Aches and pains

Getting out of bed yesterday morning I did something out of character: I looked in the full length mirror that takes up one nearly one side of my bedroom. I saw a strange, saggy, middle aged woman.... not precisely sure if I had ever seen her before or would have recognized her in a crowd. She is frumpy, dowdy, flabby.

I don't know when this transformation occurred- although I have an more than inkling about how it occurred. Several too many meals just before bed. Not enough sleep. An outrageous lack of self-discipline in the physical exercise department. Driving to and from work. Little by little the small indiscretions add up to a bulge here, an unlovely handle there.

My back has been killing me..... it is more likely I have been killing my back. Going from zero to 50-75 pounds of improper lifting technique without stretching could be one culprit. Actually, I
I have a herniated disc.... let me rephrase that - I have a newly herniated disc. One above the two that have collapsed over the years and my old auto injury. Grrrrrrrrr.

Pain is there for a reason. Fatigue is there for a reason..... and it makes sense that God would include these things in the package of our bodies to get our attention. Ignoring the signs does not make it go away.

I have decided to take a good hard look .... at both my appearance and my habits... and make some adjustments. God deserves a better temple to dwell in that the one I'm currently carting around.

Avoided the mirror lately? Summon up the courage and take a look.... and ask God's help to make some significant changes if need be. (...and remember, miracles NEVER cease!)

Even MORE eyecatching church signs

Debbie struck again..... check out the following websites for more quoteable pieces:


http://www.carltonsigns.com/FunnyChurchSigns.htm

http://www.gospelweb.net/HumorWorks/churchmarqueesigns.htm

http://www.hopecc.com/humor/humor.html

http://www.mcmartinville.com/chris/soapbox/church_signs.htm

Thanks again, Ms. Deb for passing these things on for us!

More church signs.....!

Debbie from Hodgepodge sent these on a while ago. They originally come from St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hope you find a few gems here!

Do you have Son protection? ** No burning!**
I am also making a list and checking it twice. - GOD
Wal-Mart isn't the only saving place.
A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
Are you wrinkled with burden? Come on into Church for a faith lift!
Be ye fishers of men. You catch them and He will clean them.
Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
Do your best and then sleep in peace. God is Awake.
Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.
Exercise daily. Walk with the Lord!
Fear knocked.Faith answered.No one was there.
For all you do, His blood's for you!
Forbidden fruits create many jams.
Give God what's right, not what's left!
Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.
God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
God doesn't want shares of your life; He wants controlling interest!
God grades on the cross, not the curve.
God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts"!
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
Having truth decay? Brush up on your Bible!
He who angers you, controls you!
He who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!
If God is your Copilot - Swap seats!
In the sentence of life the Devil may be a comma, but DO NOT let him be the PERIOD!
Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
Man's way leads to a hopeless end! God's way leads to an endless hope!
Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.
Never give the devil a ride! He will always want to drive!
Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.
Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
"Pray" is a four letter word that you can say anywhere - except in a public school.
Prayer - Don't give God instructions - just report for duty
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.
This Church is "Prayer Conditioned"!
To be almost saved is to be totally lost.
Watch your step carefully! Everyone else does!
We don't change the message, the message changes us.
We set the sail - God makes the wind.
We're too blessed to be depressed.
When God ordains, He sustains.
Wisdom has two parts:1) Having a lot to say.2) Not saying it.
Worry is the darkroom in which "negatives" are developed.
You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.
COASTING? If you are it's probably downhill.
A clean conscience makes a soft pillow.

Psalm 84

Psalm 84:1

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!

David was probably marveling at the magnificence of the Temple, the opulence of the gold and fine cloth and incense and towering walls.

There are beautiful churches throughout the world - great architectural wonders of stone, brick, steel, glass and marble. Flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings. Biblical stories expressed in huge panels and minute shards of glass. Portraits of Our Lord and St. Mary the Virgin in handmade mosaic tile, textiles, carved in local and exotic woods.

It is all breath taking. We find comfort in church. In a place. In a building.

It was a bit unnerving recently to have gone to my diocesan cathedral, St. John the Divine, only to see a fraction of the magnificence due to cleaning and renovation after fire damage several years ago. Blue painted plywood 10 feet wide and 10 feet high surrounds you as you journey down a make shift hallway with the famous brass inlay shields in the floor - the only tangible evidence of something more grand. Only after you round a bend to you enter a piece of the nave and see the great choir and high altar. No view to the west is available, no rose window, no expansive vaulted ceiling.

This deprivation of what had become familiar to me drove something home. It remains our challenge as modern Christians to have church and to be church. To have a place geographically set aside and at the same time to know that each of us is church, is a vital part of the body of Christ that is and goes and does. It remains our challenge to experience the loveliness of Christ's dwelling within us, in the world - even in our perceived enemies.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!