Snake Date

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pic is of Roxie and Zac... at the pool... again. I warned you. Many of the summer photos will be taken at the pool. We are like hippos. It is where we hang out.

RANDOMNESS #1 - Speaking of hippos... we watched our fourth episode of Life last night. I think I know what the problem is now. I like Life. I really do. Oprah's voice doesn't bother me, although her mispronunciation of the word "capuchin" over and over and over again in Episode #2 was a little annoying. And if she says "evolved" or "adapts" once, she says it 1,000 times per episode. However, we are now older, and when she tells us it took millions of years for birds to evolve into flying animals, the Faulkner Five know, "Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." Genesis 1:20. (That was the fifth day of creation, by the way. Not millions and millions of years later!)

No, it's more than that. I think I'm having a little trouble with it because it is so predictable. On each and every show, there is one grisly death by predator, one unusual mating ritual and one animal you have never seen or heard of before. It is a VERY structured show.

Now that I know WHAT bothers me, I have to figure out WHY the most "structured" person in the world is so bothered by a "structured" nature show!

I'm an enema, I tell you! Or an enigma! Just pick one!

RANDOMNESS #2 - Find a cool pool of water or an active air conditioning vent and sit in it (or on it depending which you pick). It's the only way you'll survive this massive heat wave. Drink plenty of Caramel Frappes from McDonald's to stay hydrated. I am not a trained health care professional... I only play one on the blog!

TOPIC OF THE WEEK - FAULTY FOCUS

In yesterday's post, I shared my favorite example of making a life purpose statement. I want to choose four or five words and write my statement "around" those words.

But there was another way I found very interesting. Another woman, Jean, decided her purpose was to influence generations. She wanted to pass on God's truth to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on, and so on.

She, too, talked about how hard it was to focus in our BUSY lives. "Life loses focus without any effort, determination or decision on our part. The process of living, day in and day out, tends to dilute and divert focus. We become so busy that we have no time to consider HOW we live." (Love this!)

Jean imagines her life as a tree. The trunk represents her relationship to Christ. The limbs represent major areas of God-given responsibility (family, job, ministry, etc.) The branches of the tree are activities and opportunities of life.

When the branches begin multiplying and obscuring the trunk and limbs, Jean knows there is "too much busy" going on around her. That is when she prunes her tree.

She prunes her tree prayerfully three or four times a year.

I liked this example, because I do this with my "busy basket." I write down all the "stuff" I'm doing... all the "things" I've put into my basket. Twice a year (in June and December), I get rid of the activities and "stuff" that are keeping me from my life purpose.

"But, Belinda. I thought you said you had not written your life purpose statement yet."

Okay. Okay. I'm working on it! But I do know BALANCE is my one, huge, seemingly unobtainable goal (God, family, others), and I've been working on that one for years!

One more tidbit from this chapter tomorrow. It is inspiring stuff, I tell you!

Blog Linkage - I don't have a lot of extra reading for you today... but that's good, right? It's summertime, and you don't need to be stuck in front of a computer all day long!

1. Click on Nitty.Gritty. under My Blog List and read the post entitled "My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (and Story)" dated Tuesday, June 15. Beware! This is a VERY expensive post!

2. Click on Sherri's Blog (again, under My Blog List) and read her post entitled "To Be or To Do? That is the Question" dated Wednesday, June 16. It talks a little about one of my favorite subjects... busyness. Very good reading!

Snake Date

If you have a child who is into reptiles (and thank goodness, I DID NOT), I have a totally affordable date idea for you and yours! (The Ruffner Mountain info came straight from The Bargain Mom!)

This Saturday, Ruffner Mountain is having a Snakes Up Close program. It costs $7 for non-members and $5 for members.

The program is called "For Goodness Snakes." (Cute, huh?)

The program is from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The following was posted on their website:

Have you ever wanted to learn about the world of snakes? You will have the opportunity to see some of Ruffner’s resident snakes up-close and discover some interesting facts about these often misunderstood animals. Following the program, feel free to stick around to watch these guys eat.

Before your visit to Ruffner Mountain, you could take a ride to Ed's Pet World in Homewood, and spend some quality time browsing through their store. They have everything (including reptiles) and it would be a great, inexpensive way to start a Snake Date!

Give yourself plenty of time to go to Savage's Deli before heading to Ruffner Mountain. Share a pastry and a drink, talk about what you've just seen and what you are about to see.

Remember, it doesn't have to be extravagant or monumental to make a memory. It just takes time, time, time.

Have fun!

Have a lovely Thursday. Enjoy time with family and friends. Friday I'll end the week with Weekend Happenings, one last insight from Chapter Seven of Calm My Anxious Heart and a tiny bit of Randomness I've been saving.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda