Preparations

Well preparations for the new baby's arrival are now well under way and part of that got me thinking that it won't be fair for Ginger to have a nice burger bed and not Topaz. I headed back to the store and to my disappointment they were sold out (and I checked two branches).  I did however see another bed I liked that had a wider opening but higher roof.  I figured the opening could be closed by draping a small blankie over it and that should work.  Well I was right, Ginger took one look at this and was delighted.  I think he likes the "stretching" room it allows him.

So Princess Topaz will be getting the burger bed and bunch of other nice goodies to settle her in so I should be able to start preparing the "baby room" soon.  I am hoping that I won't need to keep her confined for too long but we'll have to take things at her pace.

Sometimes things don't work out the way we want them too but  rather better than expected.  In our faith that is no different so when things don't work out quite the way you planned it might be a good idea to go with the flow and allow God to direct you to the solution He wants for your life. 

Read me

So today I took a days leave to get my car serviced as I have it done privately and it's a bit far from home.  I had some time to kill so I decided to walk through Exclusive Books.  Wow!  I'm surrounded by literally thousands of books and I ask myself the question, why should or would anyone read anything I write?  I am reminded how grateful I am that anyone bothers :-)

Well I would hope that my frank and honest writing would strike a chord with your humanity but more that you would see through my joys, sadness, failures and successes that being a Christian is not about attending church on Sundays but that it runs deep within the chore of the human experience.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't ask myself the question, what am I doing here?  Why do I exist in the form that I do, i.e. human and what is my purpose in life? 

Well simply put, it is because God decided it would be so and that my sole responsibility is to worship Him for that!  

We are what we are because He first said it.........

I am what I am!

Goldilocks and the three beds

Well Saturday was another heart breaking day for me. Going to an animal shelter is just shattering to see all those beautiful animals that need love and homes, so I am appealing to you that if you are able and allowed, please adopt a fur baby, they really do need us....but I'm not going to dwell there, action will follow. I have chosen my new fur child but still await final confirmation on the adoption and the shelter owner has been a bit busy to get back to me personally today.

Ginger's antics never cease to amuse me and after a very short but cold walk after work I could tell he was looking for a nesting spot. Well we tried bed option 1, not acceptable. Bed option 2, nope something just didn't quite feel right.....but I was getting love meows, like OK you're getting warmer. Then I figured it out and out came bed option 3....aaaah! The little guy curled up inside and hasn't been out since and its been a few hours already...tee hee! Shame he must have really been cold, today's weather has been horrid.

The last two months have been torture on my soul and like Ginger I really just want to find a space and a place where I can feel “warm and loved” and just feel like everything is going to be okay again. I long to just be in a place again where “Holy Spirit” ministry is the norm and where the presence of God is felt in a tangible way. To hunger and thirst after God is a precious thing and I know that in due season, God will bring me back to His place of rest and back to the still waters of refreshing.

Anticipation

There are two things chowing my time at the moment and making it difficult for me to find the time to write, which I am finding very frustrating.  1st being that my dishwasher is not working properly which requires a pre-rinse and 2nd being a very needy cat. 

So although I had wanted to do my ceiling insulation straight after the car service, a new dishwasher is going to have to take priority.  Car service will be sorted next week so it shouldn't take too long to get the dishwasher after that.

Now about the needy cat.  Although I know I am still grieving for Honey, Ginger is experiencing his own challenges.  He is lonely with no one to play with during the day and he doesn't seem to be finding a surrogate family in the complex, so I have decided that it is time to look for another kitty.  After much anticipation I am hoping that I will find one at a shelter that I am going to on Saturday.  I have decided to get a young female, so depending on whether she has been sterilized yet or not, I might have to wait a short while longer, but at least I will have found one. 

So I suppose I am asking for prayer that God will lead me to the right little lady to bring into my family and be a friend to Ginger.  That reminds me of the old hymn, "What a friend I have in Jesus" and I suppose that means that God created all creatures for companionship.  We can know that in the Lord we not only have Jesus to count on but the many wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ that He will bring into our lives. 

Charge

Last night on Ginger's walk I decided to play a game with him and I walked ahead and hid behind the bushes.  When he came round I jumped out with a "boo".  Well the little guy got such a fright and ran away that I thought he did not like the game.

That was until our return walk when suddenly out from the bushes I got charged by a kitty!  Lol!  He figured it out after all.

Well does God have a sense of humour?  He most certainly does that's why he gave us children and animals.  They make us laugh at their silliness and playfulness.  Not only that but I know we have all been through situations that are so funny we know God is at work in that moment. 

Yes there is a time for mourning but there also times of laughter and we can celebrate the good and funny times with God!

In prison

I'm challenged today to read Philippians again and as I do so I'm reminded that he did so from a prison cell.  Yet in spite of this condition he writes the  most inspiring works and so thoroughly useful that they have remained in the Canon of Scripture for thousands of years.

Many of us may find ourselves in prison.  In prison of a marriage that has gone bad, in the prison of a job we hate, in the prison of sick bodies or sick minds... whatever it is, you feel trapped with no way out. 

Then let us remember Paul and  his message, that whatever state I am I can choose to find contentment and peace in Christ, knowing that He who began a good work in me will complete it. 

Today have faith in God and trust and believe in God that you are exactly  where you are supposed to be right now!

Bizare nocturnal activity

Well to cut a long story short, in January I fell down some stairs at work and hurt myself.  I had major challenges getting the fund to pay for the medical attention I needed so I eventually gave up.  Some time later though I took up the fight again and told them that I at least wanted a medical checkup to ensure there was no damage. 

Meanwhile back on the ranch I was getting major head aches but as I have been a long time migraine sufferer I figured it was just the migraines acting up again and didn't pay it too much attention.  Needless to say on Tuesday when the checkup was due, I had a headache from hell and had actually told my boss that if I did not have the appointment in the afternoon I would have gone home. 

So the doc turned out to be an orthopedic surgeon and not a physio as I had expected.  He asked me a few random questions before sending me off for x-rays.  Well that really showed me where the injury was as putting my head back and chin up was excruciating. 

He prescribed a simple soft neck brace, pain killers and some Valium to sleep better.  Mmmm now I usually don't need any help in the sleep department but I took them anyway.  Ha, I woke up the next morning to find my sunflower seeds (my usual bed time snack) sprawled all over the bed....Lol!

I hoped the second night would go better but when I woke up this morning I could have sworn I ate something in the middle of the night, but going down to the kitchen later I found no evidence of any abnormal extracurricular nocturnal activity..............

That was until I arrived home and opened the container in which I had placed my fish cakes that I had grilled the night before.  Would you believe it, but two pieces were missing and the box was covered in my favourite sweet chili sauce..........bwahahahahaha!  Needless to say I don't think I'll be taking the Valium tonight.


In our spiritual walk we can sometimes find ourselves doing some strange things.  If we examine the situation though we will usually find that there has been some outside force/influence that is affecting our mood, behaviour or actions.  If you don't need them, I'd say rather cut them out and let life be.

Now should I strap myself to the bed tonight or not???  Teeheehee!

Can we touch him?

This weekend on one of Ginger's walks we were joined by some very young children whom I could see had not had any contact with cats before. Oh boy, were they scared! It took quite a bit of coaching for me to get them to approach slowly and gently to allow Ginger to settle down near them until they could touch him....and oh how soft he was!

The two little ones fired away a stack questions about cats and of course I was only to happy to oblige. But you know what? So many people have no idea how to approach God! When they first come into relationship with Him everything is strange and weird and they are unsure of how to connect with and communicate with God but more importantly they don't know how to touch God and be touched by Him.

That is what the church is there for, for us to educate and teach people how to come to God, build a relationship with Him and to learn how to walk in beautiful union with Him. As the body of Christ we are His hands and feet and the most important contact any human being will have to God.

Ever present

As the days have turned to weeks and now into over a month since Honey passed, I have found myself frustrated that the world just does not stop turning. All I have wanted was an extended time alone to deal with my sadness, but unfortunately life just does not do that. The world keeps turning and if we want to survive we have to turn with it.

I have been confused by Ginger's response. Although I have noticed a change in some of his behaviour he seems to just keep going on with life as normal and more importantly he enjoys every second of play time and walking together. My vet did help me understand that animals will miss a companion but that they do not feel heart ache in the same way we do.

Ginger is ever present in every moment and that has been a great example to me. He reminds me that in life and in faith we have to be present in the here and now, not living in the past, not living in the future but here now.