The Chronicles of Melinda

My girl Jennifer Grooms did the Wildlife Investigation segmant.  She brought Elvis (an American Alligator who slept in my shirt til class was over), several snakes - to include a real live ANACONDA, a RATTLESNAKE, a Monocled Cobra and a Gaboon Viper!  Not to mention a huuuuuuge 14+footer.  Fun fun fun!

Sunday was nice - even slept with our oceanfront room patio door open.  But then it got pretty chilly for the rest of the time.  I am proud of myself for waking up and walking the beach at 6:00AM with a few friends before starting the day. 

Taira got two Hermit Crabs out of the trip.  Far more fun than a t-shirt.  LOL!  Grabbed a few other nick nacks for a few folks and bought myself some National Animal and Rabies Control Association apparel items.  It was all good.

Mom held down the fort taking care of the animals and the child. 

Well it all had to end sometime right?   Came home to a sick child (Taira has been home sick since Tuesday) and a colicking horse.  Was up late with the horse (Six)  making sure he was okay.  I really just think he was wanting some undivided attention so he feigned being sick.  But all is well with him this morning (Praise God!)  Then I thought I lost my glasses, but found them in the parking lot at the office this morning (they must have fallen out while I was transferring back to my own vehicle).  They were run over but still very functional!  Popped the lense back in and they’re all good.  God was lookin’ out…cuz I sure can’t afford to buy a new pair of frames right now.

Came to work today and had to go teach a class to some 911 Dispatchers on Animal Control.  It’s always fun telling a bunch of stories! They were a fun crowd.

Tomorrow is Halloween - - - ooooh scary.  CT has to work and Taira is spending the night with her friends after trick or treating (pending her fever doesn’t come back) so I’m going to hang out with some NHC peeps at Dougie’s I believe. 

Got my small group retreat Saturday night.  Taira is going to stay the night with her daddy.  Then - off to NHC Sunday.  You know how it is!

Oh yeah - and big Props to Adam Cook for blogging Tuesday, Wednesday AND Today this week so far.

Now I took off of work yesterday because I had stuff to do to prepare for being away this weekend. So after sleeping in for a bit and getting a special delivery for coffee…I headed out to make a couple of trips to get a couple of roundbales of hay for the horses so they won’t have to be square fed while I’m gone.

Then I headed out to a movie.  Went to see Fireproof…which I will highly recommend for anyone starting, already in or considering a relationship and/or marriage.  Even if everything is bliss….there’s some good messages in this movie.  And…it is based on a good Christian based message. 

So we headed to pick up Taira after the movies and headed to NHC to a birthday party for Christina, one our very special and sweet NHC youth. And then did one of my favorite things.  Late night Wal-Mart shopping.  LOL!

Now here it is 4:30PM Saturday and I haven’t even showerred yet.  LOL!  Rain cancelled the riding lessons I have on Saturdays so I slept in really late and got up to have some BOO BERRY cereal.  That’s right.  Wal-Mart is selling  Boo  Berry, Franken Berry and Count Chocula cereals.  Maybe cuz it’s Halloween.  But it’s one of those things I did NOT go into Wal-Mart to buy…but HAD to have! That’s a back in the day cereal right there. Now Taira has her Fruity Pebbles (which also was one of my Back in the day cereals) that I would have been content with if not for that darned BOO BERRY!!!  But man….talk about a blast from the past.

Anyway, had some leftover chinese for lunch and have managed to clean the bathroom and work on some laundry. I’m about to do some major clean up when I get back from this trip though. I’ve got an overnight retreat with my small group next weekend…but I think next Sunday I am going to be making several trips to the dump and a stop at Goodwill with some things that are long overdue to be gone and aren’t getting used.  I guess I’m feeling motivated.  Not motivated enough seeing as how I could actually be doing that right now.  LOL!

Well…wasn’t in the plan, but I’m considering going to Saturday service tonight…so I’m about to motivate and get dressed to head out. Hope to see you there! 

Sunday - after service I’ll head home, pack up and hit the road to Atlantic Beach.  Heading to a North Carolina Animal and Rabies Control Association (huff…puff) Conference.  I went to this last year.  It’s a pretty cool conference where folks in my profession (cuz believe it or not Animal Control is an actual profession…of which I have 10 years experience) all get together for legal updates and mini-seminars.

I went to this last year- it’s where I took this picture from my beachfront room!  Proof that God does look down and check up on us every now and again!

So it’s an all expense paid trip to the beach to hang out, rub shoulders with some folks I haven’t seen in a year and just have a little fun after the daily sessions are over.  I’m taking three of my Officers with me so it’s going to be a good time.

My mom is coming to stay at the house with Taira and my roommate.  So tomorrow I ‘m off of work to go do some last minute things in preparatin.  Gotta go pick up some roundbales to make taking care of the ponies a little simpler.  Gotta go do some grocery shopping to make sure things are stocked.  (Funny how anytime I take a day “off” of work…it’s do do work away from work!)  Then I have an afternoon engagement and then heading to a birthday party up in the youth room.
 

Some of us are in positions where we influence others who might read our blog and what we say may impact their lives in a huge way and so we blog accordingly.  (Such as our pastors, teachers, people of influence to someone, etc). 

Some of us blog, because we need a place to put our thougths when they take up too much space in our head.

Some of us blog to share our own life experiences with our peers and people who venture to come through to read and hope it will give the readers insight into their own lives and thought processes.

Some of us blog because other people told us to blog.  But our heart is not truly into it and therefore, we don’t put forth extra effot.

Some of us blog in an attempt to amuse people.  Vidoes, jokes, things we’ve created.

Some of us blog the innermost parts of us candidly to share with whoever will read them and could care less who does or does not read our thoughts, therefore will blog with the utmost honesty and deliverance of information.

Some of us blog very matter-of-factly, but tend to be a bit reserved about what we blog because we don’t know exactly who reads our blog.

Some uf us blog…just to blog.  Some of us blog in  ways that, depending on the day and topic, meet the criteria of all of the above.  (That’s me). 

So if you blog…even sporadically.  Tell me WHY you blog!

Saturday morning I woke up to go get ma herr did early.  Then I headed to meet Carrie to go toCamp Chestnut Ridge and lock down our small group retreat.  We’re just taking a day and night to hang out together, do some business with God and each other and hopefully strengthen our relationships with both Him and each other.  I’ve been to a weekend women’s retreat at Camp Chestnut Ridge in the past and had an awesome time.  If you’d like to build your relationship in your group …I highly recommend a retreat of some sort.  I’m looking forward to ours.

Headed home to get some stuff done and then went to dinner.  Had planned to go to a movie afterwards…but you know sometimes you have a friend in crisis that needs a little support so got detoured and handled some counselling.  Headed home to hang out and watch a movie afterwards instead.  It was scary movie night at my house all weekend.  LOL!  Dawn of the Dead.  EWWWwww!  What’s with all the “infected humans turn cannibalistic mutant” movies?  I Am Legend was on last night…then this new movie Quarantine is out.  Doesn’t it make you think - just a little about these movies?  My favorite line from I Am Legend was “God didn’t do this…WE did!”  Gives you a new perspective on all the scientific research being done and how it could go wrong.  Hope all those scientologists, biologists and whoever all have God guiding them in their research.  Scary thought that He’s not involved in that kind of stuff.

Anyway Sunday was off to NHC.  Got to see all my peeps in the lobby.  Then…we really laid the smack down in Spiked!  We did a new version of You Make Me Better with the band and James doing the chorus and I gotta say - I think it was bangin’.  No - it was REALLY bangin’.  Well there were 76 teens in Spiked (State Fair Weekend….think we missed a few for that reason) - but I was totally hyped during the rap and I think I really threw it down like never before and James threw out the vocals like mad…even bein’ sick.  He’d been suckin’ honey down all morning to get right.  And the band…well the band…they ROCK.  Linc laid out The Exies - “These are the days” for some hard core rock and he is HOT on the vocals.  (AND the guitar I might add!)  James laid down “Empty Me” for worship and I was feelin’ dat!  Fah-rizzle.

Adam laid out a great message in part two of our SCHOOLED series.  Check out what one of our youth got out of it HERE.  This week - Adam took it to the lunchroom…next week we take it to the bleachers!  Have no idea what I’m talkin’ about?  Well if you have a teenager - send them up to get the 411 and they can sum it up for you.

Got home at exactly 2:00PM from church (lovin’ this -1/2 a Sunday to do what I want since Spiked moved to 11:30AM bidness!)  A friend came over to ride and she, Taira and I took a nice ride for a couple of hours.  It was a nice day.  Breezy and cool - even close to chilly.  Came back to the house - went and picked up some hay and then decided to make spaghetti for dinner and it was pretty darned good if I do say so myself. 

This morning - here I am back at work.  Where did my weekend go?

And this one is of my own accord this morning…
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7)

I am in a current situation in which I had no choice but to act on Proverbs 3:6 to make a decision on where I would proceed.  Many of my friends are aware of my “dilemma” (as we’ve referred to it this past week) because…well there are those people in your life whose advice we seek or whose input on a matter truly affects the decision we might make.  So this is where God sent me when faced with this choice of going right or left at a fork in the road of my life right now.  I had to make a decision to act on something that would either take me down a potential path to emotional happiness or keep me trucking on the road to who knows where. 

All I am going to say is this…..to say the least I prayed to God to please provide me some guidance on a pretty serious issue (though maybe not as serious as I thought).  I feel that He gave me that guidance through the answers and advice of those friends I have consulted in the matter and I’m sure He will continue to do so through those who I may not have had a chance to talk to yet.  I believe God often provides his answers and guidance through those around you who have strong influence on your decisions rather than just smacks you in the head himself.  So through them He gave me the go ahead to move forward rather than walk-away.

Last night (or early this morning…cuz it was like that), in Psalm 16:7 style, God finished wrapping it up in a neat little package and slapped a big fat pretty bow on it.  At about 2:30AM he handed it over to me and said….”It’s up to you to unwrap it now and see what’s inside and decide what do do with it!”

You know…the funny thing is that years ago today I might not feel so guided on a decision like this.  One of my friends (yup if you are reading this that’s what I consider you) said…”You have a higher influence now (pointing upward) to help you in this that you didn’t have before!”  Amen sister!  2 years ago today if I found myself in this same situation I would have made a decision based on some pretty shallow standards.  Things definitely are much different now and I feel pretty good about it.

How Blessed I am to have God respond to my prayer so clearly and efficiently.  He knew this situation needed an answer now or it would cause me stress and get me nowhere and have me unintentionally hurting someone else in the long run.  So He made sure I got what I was looking for in the answer department.  Someone told me “you’ll know…and when you know… you know!”  Well….I know where I go from here, but I only know because God took care of it!

Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

2. Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. Joyce

3. Dear Mr. God, I wish you would not make it so easy for people to come apart I had to have 3 stitches and a shot. Janet

4. God, I read the bible. What does beget mean? Nobody will tell me. Love Alison

5. Dear God, How did you know you were God? Who told you? Charlene
 
6. Dear God, Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house? Anita

7. Dear God, I bet it’s very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nancy

8. Dear God, I like the story about Noah the best of all of them. You really made up some good ones. I like walking on water, too. Glenn

9. Dear God, My Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Love, Denis

10. Dear God, Do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don’t, who does? Nathan

11. Dear God, Did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident? Norma

12. Dear God, In bible times, did they really talk that fancy? Jennifer

13. Dear God, How come you did all those miracles in the old days and don’t do any now? Billy

14. Dear God, Please send Denis Clark to a different summer camp this year. Peter

15. Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they each had their own rooms. It works out OK with me and my brother. Larry

16. Dear God, I keep waiting for spring, but it never did come yet..What’s up? Don’t forget. Mark

17. Dear God, My brother told me about how you are born but it just doesn’t sound right. What do you say? Marsha

18. Dear God, If you watch in Church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes. Barbara
 
19. Dear God, Is Reverend Coe a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business? Donny

20. Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that. I am not just saying that because you are already God. Charles
 
21. Dear God, It is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can’t you do that with the moon? Jeff

22. Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Really !!!! Frank

And, saving the best for last
 
23. Dear God, I didn’t think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool. Thomas

This service is for grades 7-12.  Adults are welcome - especially if you are considerring 
 serving with our Spiked Student MInistries.  This is a chance to see how God is truly working in the lives of our youth. 

So come grab a cup o’ Joe or a Frapuccino and hang out with some very awesome teens while they give all the glory to God.

Tonight - 7:00PM.  NHC Spiked Student Ministries Youth Room!  Hope to see you there!

Saturday - gave early morning riding lessons.  Joined in to pull up the back of the Bull City Trail Ride when they came through and Taira and I rode the trails all the way around.  Stopped at the trail site - said our hellos and then headed home.  Taira was off to a sleepover birthday party so I toted her to Mebane and then headed to NHC.  Met some friends there for HOT HOT HOT Saturday night service.

One of my small group members was in the row in front of me and she turned and looked at my friend after Dave coverred some HOT stuff and said “isn’t this your first time here?”  He was like…uh…yeah!  Talk about breaking the ice! LOL!  But he prayed and committed to Christ and I don’t think there’s anything cooler than that for a first timer following such a spicy series!!!!

After service we all headed to the  Texas Roadhouse for dinner and silly me forgot my ID in my car.  Boy are they strict.  Good to know that without my ID someone didn’t trust that I was of age to get a Margarita!  Don’t hate me cuz I’m beautiful!  HA HA!

After a late night I got up early to fetch Taira from her sleepover and head to NHC to serve with SPIKED.  After our service we had a serving meeting.  10 pizzas and a WHOLE LOT of volunteers later I left feeling like “WOW!”  What an honor to have such a great bunch of serving teens and adults!  I should have handed the meeting over to the teens - because they were full of ideas and suggestions and I just think that they are so awesome to be serving as passionately as they are and CONTRIBUTING ideas and suggestions to meeting our serving mission.  And thanks to ALL of you for helping us clean up after the meeting.   YOU SO TOTALLY ROCK DUDES!

Now after the meeting I headed home and that was pretty early in the afternoon.  I had a lot in my mind to do…but decided I was going to take a nap first.  Well how about I slept the ENTIRE rest of the day away and woke up to darkness.  So much for all I had to do.  My roomie and Taira had already fed all the horses, picked paddocks and waterred up AND when I got up they were busy in the kitchen cooking freshly harvested pond shrimp and rice!  How nice was that.  I hated I slept the entire day away…but man what a way to wake up.  Carefree! 

So I felt well rested and talked with a friend on the phone until 2:00AM.  Then I got a few hours of sleep but by the time it was time to get up I was feeling pretty well rested and didn’t even sneak back to bed after Taira got back on the bus!

Of course there’s always a downer - and that is MONDAY!  Took my car to be inspected today and it did NOT pass.  Idle Sensor or something has to be fixed so I have to carry it back tomorrow.  So add to that the “what could go wrongs”! But in all honestly after such a great weekend I really am not all that stressed about it.

Yeah - so you have friends who need a little Jesus.  There are for more better ways than THIS to try to share Jesus with them.   As you can see in the video…this type of vigilante Saving technique would cause them to run the other way.

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