Blood

Payment was made by God to God.
Not to Satan.
But by God's love
To God's justice.

~Dr Liam Goligher, Sr Pastor, 10th Presby

like Bumpa*

Unkie: I eat like my dad when we do stuff like that.
E: You put ketchup on dim sum?

*In discussions about whether the kids should start calling their Filipino grandmother "Lola" instead of "Wawa", which was "Lola-but-I-can't-get-the-'L'-yet", we reminded the girls that they used to call Grandpa "Bumpa" for the same reason.  They found that hilarious, much like the "Uncle Oreo" bit they know about difficult names.

a word from Mom (needed it!)

Lord, thank you for being a God who goes before us and lives within us.
That means, whatever we may face,
we have nothing to fear and everything to hope for in you.
You provide peace to calm our hearts,
wisdom to guide our steps,
and your hand is holding ours all the way.
We trust what you will do
and where you will take us with you.
Amen.

(found on Fair Hope Notes)

Trust God & Do Good

Many of us spend far too much time trying to figure out how we can get blessings for ourselves. People sometimes spend their entire lives trying to accomplish what they think is important, never trusting God or letting Him lead them. In the end, this leaves them depressed and unfulfilled.

Psalm 37:3 says, "Trust, in the Lord and do good, ." God didn't create us to worry about helping ourselves all the time. He wants us to sow good seed by reaching out to help others. And doing good brings great satisfaction because it feels great to make a difference. It also opens the door for God to bless you in a greater way.

You need to trust God to bring the right blessings into your life. While you're waiting for His perfect timing, get busy helping others. You'll actually feel relieved when you aren't thinking about yourself all the time.

Trust God and get busy doing the good things you know to do. He'll faithfully bless you and meet your needs.

Prayer Starter: God, I don't want to live a selfish, self-centered life. I trust You to bring the right blessings into my life while I'm busy doing good for everyone You've placed in my life.

source:
Day 364 of Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily Devotional

Relax. God's got this.

source: Nathaniel Knows' FB page

My inital response was,
"Pbbbbbt.
"Sigh.
"Good thing we serve a big God!"

But my friend J's perceptive perspective took it to another level:
"See all of the ways in the bottom picture that are provided to get over the obstacles?! He has it!"

Good thing.

10 books

I've been challenged by Liz to identify "10 books that have stayed with you in some way". The instructions are, "Don't take more than a few minutes, and don't think too hard. They don't have to be the 'right' books or works of great literature, just ones that have affected you in some way."

Like many of my voracious-reader friends, I am listing several multi-volume series in my 10.

• Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (8 books)
• Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis (7 books)
• Zion Chronicles/Zion Covenant by Bodie Thoene (11 books)
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Harry Potter by JK Rowling (7 books)
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (Thanks, Mrs S!)
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• in Death series by JD Robb (48 books and counting)
• and, of course, The Bible (66 books)

These are the off-the-top-of-my-head.  It wouldn't be a stretch to list a dozen in a dozen categories, from mysteries, to biographies, to set-your-head, to kid lit, to YA, to humor, to classics... one of the problems of this list is it's skewed by what I've seen on others' lists!

Guess who?

Cow-loving friend, via phone: Guess who's on the cover of TV Guide this week?
Middle Frog: I'm going with Matt Bomer.


(For once, I didn't call him Bryce Larkin!  But he will always be Bryce Larkin to me.)
Cow-loving friend: Of COURSE you're going with Matt Bomer.
Middle Frog: Is it Zach Levi?

Cow-loving friend: You get one more guess.
Middle Frog: Scott Bakula?

It was Scott Bakula.  (Oh boy.)  Looking forward to seeing him on NCIS: New Orleans in the fall.