So I'm trying this new text blogging thing.. But I wonder how well it's gonna work if I want to do a big blog. My texts can only be 180 characters long! ???

The Bride-to-Be

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident.

As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.

This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand.

The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.

He began to speak and his statement was this:

'My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?'

The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!

'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.' Psalm 55:23

I got this story in an email forward. I usually just delete these, but I could not ignore this one. I thought I would share :)

So I have no idea why I'm up so late. I'm tired, but my mind will not let me sleep. This gave me the BEST idea ever.... why not BLOG!? lol. (if you don't know me that well the sentence just to the north is replete with sarcasm) Who know's what will come out of my mouth!

My 8 year old niece, Alivia, had a pretty bad bike wreck today. I'm not sure what time it was, but it was after 6pm for sure. (why that matters I don't know but just go with it) So I get the info from my mom. She had just gotten off the phone with Alivia's mom. Then I had to get in touch with my dad so he could take my brother (Alivia's dad) to the hospital. Oh yeah, did I mention that they took her to the ER? Well.. now ya know... :) Anyway, my brother had just spent a week at my dad's in Georgia, along with his (my brother's) 4 year old daughter Emma. Dad had just brought them both back to Mississippi today. Well, I called Dad and gave him the info and he got my brother to the hospital to be with Alivia. WHEW! big ole mess... complicated by the fact that I kinda haven't talked to my brother in over a year and his cell phone never works anyway.

But Alivia is fine. :) I got to talk to her before the doctor came to see her. She's a trooper! she didn't even sound one bit pitiful. She was like, "I'm ok." lol. I love her. She's pretty banged up and got some stitches in one knee and her nose, but she'll definitely live. I'm sure that she will be sore tomorrow though!

So I have been here in Texas - not a bad place. I kinda like it! But I wish it didn't take me 8 hours or more to get to my family. It's hard.

Just FYI - my brother has 3 kids. The other one not mentioned above is Cale, my 6 year old nephew. He is a whole story unto himself! hehe. They are awesome kids.

~ A Baby's Hug ~

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his merriment.

It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'

Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed.

We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was runni ng through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship.

Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck.

The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'
Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.'
I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me!"

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity. How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God , we must become as little children.'

Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.

'It is better to be liked for the true you, than to be loved for who people think you are......'

The BIG 33

Tomorrow I will turn 33. Yep that's what I said - 33.

Most people say that I don't look 33. I sure don't feel 33. So why is 33 a scary number for me? This age is the first one that I actually do not want to turn. 30 was even good for me. 33 just sounds.... what's the word for it... not young? I really think that if I could skip this age I would be ok because 34 and 35 don't sound as bad as 33 to me. Is that weird?

Maybe it's the double number? lol I'm sure there are reasons though.

For one, I'm going to be 33 and NOT MARRIED. It is kinda scary to think that maybe, just maybe I might not be married... and I don't wanna be alone when I'm older. I do want to be married. I just stink at meeting good men!

For two, I live in a college town. 'nuff said

For three, I don't have kids - now I have debated on whether I really want to have children. I do well with fish and cats... I'm ok with puppies/dogs. And I know that cute babies turn into teens... yuk.

Most of my friends that are within a 5 year range of my age are married and have children or will soon. I'm not trying to keep up with the Joneses, but I want that. I want a family of my own. I want a husband - even though I've heard they are trouble! lol. I want the messiness and beautifulness of a family.

For four - my life still seems to be in transition. Not that it's a bad thing. I am always up for trying new things and moving to new places. I guess I just always figured that by this time in my life I would be settled.

Maybe that's what this "fear of 33" is all about. There's probably more. There's always more.

All I know is that in about 8 hours I will no longer be 32. lol anyone invented a time machine yet? :)

Dazey Thoughts

So I'm not really great at blogging. My brain works in circular patterns. At least it does when I'm conversing and writing things like this. BUT I'm going to try this. I've tried many things over the years.. Bebo, Xanga, Myspace, umm... and some others I don't remember. :) But here we go!!

First off... the name of my blog - Dazey Thoughts. Just a little explaination on how I came to the name Dazey. WELLLL, I like Gerber daisies. So the first time I logged in to play Bunco on MSN games (Bunco's not there anymore, by the way) I was trying to think of a name and I came up with Daisygirl. Sounded fun so I went with it. Well, Prilosec OTC sponsored the site and decided they didn't want to anymore so - POOF - there goes Bunco online. Well The World of Bunco decided to make a site and when I went to log in on that one, I couldn't use Daisygirl for some odd reason. So I played around with some random names and thought about how else I could spell daisy. I came up with Dazeygrl. I thought it was cute and kinda different so now I use that on most of my IM's and stuff. Now most people in Bunco just call me Daz. Kinda cool because it's only the second REAL nickname I've ever had. Kate, my cousin Julie's daughter who is 4, called me Bubble when she was a baby and it kinda stuck. So there ya go!

YAY I wrote a paragraph. Fun times! I hope I'll write more soon.