A Bottom-Feeder in the Ocean of Life

And, I have to remind myself to:

Fight the feeling!

Earlier as I was digging through the over-crowded & very disorganize refrigerator for left-overs, I thought to myself, "Yep, you're just a bottom-feeder in the Ocean of Life!" The search effort was twofold: get rid of anything which looked like a potential science experiment & find something suitable (more than stale Christmas cookies or left over candy) for lunch. More days than not, I'm looking through the refrigerator trying to determine what's in there that I could and should eat before it becomes a petri dish for cultivation. My mindset isn't, "What looks the yummiest?" But, my mind is focused on, "What's

Dinner for Five?

Perhaps there are so many twists & turns in life so we don't have to see everything that's coming down the path. Have you ever wondered that? It's a great reason to live in the moment. It's wise to do some planning for the future... but, not at the expense of the present.

Sometimes things happen "to us" in life that we never really thought would happen "to us." In January, we will celebrate year two of having another family member. She wasn't planned or expected. But, she has proven to be one of the most delightful changes to our lives.

Do You Like Your Life Ruthann?

It's a little past seven in the evening and, I'm sitting here on the patio beside our cement pond eating leftovers for dinner. The rest of the family won't be home for several hours. The day has finally cooled down enough to be able to enjoy being outside. Beside me is a pool that has an eerie yellow-green tint to it thanks to the mustard algae we've been battling all summer. Earlier today I brushed down the sides of the pool to try to get the cleaning process started again. I'm surrounded by a wooden fence that's rotten and falling down in many places. A big portion of it is now replaced with staked up chicken wire. There's mismatched patio furniture all around me - many of the pieces held together, no doubt, by rust. Assorted hand-me-downs: play sets, swings and slides, that I vowed would never clutter up my yard, abound.

What Lies Hidden in Darkness

There have been a lot of times in my life where I've walked in darkness. I've been responsible for some of those times due to my choices. I've walked in the darkness other times due to another's choices. 

In the times when I could see nothing... God saw it all. When I didn't acknowledge His presence or power... He still saw it all. When I was walking with Him, yet experiencing seasons of darkness, I may have been at a loss for understanding but was comforted in the knowledge that He was there... working for my good. 

I will...

“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. Daniel 2:20,22 NLT

When I trust in Him, He revels deep and mysterious things to me... in His perfect timing. 

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

(Note to my three followers - okay a few more than three: If you get a post in your inbox that's not quite formatted I probably wrote it in the wee hours of the night on my phone. Thanks for bearing with me friends!)

Follow the Leader - #JoyDare No. 2368

I'm counting my blessings with the Ann Voskamp community & today one of mine is:
       #JoyDare No. 2368. new found fun

As a young girl, I enjoyed taking pictures and looking at what I'd captured (when the film was developed and the pictures were printed). In this digital age, I'm thrilled to be able to see what I've captured in the moment. Since my teens, I've enjoyed finding especially meaningful inspiration and motivational quotes AND scriptures. 

Recently, I decided to pair the two... a picture I'd taken and words that spoke to my heart. Often times I'll pair a scripture with a quote with a picture. I've had so much fun doing this lately! 

The idea for today's pairing was taken from something I read about being strong. It suggested that strength... shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over. That got me thinking about how to know whether we should persist or whether we should start over. I immediately thought of the game I'd played as a child, Follow the Leader.

Just like the childhood game where I would mimic another person's actions, as a Christ-follower, I have a leader to show me where to go, what to do, when to rest, when to work, etc. Unlike the childhood game, it's not following someone with no thoughts or reasoning. There are times I have to look hard into God's Word to know what to do. Other times I have to ask Him & then wait in silence to hear the reply. One of the scriptures which helps me the most when I stand at a cross road is:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

I might not always know when to persevere or when to start over. But, I have a leader who is always willing to show me.

Follow God's leading. Sometimes he wants us to persevere. Other times he wants us to begin anew. "For everything there is a season." Ecclesiastes 3

Does God want you to persevere in something today? Or does God want you to start over with something new? How do YOU know?

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

It Will Wait 'Til Tomorrow!

I saw a great quote on Twitter this morning. And, if you know me, you know that I enjoy sharing quotes that touch and inspire me. The quote reminded me of a section of an Old Testament scripture that comes to my mind almost daily:

• often when I wake up
• as I try to set my agenda for the day 
• when I catch myself speaking in the wrong tone of voice to a family member

I'm reminded of the scriptures often as I go about my day-to-day normal life. The quote I saw reminded me of the choice each of us has at the beginning of every day and as the day progresses. We have a choice in how we speak to others & how we treat them. We have a choice in how we spend our resources. We have a choice in what we value by choosing our vocations. 

The quote I saw...

"No one served God by doing things tomorrow." - Charles H. Spurgeon

And, for me, a perfect pairing with that...

"... choose today whom you will serve..." Joshua 24:15a

Start your day choosing whom you will serve :)

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...

My Sincere Apology to All My Blog Followers

MY SINCERE APOLOGY TO ALL OF MY BLOG FOLLOWERS...

I, stuckinindiana, do hereby sincerely apologize to all my followers -- all 14 of them, wait... that would be 13 - 'cause I follow myself from another email address :)

The reason for the apology:

On my morning walkabout today, I had a million blog-inspiring thoughts. Well, maybe not a million but, possibly more than I can remember now that I'm home.  At some point those posts will possibly clog your email Inboxes.  My mind just would NOT stop with all the 140-200 character thoughts that came - and each with a story attached in my mind, to be written down later.

Some of those thoughts from my early morning walkabout:

• a soccer "parent support" shirt with the words "Ayla's Mom" scrolled across the back in big, bold letters... someday
• the time I was flashed when I was a student at Anderson University
• what a "DeeDee" would say to a flasher today
• "Love might not always condone. But, Love never condemns!" #LoveDoes
• I'm telling you, if any of my Anderson area friends are holding out on their access to a bucket truck, they are going to feel really badly when the LOML and/or I get impaled by that big pointy dead branch precariously hanging over our driveway 
• I only have room in my life for ONE OF THOSE & mine's at home now
• castanets at my funeral
• some of the hilarious effects of exercising way too infrequently
• fleeing the county on foot
• just because someone's hard to love doesn't mean you shouldn't love them! 
• God waiting on a bench for me to stop & talk
• if my husband dies, I will need to find a man who will help take care of me & not want any fringe benefits
• Dear God, I sincerely hope we are about DONE with the lesson we needed by having TWO houses (complete with 2 mortgages, 2 property taxes, 2 homeowner insurance policies, 2 sets of utility bills, 2 properties to maintain, etc.) 'cause I am SO READY for someone to buy that other house
• before I die, I need to find someone who is 100%, head over heels, crazy IN LOVE WITH THE LORD to write lyrics that bring honor & praise to God for Elton's John's tune "Funeral for a Friend" ... I will have Tyler arrange the song for my memorial service... I would like Brenton Pollock to play the castanets :)
• I've lived most of my life with one foot in the grave... knowing that death brings eternal life for those who love the Lord; there've been times when my focus was on escaping life through death; but, the real focus should always be about how only through death can we share in eternal life

And seriously, there were a lot more that will hopefully come back to me throughout the day.  I'll add them later :)

So for now, this little note will have to do. Beware, there are a lot more to come... someday soon... maybe... hopefully :)

Sometimes life gets in the way of LIFE :)

May your day be filled with wonderful reminders of how much God loves you... right where you are, just how you are... today & everyday.