This is a book meme tag from Karen  ~

1. Pick up the nearest book with atleast 123 pages.
2. Find page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.
5. Tag a couple folks. 

The closest book to me was The Message....

"When you see all these things, you know he is at the door. Don't take this lightly. I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too -- these things will happen."  Mark 13"

If you think you want to play this tag, please let me know so that I can come see yours too!

Oh boy!! A game!! I've been tagged by Julie at HomeintheMitten. Hmmmmmmm........

Here they are....in no particular order.

1. I am an army brat. My dad was a "lifer" and we moved about every 4-5 years while growing up. This helped me to be an easily adaptable individual. But I've never liked not having life-long friends.
2. I keep one bookbag per club/organization/committee under my desk. Luckily I have a big desk. I love this because I don't have to keep clearing out a bookbag everytime I'm off to a meeting. It makes life a little easier, saves time, and keeps me a little more organized....something I have to work hard for. =]
3. I am a cat, dog, and bird person. All of our cats growing up lived to be atleast 18yo and one was 22yo. We had an Irish Setter and English Pointer when I was a child. About two years before Bruce and I were married, I got two kitties from the same litter. One died two years ago and the other is still with us...18yo next month. They were love kitties. =] Our cockatiel's name is Sydney. I work with him everyday trying to teach him a short tune. So far, he's picked up the first two notes. This'll be a long process. =] We also have two dogs, Hershey and Sassy.
4. My first rock-n-roll concert was Boston in about 1978 in Germany. LOL Now my 12yo son loves to listen to them!!
5. I love cooking in a crockpot....I do it often. It saves times and headaches from trying to decide what's for dinner around 5 o'clock.
6. I get two different magazines for  myself....The Old Schoolhouse and Taste of Home. A girlfriend just subscribed me to Simple and Delicious (from Taste of Home).
   

 OK!  There you go.  Six totally unimportant things about me.  Now it's your turn.  I'm tagging six people and these are the "rules" of tag! (1.) Link to the person that tagged you (unimportant me!). (2.) Post the rules on your blog. (3.) Share 6 unimportant things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4.) Tag 6 random people at the end of your post w/their links and tell the random person they have been tagged!  Whee....let the games begin/continue!

Here's who I've tagged....however, don't feel bad if you have a "no tag zone" I didn't know about, just let me know. =]

laturner

computergirl

pigpen

kcomom

fruitfulfamily

juliestew

Here are the rules...

1. The player starts with eight random facts about herself.

2. The person who is tagged must post her answers, and she must post the rules first.

3. Then the player must pick eight people and tag them, leaving them a note to know that they've been tagged.

My Facts

1. When I was pregnant with my kids, I loved eating fried egg sandwiches.

2. Two places I would love to visit are to tour the continent of Africa, and the Holy Lands.

3. I wear a toe ring.

4. I started coloring and highlighting my hair about a year ago.

5. I have over a dozen over-ripened bananas in my freezer...in hopes of making a bunch of banana bread one day.

6. I detest having to "cut-up" a whole chicken....I normally buy the boneless, skinless version.

7. I talk to God in the shower....it's about the only time I'm by myself!!

8. I coach soccer and am reading the AYSO coaching handbook.

9. I learned to ski in the Austrian Alps.

10. My most embarrassing moment...I accidentally backed my 61' Impala over the side of a delivery ramp...before I had to go inside the building and tell them I was there for a 1:00 job interview.....it was terrible!!!

These are the 8 people I'm going to tag: computergirl, soccergal, pigpen, EclecticInOurPJs, luvmy2mks, castlekids, laturner, and Amber.

Have fun!!

As I was sitting this morning with the back door open to the screen, I was reminded that spring is here. I could hear the birds singing their morning songs. And I realized how much I missed that. Yes, during the winter months, with doors and windows closed, you don't have the opportunity to listen much for that. But with the promise of warmer weather around the corner, the hope of renewal sings right outside the door.

Unfortunately, it was also a reminder to me of how very busy I've been too (not good). The last several weeks have been too crazy.....definitely NOT how I like it. I'm starting to see the sunshine through the clouds now, but I have to ask myself, what makes that happen?  I thought about that question for a while this morning and then decided that it was one worth asking here... 

When you come to the point that you realize that life has not been all that it should be, what exactly gets us to that place? What gets us out-of-sinc? Try to pinpoint 3 reasons if you can. This is what I found for me...

1. Too much of anything, ends up being a burden....to many ores in the water...sticks in the fire....scoops in the ice cream....anyway you want to put it. Too much activity for me. Each worthy time-taker in and of itself is not bad. As a matter of fact, we do take the time to weigh every activity wisely before we commit. Many things we have to say no to. But at certain times of the year, when all of those activities culminate....like lately....it makes for a mess. I realized lately that the show will go on, even if I'm not there. Sometimes, I just have to say not tonight, we need a rest. For example, last night was Briar's Court of Honor and Clara's Small Group meeting. Both at the same time. And, for about 5 minutes we entertained the idea of trying to do both. But, then a better plan presented itself...Plan B.  And Clara accepted Plan B. She went to Boy Scouts with us to support her brother's accomplishments, and missed Small Group for once. Good choice. Good sisterly duty to her brother. Good way a family does life together. And a great example of how to just say no sometimes.
2. The second sinc-sinker is what happens as a result of #1 (see #1 for refresher).  With too much activity, we don't get enough rest. With not enough rest, we become grumpy, cranky and impatient with one another. We don't have quality time with eachother. And more importantly, we neglect the quality time with God. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." There is GREAT truth in those words, because as we've all learned, without taking the time to rest in His loving arms, we tend to forget those loving arms, and focus more on the storm all around us. We become a spectator in life again...watching it go by...without really getting in the game. And before we know it, we've become disconnected from the flow of Holy Spirit....disconnected from the Vine. We don't see any fruit in our lives because we've somehow cut off the flow of nurishment to the branches (that's us). We begin to dry up. And if we're not careful, we can feel like we've simply withered and died.
3. This one is a little more personal for me, but I'm going to share it. Something that really gets me out of sinc, is being out of sinc with my other half....my dear hubby. What's that saying? When momma ain't happy, nobody's happy? Well, I think it should be, when momma and daddy ain't happy, nobody's happy. When we neglect the nurturing of our marriage, it doesn't take long to see the rippling effects throughout our family. I'm so thankful and praise God often, that we've grown in wisdom and maturity in the the 15 years. We've come to a stable point of being able to recognize the symptoms earlier now. We've come to a place in our relationship where it's more important to reach harmony, then our own agendas. But, in those off times when things aren't going as we'd like, when we both think our way is the best (yes, I can be stubborn), I know that I can be out-of-sinc.

Well, if it's not too umcomfortable for you, feel free to give your own honest rendition of what gets you out-of-sinc....in other words, what causes stress in your life? You can either leave your responses here, or let me know, and I'll visit your blog.

Thanks for participating!

I pray you have a blessed day!!

 Deborah

Name the first 3 things you do most every morning....

Mine are...

1. Put my feet on the floor, touch my toes, and pray Psalm 143:8 (all in one).
2. Make a lunch for my husband and send him off to work.
3. Grab a cup of coffee and have my QT...read, prayer, and Bible Study.

I hope you have a GREAT day in the Lord!! Know that if you're visiting here today, you've been prayed for!

Many Blessings,

 Deborah

Hey Chickies!  (and Gents if you're out there)

Last week was pretty easy with your 3 Christmas gifts. This week's a little more challenging and will likely take some of us for a fun trip down amnesia lane....

NAME YOUR FIRST 3 CONCERTS ...professional, amateur, otherwise...

Mine are.....and this WILL date me.......

1. Boston - Don't Look Back.....in Heidelburg, Germany Army Base

2. Kenny Rogers - talk about extremes??!!???...Grand Rapids, MI

3. I'm fairly certain it's ..... Styx......Indianapolis, IN

Now it's YOUR TURN.....leave a comment with your answers OR direct me to YOUR blog and I promise to come  read.

Share the Game!!

Deborah

Now Presenting......Thursday Three's Tag....a game for all ages.....and unlimited players.

Okay, this is the first time I've done this, but it sounded like a fun idea. So I thought I'd try it....it's easy, really. On Thursday's I will tag with one question that requires three answers.....simple...painless...short...and sweet.

All you have to do is leave your answers as a comment OR give the answers on your blog and let me know that you've done that. I promise to come and visit and find out more about YOU! And you can TAG someone new from your page!

This'll be fun....I promise.....are you ready???

Name 3 gifts you received for Christmas....quick while it's still fresh in your mind!!

Mine are ~

• A beautiful charm-beaded bracelet with Christ symbols, from my kids.
• A beautiful brown-small-plaque-looking cross on a beaded brown necklace, from my hubby.
• A brand new 6 qt Smart Crock Pot, from my mom-in-law Dori.

 Have a great day!

Deborah