Humble pie

So, my friend Julie had this post on her blog about wrestling with humility.  She asked if anyone else wrestled with it, so I thought I should post a blog on my WWF wrestling with humility.  Let's just say that it's of course not in my nature to be humble.  I mean, let's face the facts here- I AM WONDERFUL!  No, really- humility is a hard lesson to learn.  So, while reading Julie's post, I started asking myself, "Where has the Lord taught me humility lately?"  And I immediately thought of this one lady who I'll call Stacy.  Stacy is a regular donor for the company that I work for.  She calls me every month- she says I'm her buddy.  At first she called to sign up to become a monthly donor, and then the next month she called to change her bank account number, and then the next month it happened again, and again, until she finally just cancelled the monthly donations.  I was starting to think that she was stealing bank account numbers every month, because it just seemed a little too ironic for her to change the information EVERY month.  Well, I get tickled everytime she calls because:

A.  She has the greatest accent ever.  She sounds like Barbara in Funny Girl.

B.  The way she says her name just cracks me up.  She repeats her first name twice and then 

      says her last name.

Let's just face the facts here.  I was tickled by Stacy's calls, but they were starting to get a little annoying.  I mean, how many times can one woman change bank accounts?

Then it happened.  She left me six voicemails in one day- progressively letting me know throughout these voicemails that she was in the hospital.  I had no idea why, but she just kept calling.  Then she called and I was able to answer my phone.  It turned out that her sisters and niece "are very jealous, and I cut them off, and they committed me to the 7th floor."  I didn't have the heart to ask her what the 7th floor was, but anything with the words commit and hospital- can't be good.

So, then I thought, well she's just losing it- and then Cindy reminded me that I should really be praying for this woman.  And it hit me.  Who am I?  What, am I perfect Kay who never does anything wrong, or who never acts in a way that makes others think I'm crazy?  Am I so perfect that I have a right to disrespect this woman with my words?  No!  I am pond scum.  And no matter what is going on with this woman, she deserves my utmost respect.  

So, I've been eating humble pie on that one lately.  God is showing me compassion through this woman in ways that I never thought I'd see it.  It's awesome.

So there- Julie- you're not alone.  I'm the first to admit that I think I'm great, and then I sit for a minute and remember that I'm nothing at all without Christ.

It's raining, it's snowing, the old man is... going?

Well, it happened.  It stormed like nobody's business on Friday, and then rained all day on Saturday.  But it was all worth it- because it snowed on Sunday!!!!  Yay!  It never snows here, and when it does, I'm always conveniently out of town.  So, needless to say- I was thrilled- and you might as well have been watching two kids to watch how Michael and I responded.  WE WERE SOOOOOO EXCITED!

And, it was Max's first experience in the snow!  I took some pictures of him early that morning when we went outside... but the best part of the 

day was when Michael took us (me and Max) to the golf course to play in the biggest yard in Birmingham!  I was a little nervous at first, because we r

eally haven't had the chance to let Max just run and play without his leash.  But he did really well.  He ran and ran and ran- and then he ran some more.  He ran so much that little snow balls started sticking to his legs- it was really funny.  He actually ran so much that all I was able to get were action shots.  So here are some shots we were able to get...

More pictures

A time for a haircut- our first to be exact

Well, it has taken quite a few trips to the vet to get acclimated to the groomer, but we finally got Max's hair cut today!  This has been an eventful experience, as every time I would take him to get his hair cut, I would come in to pick him up, and he would be all fluffy from a bath, but no hair cut.  "He just does NOT like the clippers!" they would say.  Well, blessings to Vonda who after two visits and a willing spirit to "work" with Max to make him see that hair cuts are good, was able to cut Max's hair today!  She was so excited... as was I.  His hair was getting so long that I was really having a hard time keeping it from getting all matted up.  

So, here are some pictures of our new do...

Maxwell von Schnauzer

Meet Max.  He's our new baby.  He's about 4 months old (we think), and we brought him home today!  He is very smart and loves to play with his toys (as any dog does- except Pedro).  I wanted to post some pictures of him so you could meet the new addition to our family!

Max with his toys...

First headshot...

After his first bath with us...

He's a sweetheart!  We're so excited!  Maxwell von Schnauzer will accomplish great things, just you wait and see.

My feelings today- while they may include aftereffects of NyQuil

I have been on my knees in prayer about this election- praying that God would have mercy on our nation. This nation has succumbed to going against everything that the Lord stands for. I have to say that I have been grieved to hear Christians talk about being pro-choice. And the reason I'm grieved about it isn't because I think I'm right and they're wrong... it's because I was once pro-choice. Growing up in the city, family, lifestyle that I did, I was never faced with abortion- so I didn't really know what it was. I can remember receiving coaching for beauty pageant interviews, and I was faced with figuring out my platform. I was told that if I wasn't prepared to dig in deep in a fight on abortion- that should NOT be my platform. And it wasn't- because I didn't really have a clue what abortions entailed. Well, now I do. Now I know what the procedures include- what happens in each and every different procedure that can be performed. And I have to say that knowing what I know, I cannot imagine being for something like that. The only reason I walked around as a young woman saying, "You know, I think that women should be able to do whatever they feel necessary," is because I was uninformed. If I had been faced with an unintended pregnancy, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have had an abortion. And that's why I do what I do now. I want young women in that situation to know that they actually have a choice. Because you see, having a choice doesn't just mean having the option to have an abortion- it means having the choice to not have an abortion. And there are pregnancy centers who offer the other choice- not having an abortion, receiving help in your pregnancy, receiving parenting classes, having the option to place your child up for adoption. If we're all about helping women, then we should really be helping women. I've met so many women who have had abortions- and their stories are amazing- but all of them wish they had not gone through with it. I've yet to meet one woman who has not been tormented by that "choice."
So, my point to all of this is- if we are all going to stand for protecting women, then let's do it. And I realize that you can look at my point of view and say, "Well, I want to protect women from those pregnancy centers who will guilt women into not having abortions." I can tell you confidently that the pregnancy centers I am affiliated with do not use guilt- they simply use the words of Jesus Christ. Guilt comes from Satan. And how dare these pregnancy centers try to help women with compassion and care!
So, yes, I am upset about the way that the election went. But, nothing- NOTHING can overcome the power of Jesus Christ. All this election does is make me more dedicated to the cause. And yes, I know that things aren't going to go the way that I think they should- but thank goodness. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I got everything I wanted. And whether or not I like it, Obama is the President of the United States. Whether or not I like his policies, he has been placed in this authoritative position. I applaud him for his victory, and will continue- just as I always have- to pray for the President of our nation. But I will also continue to pray that eyes will be opened to the holocaust of the unborn.
If you're interested in learning more about the pro-life values, I recommend Randy Alcorn's book, "Why Pro-Life?" To read his comments click this link:
http://vitalsignsblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-to-say-to-christians-who-are-pro.html

He offers answers to widely asked questions. Plus, he offers the book "Why Pro-Life?" in a downloadable format. Please take the time to check this out. Please take the time to find the answers. And please stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves.

Wedding Season

My co-worker Polly got married yesterday, and she asked me to take pictures at the wedding.  Well, I was fine until Friday, and then for some reason I started getting all nervous!  Anyway, the wedding was a huge success, and I got some really great pics.  I'm going to wait to post them until after I can do some editing, but for now, here's a sneak peak...

These are the beginning and the end of the pictures I took.  I think there were 500-something pictures when I loaded them all today.  I'll post more as they get edited. :)