cultivate." by Mary Alice Wilhelm. The six bad attitudes are anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, hypocrisy, worry. The seven good attitudes are compassion, forgiveness, the servant spirit, contentment, gratitude, the submissive spirit, love. The title is kinda odd, but with a little explanation, it makes perfect sense. Here is the explanation that the book intro gives.

"It is said that both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation's deserts. All the vulture sees is decaying, rotting meat (carrion), because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the putrid flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful, aromatic blossoms of blooming desert plants. The vulture lives on what was! They live on the failed past. They fill themselves on what is dead and lifeless. Hummingbirds live on what is! They revel in fresh, pleasant things. They seek vibrant, living things. Each bird finds what it is looking for. So do we all. Obviously a choice we all have to make is whether we want to be vultures or hummingbirds."

The first topic is anger. The book gives several examples from the Bible of people showing anger properly or improperly: Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, Moses, Mary and Martha, Paul and Barnabas, and Samson.
There are also several good quotes about anger. Quotes are kinda my thing. I used to collect and compile them in high school. I've got a Word document on my computer that has like, 40 pages of quotes divided into topics. So here are some of the quotes that were included, and some that I have added.
-Anger toward someone else is like taking poison ourselves and expecting someone else to die!
-Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.
-It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry.
-Anger is that feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.
-Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
-If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.
-It is misdirected energy to be angry at things you can help, and wasted energy to be angry at things you cannot help.
-You don't have to take back what you don't say.
-The best time for you to hold your tongue is when you feel you must say something or bust.
-He who angers you, controls you.
-A relationship that has been years in the making can be destroyed by just a few thoughtless words.

The power of the tongue in James 3 is also covered a little bit.

So this is one of those posts where I am wanting some feedback! So comment! Any advice on teaching class in general? Any stories or input about anger?

Here are some of the discussion questions to prompt your thoughts a little. =)
-How important is it for people to settle disputes quickly, even not to "go to bed mad?"
-What circumstances in the world today perhaps call for a little more righteous indignation than we often show?
-How was "political correctness" influenced our inclination to be tolerant of intolerable things?
-What makes you angry quicker than anything else?

Thanks in advance for your input! =)