Rainy days, Mondays and a little Discipline Always Get Me Down...Mstones 8.13.06

ants. they were everywhere..ok, not really everywhere..but they had really taken over one shelf in the kitchen cabinets. Ugh!

We were rising a little later than normal for a Saturday. Enjoying first cup of coffee on porch, i spied a way too energetic Jeff Davis running along at mega warp-speed. i really didn't have my eyes fully opened yet. At this point of minor irritation with self for sluggish behavior in morning, i heard john exclaim, "Ants -- they're everywhere."

Poptarts. Think he was reaching for poptart to stifle hungry, incessantly begging children. Think when box of fudge-covereds was open, it was discovered that a massive industrious colony of tiny pests had invaded. So the next 10 minutes, the sanctity my Saturday morning quiet was spent dumping, purging -- gasping at how those tiny things got into everything over night. Every open box of anything out. Oreos, Cheez-its, etc. all gone. bummer. All my crackers gone, and i love my crackers.

i know those creatures weren't there the night before. Or at least not a billion of them.

How did this happen? Now i did spot a few Friday afternoon on window sill and zapped them with RAID. Ok -- it was RAID for "flying insects" -- but it did seem to do the job. i really hadn't thought much more about them or that there was a problem. oh dear.

infestations... really guess not much my fault. Maybe if i had been more disciplined about getting rid of the wee beasts at their first salvo on Friday?

Yes, discipline. If there is anything i love more than infestations, it has to be discipline. UGH!

Now i love the result of good discipline -- clean house, trim body, relief from those annoying...."how we can help you get out from debt" phone calls, and not over sleeping on Saturdays. Children dressed out of house and at school on time.

But it always seems so hard for me. Think all those discipline traits were saved for my sister. She who passed her CPA exam -- all four parts, first time -- while working full time at top accounting firm -- not by taking a course, but by reading a book while up at 4 a.m. on treadmill exercising before she went to work.

hmm.. what else? She gained total of 3 pounds for each of her pregnancies. For me add one and times by 10. She was "grazer" years before grazing entered the dieting lexicon. If i see her 3 months before any birthday (husband, child, me) -- she hands me the gift. Ok -- this is really madding -- because i completely forget where i have squirreled the thing away by time birthday rolls around.

Ants and discipline. They really get in my business.

Discipline really.. guess if i was a little more disciplined i could some how make it occasionally to church by 9 o'clock to hear husband preach. Seems that lots of people do it. But it's just that i see him all the time. And Kirk's great too. And it would really require lots of disturbing my 30 minutes of Sunday morning peace that i sooo love........

It is my peace after all, isn't it...........darn it.

Milestone Class, Sunday, August 13 -- year of our Lord -- 2006. (i was so on time, didn't even noticed time we all got started.. just remembered..)

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego," Pete said.

hurrah! For even lame biblical scholar that i am, i know that is reference to Old Testament characters. Yeah! Love OT teachings for so clear-cut, no nonsense, yet so applicable. This will be easy to write about.

Ok -- i was fooled. We weren't going to talk about being strong in face of adversity, willing to go to the kiln, and only to be saved by angel or Christ-foreshadowing figure for our trememdous faith. bummer.

i hate it when i have to think while doing these things. that requires discipline. hmmm.

For all those not in attendance, it was quite the large crowd. Everyone very orderly passed around handouts and the discussion began.............

"Are we blessed?" our able teacher for morning asked gathered flock.

The ever timid Ron Lewis jumped right in with.."i am -- because of my wife." Well, he might be timid but he is smart for with admission of Dena's enormous blessing in his life he made her happy, and by doing so first -- he really stole the thunder from any other Mguy.

"Living in America," Steve Speyers.

Laree spoke of the pull we all feel when see others living in very desperately poor situations. "Why have we been so blessed?"

Cindy (Mstone extremely young and gorgeous mother of groom to be this weekend) referred to mission trip to Honduras. Viewing all the unimaginable poverty -- made her realize that being blessed means having choices. How living in the country we do -- we have those choices. Extreme poverty in 3rd world country doesn't allow for many choices in life.

Joe Reitman/Steve came up with the answer of "Jesus."

They got first gold stars for think that was point of blessing discussion. "We are all blessed because we can know Jesus no matter who we are, where we live -- Jesus is the one true Blessing." Pete said. Jesus being right answer again, i guess.

Slavery of Ingrained Habits

was next topic on handout.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 57:20

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt."

Looking at my bible transcribing class this a.m., i see that at some point in life, i had circled the next verse. Circles are very unusual for me... lots of underlining..but few ink circles in my bible.

"There is no peace, "
Says my God, "for the wicked." Isaiah 57:21.

no peace again. just hate it when that happens.

Love that picture of the water. But guess if one was right in middle of it -- it would be downright terrifying.

Pete asked,"How do we approach and deal with the dirt and mire in our lives?"

Mstones did manage to figure out that the dirt reference was "sin." Kristie added we can, "recognize it." Ron stated, "justify it." Julie added, "Look at others and think -- well, at least i haven't done that."

KT -- reminded all that this dirt, as harmless as it might seem does do one thing that isn't so benign -- results in major separation from God.

Handout then had this thought..."As long as we think we can save ourselves by our own willpower, we will only make the evil in us stronger than ever."

Pete then queried, "What is the common problem with our will and the law?"

"We on our own can't transform the inner person." Think this must have been Joe R. or Steve because you both were on fire yesterday. Mary, "it has to be a continual transformation -- like the sea that is always changing."

Then we get around to point of whole thing, i think. "What is a spiritual discipline?"

"How can i engage in the path in spiritual discipline?" Pete asked all.

Yeah, i'm thinking. How can i? Question should more likely be..Why would i? i mean please?

ok -- i am bad.

Next up on handout, Difficulties in Path to Spiritual Discipline. Difficulties -- see i told you this was going to be hard.

Pete Speak:
a. Pervasive materialism left us without an understanding of ability to reach beyond the physical.
b. We don't know how to explore the depths of the inward life.

"Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, nor for gifted people, but for deep people." Richard Foster.

i like this thought. Now this i can do... for i am not intelligent, nor gifted. i think i have much more potential to become a deep person, rather than i disciplined one . So come on Pete.. tell us Mstones how we can make this deep/peace/transforming stuff happen right now!

Maybe this will be the point of this Celebration of Discipline stuff. To become transformed deep people, we have to deeply pursue and thirst for all that is good.

These Disciplines are a means of placing ourselves before God to be changed.

i was kind of kidding about all the hating discipline part. For only in the true disciplined pursuit of righteous will we be able to ever glimpse the amazing, overwhelming truth and perfection of the Father. That is indeed worthy of a celebration.

But the Choices. as Cindy said, by virtue where we live we are afforded many different avenues in life.

Guess same is true of our spiritual life as well. We have lots of choices. The choice to be disciplined in our pursuit of Godly living or not so discerning.

Seems i sometimes lean to the not-so-discerning side, because isn't it more fun to test the waters a little. This is where my friends the ants taught me valuable lesson. You see they are really quiet, tiny and harmless as individuals, but you let a few in here -- a few in there. Then you go to sleep..........and wake up and there is a full-fledged war going on. They have permeated and infiltrated everything. All that was good (and great to eat) had to be destroyed and thrown out in garbage.

A little sin. All so tiny, yet once massed together takes over all that is good in us before we know it.

Just like a perfectly good box of Cheez-its. Out in the trash. What a waste.

"What a waste." i can only guess, but think the Father must think that about us sometimes. For He and only He can see all that we could be without these infestations of the soul. So here's to learning about celebrating some spiritual disciplines -- which i guess we will be doing for a while?

Great job, Pete!

Prayer Requests and Announcements

A praise from the Cookbook committee that "it" is indeed in the mail to the publishers. Yea! Thanks for all you hard work. Stephanie, Laree, Margaret, Kristie, Shelly and Shelagh. Our Mstone culinary book has 450 recipes. We have ordered 300. Surely they will be flying off the shelves at Cracker Barrel.

Please keep the Craig family in your prayers -- a young man was involved in a bad car accident that has left him with severe head injuries. They are hopeful that he will be able to regain his normal mental capacity.

Praise -- Cindy's son Daniel and future bride Lindsay are getting married this weekend. All our prayers go out for a wonderful day and that God will always remain at the center of their marriage.

We pray for the Angel family as they are looking for buyer for their house. Please be in prayer for daughter Savannah and the procedure needed to repair small opening in heart. btw -- word on street is that Larry will be in Mad Labor Day weekend. Wonder if that has anything to do with UGA opener?

ok -- Larry, my reluctant inclusion of picture of a bulldog in this thing is true testament of our love for you. Of course, it is a rather small and weakish pup -- which is also true statement of how i think of them. Kidding. Kind of.

He (the dog) seems tad frightened. Must be Western Kentucky. Yes, if i were Mark Richt most of my nightmares would revolve around playing the mighty "Hill Toppers." Good Grief -- Larry -- what is a hill topper? or "Topper" for short?

Don't even know who the Gators are playing? Must look........


Now this guy is worthy opponent. A dang golden eagle. Massive intensive game film review by me has just learned he feeds on small animals..turtles, snakes, skunks and helpless bullpups left unawares on blue blankets in middle of backyard by hapless coaches...oops, i mean owners.

Southern Miss. hope my gators are up to it. Just glad they don't have to face the "toppers."

oh dear... Must end all this silliness.

Epilogue

Yes, discipline might be worth trying by me on the occasional Sunday morning. Miles household Quote of the Day yesterday.

After 9 o'clock service a very nice woman approached Nancy (my dear mother-in-law) and said, "I so enjoyed your husband's message." her husband?

Discounting any weird incest inference -- Nancy and Johnny. Mad's own Demi and Ashton. very edgy.

john's reply..."what must that lady think of me?"

ok -- that is sad. Poor women thinks john is married to Mrs. John Miles, Sr. Maybe, Mrs. john miles, jr. ought to show her face at 9 a.m. little more.

but i move so slow on Sunday mornings.


dreadfully slow really.

God Bless,
Good Week and oh my goodness..

these things can end up terribly long if:

a. rainy Monday morning, and
b. no desire to bike or run in rain, and
c. no real time to make to Athens for swim.. and
d. no other real choice except to.. .. write away for hours or clean house for hours?

hmmmmm.. now really what's a very disciplined Mgal like me to do?