Maybe I'm Not So Good At Blogging Anymore...

Since I'm not in front of a computer for 9+ hours a day anymore, I can't keep up with blogging! And I'm not one of those people who live, eat, sleep and bathe with their cell attached to their palm. 

We take a break from our regularly scheduled program to allow for...

A Moment of Venting

 Seriously! What is up with that?! Am I the only one left who cannot stand that?! I mean, it KILLS me when I'm speaking to someone who is staring at their cell, tapping out a text, or surfing the net. Many times, I've wanted to say something snarky like....

"Let me know when you're through there and we can resume our conversation."

Or..."Maybe I should let you go. You're obviously in the middle of something very important."

Or, my personal favorite..."What am I, CHOPPED LIVER?! Am I not as important as whatever is on that there technical device?!"

Sorry to all those that participate in this particular behavior, this was not aimed at you. I promise. 

Obligatory smiley face > :)

Resuming my normal, nice person blog. (Well, I try to be nice, anyways.)

 Let me just say that Jesus loves the people who cannot be parted from their cell phones. He really does.He died for ya'll too. Grace and mercy are made free at the foot of the cross. 

Please contact Joel Pace, Pastor, at 214.391.0017 to ask more about this wondrous Lord and Savior. 

(See, I told you I could be nice.)

Okay so, I've been learning some pretty heavy stuff lately. About myself, life and what not to do with myself in life.

One thing NOT to do is mix drain cleaners. If you try one and it doesn't work, wait a day or so (and make sure to run the water to flush the pipes) before you try the second one. Or else you will have a clogged drain with standing water and no one can take a shower and then you may be late for church where your pastor may or may not call you out for being late then you have to sit through the remainder of the service, embarrassed because 1) You got called out by the pastor in front of the faithful Friday night saints and 2) You stink.

Thank God for the mercy and grace mentioned above because NONE of that happened to me. Well, I did clog the drain but I happen to have a Handyman for a father and a Desperate for a Bath sister. They unclogged it. At 5pm. Enough time for the whole Menzies family to shower. Hallelujah. \O/ (< that's my Hallelujah Man)

I'm also learning that when you pray and ask Jesus to humble you and show you how to humble yourself, He answers pretty quickly. No lie! I mean, you always hear it preached and even know it for yourself that God works in mysterious ways. He may not answer when you want Him to but answers just in time! But nothing was mysterious about how He answered this prayer. Mercy. So yeah, now I have to pray for strength to be able to do what He told me to. Amen.

(Raising my hand to request for a Special Unspoken during prayer request time)

And I also learned that Jesus loves frivolous, little me! 

So for weeks now, I've been wanting a new purse. But every time I go into one of my stores, I don't see anything I like. I took it as a sign that Jesus didn't want me to shop for a bag, I had enough already. (Amazing how we get spiritual when we can't get what we want...Oh, I guess it's not God's will, we say. When we knew all along that we didn't need to buy whatever it is we wanted!) 

Yesterday, I stopped by my local Goodwill. (Having been told last week by a co-worker that she saw a ton of Fossil bags at her Goodwill, selling for $10-$25. When she went back the next day, they were all gone. Not God's will, obviously. ;) 

Lo and behold, I found two large bins of bags! They had slices in the leather (I guess Macy's donated them and didn't want anyone to re-sell them?) and I found a saddle bag for less than $15! The slice is on the bottom and no one can see it. :) I went straight to Home Depot (I am the daughter of a Handyman, hello somebody?) and bought leather glue for $3 and change. Ain't God good? Can I get an Amen?!

So the moral of this story can go two ways. 

1) God had mercy on me and let me find an awesome deal and now I have the purse that I've been wanting for a couple weeks. Yay! Or 2) God tested me (because buying a new purse was NOT in His will) and I failed. Booooo.

I like #1.

 And I like my purse! 

And before you go, a picture to make you smile...

 Alien Baby! 

AKA. Cousin Issac

 

Happy Weekend Ya'll! And Thanksgiving since I probably won't post anything before then. lol 

Youth Alive...another So Cal trip!

 Okay, my only request this trip was to hit up a Belizean restaurant and eat garnaches! But you know how you are not supposed to go grocery shopping when you're hungry because you tend to buy everything at once? That sort  of happened with me. :) I soooo could not decide on what to eat! So I had a multiple choice lunch. :)                

          
Coke in a glass bottle. The ONLY way to drink Coca-Cola.










Rice and beans and stewed chicken. Oh, the to-die-for fried plantain and a dollop of potato salad. After this meal, all I needed was a hammock and some nice sea breeze!

No hammock :( but I did find a bench on the Santa Monica pier to chill and let my gluttonous self rest after my humongous lunch. :)

Zuma beach. Where Jen, once again, found her happy place and I found a nap. After reading.

Some of my Cali peeps! Melissa, Christy, Carissa (lovely meeting you!), The Bouncer (Anali) and Me!

Anali and I. She was pretending she liked me.

The lovely Ms. Vivian and myself.

 Love this pic! I spy something(s) silly!

Jen's a Super Nerd. This was how we charged up our phones and her lap top, while waiting on our delayed flight.

Fun times!

A special thanks to Bro and Sis M for opening their home to Jen and I.  They have got to be some of the most precious people that I've ever met. No Lie. I mean, who would allow two chicks into their home, let them sleep on their beds, eat their food, let one break a chair and mess up their electricity and then...INVITE THEM BACK?! Saints, I tell ya. :)

Church was amazing. Bro. and Sis. Jones teamed up for the services, Sis. Jones directing the choir and Bro. Jones preaching. The Spirit moved strongly in both services. I don't think Bro. Jones was able to finish either sermon! When God's ready to move, who cares if we said the final amen?! My prayer is that someone's life was changed for the better last week.

G'bye! Tune in next time! 
Whenever that is. 

Randomocity - Jen's new word.

Soooo, I took almost 6 months off from the wonderful world of blogging. But she's back! Why, say you? I didn't plan on it. But I got too lazy and laziness becomes a habit. So. I decided that my first blog would be random things. Deep breath.....

Meet my new cousin!

Issac Jacob Menzies was born at 11:10am on Tuesday, August the 14th. 10 days after he was due! Now, talk about lazy! But we all forgave him since he is the CUTEST thing since...well, ever. The cutest thing ever. This picture was taken at about 3pm on 8/14. No, I could not have waited another day to go see him, okay?

I'm told he has my exact coloring. Now, ain't that just precious?!

Que mas?

Oh, yes. I've begun walking again. lol Good times! I'm on a health kick! Bought my vitamins, lots of healthy snacks, a couple of dumbbells and a weight ball. What for, you ask? Well, I have it on good authority (my deep and humble thanks, thou very wise and gifted 17 year old!) that if you are in a soon to be wedding, you should be trying to LOSE WEIGHT. How did I get to the grand ole age of 27 and not know this????? Well, to be honest, that's not really why. I just felt a desire to be less of a lump in the center of my bed for more than the necessary time needed to sleep. And because I heard that exercise is good for arthritis. No lie. I really did hear that. So yeah, Michelle is out sweating in the mornings here in PG! If you're ever in the area...keep away!

I think that's everything.

Oh, I came across a wonderful scripture the other day in my daily devotions! Want to hear it?! I love it!

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

The day I came across that scripture, I seriously needed a good dose of peace and joy! God's thoughts are not our own. His ways aren't ours. So if I was not "going out with joy" and "being led by peace", then surely I was walking contrary to His paths. My hand was not in His just then. Just like Peter, I had removed my eyes from His and was trembling at the sight of my troubles. Sometimes it's hard to realize that even though we are going through, God sees everything. 

He knows the sparrow that falls and He hears it's call, 

So why would I doubt, and think He can't hear my shout?

When I fall to my knees, He hears every plea

His ways are not mine, but He answers each time!

All The Broken Pieces...

On Sunday morning, as I was arranging a couple of fresh floral arrangements for church, a song kept playing over and over in my head. And as usual, I decided to sing along. :)

Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrow into joy.

As I got to the end of the second line, I stopped. Why is this the hardest thing to let go of? The broken pieces of our lives? Why do we hold on to the hurt for so long? I didn't think much of it beyond that. But that night, my cousin led the service and talked about the Potter and the clay. How that God is the only One Who can take the broken pieces and put them back together again.

And I realized something...the only way for God to reshape us, to re-mold us, to put us back together again, is for us to bring Him the broken pieces of our hearts. He stands near His potter's wheel, ready to begin. But He waits for me to come to Him with my brokenness. He waits on me to bring Him my hurt and disappointments. My shattered dreams, wounded heart and broken toys. Only then can He take what is left of me and mold me into something beautiful to Him.

I'm so thankful that I'm in His hands and not in the Potter's field! The barren land filled with the discarded shards of other vessels is not where I belong. I may not be a truly magnificent piece of art...yet. :) But I am in His hands and I am a work of art in progress! I honestly believe this.

Did you feel, feel it break
From all the weight of your mistake?
You never knew how much it cost
Feels like your innocence is lost
So much for the perfect life
So much for the perfect day
It's like no matter how you try
Perfection's just too far away
So lift them up to Me

All the broken pieces
All the broken pieces of your life
All the broken pieces
All the broken pieces of your life

Did you hear what I said?
Did you read the words I wrote down in red?
I was broken once for you
And no one loves you like I do
And that's the beauty of this grace
It can put the pieces back in place
And shine reflections of forgiveness
In a million different ways

I can take even your greatest mistake
Every scar, every tear, every break
And I can turn it in to something more beautiful
Than you have ever seen
So lift them up to Me

All The Broken Pieces, Matthew West

Welcome to 2012! So Glad You Made It!

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

Yesterday, I awoke to the sound of a dozen (or so) vocally talented birds outside my window. A couple of times I almost swore that the Andrea Bocelli of the group was inside my room! No lie! I was almost persuaded to get up and double check that the window and screen were intact but alas, my down filled bed was too comfy to leave it. I smiled and rolled over. Let him sing his teeny heart and lungs out. I didn’t care if he was perched on my headboard, he was serenading me. What a way to wake up on a chilly Monday morn!

The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

After lying in bed for another hour (I decided to go into work an hour later than usual), I forced myself to get up, get ready and leave. As I grabbed my gear and ran out the door, I went to my car and found that that Andrea Bocelli and his choir had a Poop Fest on it! No one's was defecated on but mine! I’m not talking a splat, here and there. I’m talking ALL OVER. I had to run the washer and wipers for a full 2 minutes just to get the windshield clear enough for me to see out of it!

While I was smiling contentedly and enjoying the sweet music, those suckers were doing their dirty deed! Of all the nerve! It was probably Bocelli that came up with the idea. Happy New Year in bird hieroglyphics or something.

But it made me think. I can appreciate the sweet music of life or I can look at all the crap (excuse the word) that life tends to dish out. I can enjoy the good times and just wipe the bad times away. It may take time for the bad times to be wiped out completely but then my way will be clear and free of nasty obstacles and I can enjoy the rest of the ride. Until more nastiness comes along. Then I’ll just repeat the steps and keep going!

So here’s to the Monday Morning Serenades & Poop Fests of 2012! May the serenades of your new year be filled with joy, love, happiness, friends and family! Good times and great memories! And may the poop fests serve to remind you to slow down and clear your mind of the crap that sometimes gets to be too much. Happy New Year, ya’ll!

I wish I was a glow worm,
A glow worm's never glum.
'Cos how can you be grumpy
When the sun shines out your bum!
~Author Unknown