I just changed my template and lost all my comments in the process. What a bummer.

So. . . . what do you think of my color so far?

Well, Christmas is done. We are having our turkey tonight. We decided at the last minute since we were not having anyone over we didn't need the added stress of making the big turkey dinner on Christmas. The turkey is in the oven now.

Both the kids had a lot of fun with their presents; Brendan more than Shaeleigh of course. She just wanted to play with all the paper. Never mind what was actually inside the present.

Our Christmas Eve production went well, too, I think. There was a lot of positive feedback about my performance, which is always nice to hear. I wish I had opportunity to do more stuff like that. It was fun.

Well, back to the holiday stuff. Just sat down to type a few lines before the whole holidays got away from me.

I'm working on changing the colors. If you can't read something, please bear with me. It's a learning process.

Well, we've survived the birthdays. Brendan's party went over really well, I think. It was so nice to have the kids over to play. I think Brendan enjoyed himself.

I still have my Christmas cards to do. While I have a minute, before I get ready for the Christmas party tonight, I should work on addressing some of the envelopes. Maybe I'll go do that. At least I got the e-mail sent out already.

I don't know why this happens. I have been meaning to do so many things. I have to clean my house. I need to get to bed earlier. Neither happens. I need to get stuff ready for Brendan's birthday party. That hasn't happened either. It's 2 a.m. and I'm still up. I have to get up in about 5 hours, and I do not function well on little sleep. And the weekend is just getting busier. My life is consumed with my family. Some would say, "As it should be." But I have other things to do, too. And now that there is more added to my plate, I'm feeling overwhelmed again. I like having a cheque to cash, to feel as though I'm contributing to the finances; I look forward to the mornings I don't have to work.

And why, oh why do I have to be a night person? The rest of the world (including my kids) all function during the day. Although, to be honest, I complained when I would be on the night shift, too. Only that would be that I was awake when the rest of the world was sleeping. And there was no consideration for those people who needed to sleep during the day. That feels like a whole other lifetime ago.

Why am I griping? I'm tired. I need to go to bed. Early. All the time. Not going to happen.

I just found this great site. Now all I have to do is think ahead a little! ha ha

Just Crockpot Recipes - Over 5,800 Recipes for your Crock Pot / Slow Cooker, sorted in to 57 separate topic indexes. Easy and simple to use, every recipe has a printer-friendly version. Great meals with minimum effort.

I was just reading in 2 Kings and am wondering what was it about Elijah and Elisha that when they spoke something, it happened? Were they always in communion with God? Is it faith? The same sort of 'miracles' that they performed don't seem to happen nowadays. Is that because we are under the new covenant? The role of prophet seems so different today than it used to be. And, if you think about it, these men were a little 'odd' compared to the rest of society. Are all prophets weird?

We have a busy day today, but at least I'm feeling better. I just needed a little time to re-focus on God. This time of year seems to get so crazy.

I'm not sure what I expected when I sat down to read the Word of God. I guess what I really enjoy is hearing his voice, and I haven't heard it lately. And it's as though I expect that every time I am quiet, he will say something exceptionally revolutionary to my life. I need guidance. I feel as though I'm floundering. There's no real reason for it, that I can see. It's just the way I feel. I'll be glad when we are done with December. And yet, I know that I should be happy right where I am. Enjoy the moment ~ for this moment will never be again. OK, I'll like December. No, I will love December. Snow and all.

I love this joke!

How To Give A Cat A Pill

1) Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2) Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3) Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4) Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5) Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6) Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7) Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8) Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9) Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10) Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on neck, leaving head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11) Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12) Call fire department to retrieve the %##@!@@! cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13) Tie the little *&&^%$%$@'s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14) Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15) Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters......

How To Give A Dog A Pill

1) Wrap it in bacon.

ADELLE’S FAITH STORY

God is Faithful.

When I was about 4 or 5, my Mom started dating the man who would eventually become my Dad. But before they were married, his little sister told me how wonderful Sunday School was, so I told my Mom I wanted to go. It was at this point I realized that I loved God. I didn’t understand about sin or Jesus’ dying on the cross. However, I believe God honoured the heart of a 5 year old by watching over me and drawing me nearer to Him even when I would rather have run away.

After my parents married it was mandatory for me to attend Sunday School. In grade 8 I told my Dad that I was not going back to church and he couldn’t make me since neither he nor Mom went anyway. Only God wasn’t ready to let me go that easily. He brought people and circumstances into my life such that I ended up going to a youth group. Now I thought it didn’t really matter that everyone met at the church because it wasn’t really a religious thing. There, one of the guys challenged me to honestly face God. At that point I figured that while I believed in the existence of God, He could go His way and I would go mine, then everything would be just fine.

God wouldn’t give up.

We moved from BC to Saskatchewan and the people I was hanging around with were all Christians or hung out with Christians. I ended up attending a youth group again, but it was not the same because I was heading down a dead end in my life. Nothing could make me happy with myself - and by all appearances I should have been happy.

One night I realized I had 2 choices. I could choose life with God, or I could choose death. I was more afraid of dying than of God, so I cried out to God for help.

While I felt as though I were floating on the ceiling the next day, the euphoria didn’t last. I had expected immediate, radical, lasting change in my emotional state, my behaviors and my self perception. But reality hit me hard and I struggled all the time with "Who am I in Christ?" What did it mean?

I had intentions of going to university; however, God had other plans. He told me to go to bible college, and so I did.

Talk about my world turning upside down. There were so many things about myself that I had to face. Out of my years there, the education I value the most was the challenges God gave to my character.

The following verses in Romans 5 has great meaning for me:
"… but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

All of a sudden I was dealing with a great deal of change and loss in my life. I had been in a fairly serious relationship that ended suddenly (from the time he told me he wanted to marry me to the time he married someone else was 6 months), my grandfather died from cancer 3 months after it was diagnosed, the college I was attending was shutting down, and my Mom left my Dad. Rather than cling to God at this point, I placed my reliance on my boyfriend. I had struggled in the past to remain physically pure and gave up the fight in that relationship. The result was I ended up pregnant. My boyfriend and I were engaged (since that was the "proper" thing to do). The only problem was that I knew I wasn’t ready to be married; consequently, I called off the engagement.

I had a friend who suggested I look into adoption and I did - assuming that after I kept my baby I could tell everyone I had looked into all the options.

Once again, God wouldn’t let go and He had other plans.

The father had stopped talking with me, and I was crying almost every night. Knowing that God was asking me to entrust the care of my child to someone else, I began to look for adoptive parents. I had already told God that if I didn’t like them, I was going to keep my son. Only, I did like them, and God gave the story of Hannah and Samuel to both the adoptive mother and myself - to her as her cries for a child were being heard and answered, and to me as the mother who placed her son into the care of another to be trained for the work of the Lord. There were other "coincidences". Far too many to think they were not from God.

If you ever wonder as you struggle through something that seems far too difficult to bear, remember that God uses these times as a Refiner’s Fire to temper us and get rid of the impurities.

Before leaving the hospital, we had a dedication service with both me and the adoptive couple. But the day I walked out of the hospital without a child in my arms was one of the most heartbreaking moments in my life. I saw the elevator doors close with me on one side and my son on the other. It was as though someone tore a piece of me away that I knew I would never get back.

Even in the midst of all this grief, God was still there.

When I begged Him to tell me why my child was taken from me, He answered, "just as David was punished for his sin with Bathsheba by his son being taken from him," so I was being punished, too. All of a sudden the meaning of Hebrews 12:7-11 made sense.
"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
For years I’d wondered about being a "son of Abraham" especially since I was a woman. At that moment I grasped my identity with God. He is my Father and I am His daughter. His love for me is even more that I can imagine.

Another change that came to my heart was my being so judgmental. All of a sudden I found myself dealing with the same situation where I had wondered, "How could those girls be so stupid?" Now I have known deep pain and deep healing.

And our God does more than we ask for or can imagine. While I had chosen an open adoption, I could not have anticipated that I would be able to actively participate in my birth son’s life. His mom is now one of my closest friends, and I have been blessed with not only loving him, but his whole family.

Then in His time, God brought the perfect man for me into my life. I’ve also been blessed with 2 beautiful children whom I now have the privilege of training up for the Lord.

God’s greatness doesn’t end there and He is still continually working with me - seeing as I’m not perfect yet and always seem to be making more mistakes.

I look forward to the day when from his lips I will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Until then "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Another month has gone by. I can hardly believe how quickly time flies. Christmas is right around the corner. We have our tree up, but it still seems like it's a long ways off. The only thing is that I know it's not. I have lines to memorize for Christmas Eve and I'm not nearly as far along as I should be.

Once again I've been spending all my time at the FreedomYou site. Only now there is another BB that I've been going to occasionally, too. It's called Renewed Health. There are a lot of people there who have been at FreedomYou, too.

More than going there, I really should be working on my own site. Something that is more me. I don't know why I get so caught up in trying to be there so much and keep up with what everyone has to say. It's not like I really know that much about living a healthy lifestyle. And I seem to try to strive to be a valued member. What's wrong with me just being me? Nothing.

We had a challenge at church today ~ to start every morning focusing on God. Before our feet hit the floor, spend some time looking at the face of God. What's so funny is that while I was fasting I had such clarity about needing to do that. Even if I had to tell Brendan that I needed that time with God, that I would just do it. The sad thing is that I haven't. I stay up far too late and end up exhausted in the morning. I waste my time. I am so ineffecient right now. And feeling drained all the time. Why do I do this to myself?