Ramblings of a Fevered Brain

My talking thermometer can't decide if my temperature is 101 or 99.3. Can a person's body temp be different from one ear to the other? I have an older thermometer that you put under your tongue, but the batteries haven't been changed in it in like forever, so I'm leery of it, as well. Note to self: Don't buy a cheap thermometer from that particular company again. :) Do to the fact that my feel bad is hurting, this post might not be the nicest or cheeriest, but I have a few things on my mind and wanted to jot them down. Recently, I received an email from that wonderful new part of our lives called face book. It said that a particular person just accepted my friend request. I don't remember asking this person to be my friend, but since we used to go to school together, I left it alone. Now, keep in mind this person past away several months ago. I just figured the person's family kept the face book page up for folks to post memorials to them. No harm in that. Well, here's my gripe. First of all, this person, as far as I know, never claimed to be a Christian. They may have been. I don't know, but I do know this person spent quite a lot of time in a particular bar. Does God say in His word that it is a sin to go to a bar? No, but the Bible does say to abstain from the very appearance of evil. Anyway, whoever is posting on this person's wall, talks as if they are this person talking from heaven. They say things like, "Hello my families and friends. I made the sun to shine because I want you to know I love you." This person, bless their heart, can't spell very well, and needs to learn more about punctuation and correct grammar. Now, i know me saying that is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black; I'm not the best when it comes to punctuation, but it irritates me how bad this person's posts are. Regardless if you believe Christians who die go straight to heaven or not, that person, if they are in heaven, has no control over the sunshine. And, if there are no tears in heaven, why would they be able to look down and see all the suffering going on down here? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is a free country; you can say what you want. You can even think what you want, and you can even type what you want. So, I did. I mentioned in my last post that I had been doing a lot of crocheting. Well, I finished another Mother's Day gift. It's a bit misshapen, but the recipient, I hope, won't mind. :) I also finished 2 more tiny garments, which are also crooked. lol I have one more gift I hope to complete by Sunday. As for baking, haven't done any of that this week. Didn't make brownies last week, after all, but the cookies, I believe where a hit. :) Are you looking for a new author to check out? Look up Rachel Hauck. I bought a book by her from http://www.audible.com/ the other day. It's called "The Wedding Dress", and I really enjoyed it. A heroine with a gift that had nothing to do with a man, a longing for love and romance and a deep faith in God. A hero whom I liked from the get-go, even though he needed to learn a few things along the way. I couldn't hardly put the book down, and it even made me dream about my own wedding dress, which i haven't seen in twelve years. lol Go look it up. You'll be glad you did. A glass of sweet tea, 2 cups of coffee, a couple of Aspirin and a chocolate doughnut. Yep, I think I'm gonna make it...ok, make that 2 doughnuts. lol Actually, on a more serious note, all sugar and caffeine will do for a person is hype them up and then a few hours later leave 'em high and dry and feeling worse than before. A dose of God's word, now, that will last for quite a while. And, a dose of the Word has no calories. :) "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;" 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 KJV A song puts it this way: "When I think of the love that you've given When I think of the price you paid for me, The trials on earth seem like nothing, When compared to dark calvary." Y'all have an awesome Thursday, and remember, you ain't gotta be perfect, but you'd better be forgiven. :)

An Update

Ok, so Blogger has a new format for posting entries. I don't know if I'm even typing in the correct place or not, but I'm willing to give it a try. Just to make things clear, I'm still alive. lol As for writing, haven't been creating much of my own, except here in the last day or so. A friend of mine and I are writing a story together. So far, it's just for fun, but you never know what will come out of it. What I have been doing quite a bit of is crocheting. I've made a few kitchen items, a tiny garment and a Mother's Day gift for one of the mothers in my life. Don't get too excited, ladies. I'm not giving away any secrets today. :) I've started on another Mother's Day gift, but I have to wait to finish it, when I get more yarn, which I had to order. Another homemaking thing I've been doing, is baking. Last week, I made about 6 dozen chocolate chip cookies for my daughter's youth group at church. Tomorrow our church is having a hot dog and bake sale, and I have been asked to make more of those cookies. I'm planning on baking a pan of brownies, as well. All of that baking will take place some time today, the Lord permitting. I've done a bit of reading, but I'm not really in the mood for it. I read "Cinnamon Roll Murder" by Joanne Fluke, last week, and this week I've been reading on "The Irish Healer". I don't know the author's name to this one. Forgot it. :) But, it's a good book. It's set in England, in 1832, and it concerns a woman who is an herbalist from Ireland who believes her talent lies more along the lines of letting folks die instead of curing them. The hero in the story is a physician who believes he has let everyone down, from his late father to his 3-year-old daughter. These 2 come together and are forced to face a few truths about themselves and what God has called them to be. It's a slower book...those who love action will be let down, but it's a perfect book to crochet to. :) You know, sometimes I wish I was like Samantha on "Bewitched." If not her, then I'd like to have some kind of super powers. Sometimes, it seems like there is so much to get done in such a small amount of time, and I feel like I won't be able to manage it. But, I guess I do have strength that is out of this world, because every time I pray about it, the important stuff gets done. Of course, I have to put action to those prayers; wouldn't get anything done if I asked God for something and then sat back and waited. Yeah, I know He says to wait on Him, and i believe He means for us to do so. But, I think His waiting means, keep busy while you wait. lol Going to try and post this now, so y'all have a happy Friday and a good weekend. Catch ya next time.

A Book Review, How I Became A Christian, and anything else I can think of

Well, mornin' y'all! It's that day again, Saturday, the day it seems I always blog on. It just seems easier to do it on a Saturday for some strange reason. Terry's sleeping, the girls are watching tv and probably hoping I'll fix them something to eat soon, and I'm blogging and waiting for the washer to get finished. Now, you English teachers, don't go in to fits; I know that sentence was way too long, but I can't help myself.

Looking back on this past week, I know I was busy, but I'm just not sure with what. lol My mom came over yesterday and fixed us egg sandwiches for breakfast. My mamaw came over Thursday to visit for a while. We had church Wednesday night and practiced singing for the revival we're scheduled to go sing at. Everyone else sang real nice, but I kept making mistakes. I guess it's a good thing I can practice at home, huh. Anyway, the girls and I were going to go to the ladies' group meeting and lunchen on Tuesday, but our driver got sick, so we had to miss. Oh yeah, almost forgot, I ordered a new braille watch Monday evening and got it Wednesday. It's a seiko, and I really like it. I think it's one of the nicest braille watches I've ever had, in fact. Usually, the braille watches from those magazines like Maxi Aids are ok, but really cheaply made, and I want a watch that doesn't look like a braille one. Also, I want something that looks nice, no matter how I dress. I think this time, I've found it.

Read a new book last week that I want to tell y'all about. It's "Journey of Faith" by Katie McCurdy. The author is sixteen, and this is her first book. It's published by Outskirts Press, and you can find it on
www.amazon.com

Katie emailed me a few weeks ago, after seeing my book on Amazon. She and I have exchanged books for reviews. I have reviewed her's and below I will post that review. She is now reading "Wild Heart" and promises a review, soon. So, here's what I had to say about her book.

"Journey of Faith" is a wonderful story richly based on Christian values and Godly principals. Told in a fashion similar to the Little House Books, the author takes the reader to a time and place far removed from today's selfish society and illustrates through example how one can simply follow the teachings of Christ. This book is mostly light-hearted and seemingly carefree, but McCurdy will surprise you with twists and turns that you will not expect. Filled with family devotions, an Indian attack, horseback riding, and a ruthless band of outlaws, Journey of Faith is sure to delight readers of all ages. An excellent family read."

As I read the 296 page book, I found myself smiling; she writes a lot like I did at that age. Even her bad guys talk like a bunch of hicks, as mine do. Katie says she's working on more, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I can tell by reading Katie's book that she's young, but she is a good writer and with age will come experience, and with experience will come maturity. So, if you're looking for a book to be a good influence on someone, teenager or not, you can't go wrong with "Journey of Faith". It's packed full of Bible lessons that would do us all good to remember.

Well, tomorrow is the picnic. Every year in May, the WV Advent Christian Conference has a Sunday School picnic for all the Advent Christian churches in the state. They have it out at Camp Whitney, a church camp owned by the WV Advent Christian Conference. The camp is located in Clindenin, WV, and it's a pretty neet place. I went to camp there as a teenager and dearly loved it. It seemed I would look forward to camp every year, and cry when it was over. I learned so many valuable lessons out there, and when I was only 13, I gave my life to Jesus out there. I'll never forget it, either.

I had had a rough year in school; I had just finished the 7th grade and was really down. I had went to camp and that Monday night, a group of singers, Christian teens who called themselves, New light and Power, had come to sing. My cousin came to me and asked if I wanted to go up and pray. I didn't answer her at first, but a voice inside my head asked, "What do you have to lose?"

Knowing I had nothing to lose, I went to that old altar, knelt down, and amid all the caring friends around me, gave my heart to Jesus. I will never forget how I felt when I knew I had been forgiven. Oh, my friend, it was the best thing that ever happened to me! I felt so clean, so humbled, so awed at the presence of God, filling my heart and making me want to sing! I stood up from that altar, and honestly, I've never felt quite like that again, although I have come close.

Now, don't be so quick to scawf. Don't be so quick to judge. After all, I'm not that little 13 year old girl telling this; I'm a 30 year old woman with a husband and 2 kids. I'm not near as idealistic as I used to be. In fact, there's been a lot to happen in my life that has made reality come crashing down around my ears. I have had friends to die too young, friends, who weren't friends at all to leave me because of my disability. I lost all my vision in 2000, not long after I got married. I've given birth to 2 girls and have been changing diapers and wiping noses for 3-1/2 years. I've moved away and moved back home. I've been disallusioned, laughed at, ignored, and I've been told I'm way too old-fashioned. But, I still remember how I felt the moment I became a Christian! And, even though there have been times in my life that I have ignored God and His Holy Spirit, I have never felt alone, not really. I've felt lonely, when there was no actual person to talk to, but God has never left me. He promised He wouldn't, and He has kept that promise. You can't tell me it isn't real! I know it is! To quote a Christian song from the 1990's,

"I know there's a God who knows my name, and a Son who died to take the blame.
I believe Jesus is coming back, cause a promise is a promise and facts are facts."

Still scawfing? Well, what do you have to lose? Would it be so bad to let someone help you carry that heavy load? Would it be so bad to let God, your creator help you through this difficult time? Would it be so bad to have someone to listen at 3 AM? And finally, would it be so terrible to admit you need Him? He loves you! He made you, didn't he?

Well, to end this post...the girls are getting hungry and so am I...let me just say, I'd love to hear from you. Also, thanks to those followers who read this blog. Take care and have a good weekend. Once again, my email address is
ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net