Can't stop praising God!

Woke up this morning around 6am to a dark, rainy day. It rains a lot in Florida, but usually not in the morning. One of us always walks the dogs in the morning so they get all their "business" done and then are tired and ready for their long day while we're at work. Joy was going to walk the dogs, but had a mini-migraine and went back to bed to try and feel better before going to work. I decided to wait and see if the rain stopped so I could walk the dogs. The rain lessened to a light sprinkle and off we went. It was a gorgeous morning! The sun was just coming out, there was a light breeze in the trees, the birds were singing and then I turned the corner and there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky! My heart welled up with love and gratitude to God for His great gifts, love and care. I just couldn't stop praising Him for how much He loves us and how the presence of Jesus speaks into every aspect of my life. Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying I have a perfect life. But...in the midst of those things that are lacking - Jesus is there. He cares - He is pulling for me - He is interceding for me - He is sustaining me - He is blessing me - He is helping me love others more deeply - He is giving me more compassion, more understanding, more forgiveness for others - I mean, what more could I ask for?

But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you,
O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 59:16 -17 (ESV)

Oops!

OK, I spoke too soon. We DID have the air conditioning off for a bit and I thought we could leave
it off permanently, but, it is not to be. The air conditioner went back on last night and we'll see how it goes. I forgot that we're in the "transition" phase of Florida weather where it's cool one day and then hot the next. In fact, this week it's supposed to get back up 84 degrees, so we're not at the completely cool weather phase yet - but it's coming!! This is what fall is like down here in Florida.

Finally - Air Conditioning is off!!!

Yeah, we were finally able to turn off the air conditioning on Thursday, October 25, 2007! After turning on the air conditioner in the beginning of May 2007, it's now turned cool enough to turn it off. Hallelujah! For six months, we've been inside a hermetically sealed environment due to the high heat and humidity of living in Florida. I can still remember when I first moved to Florida back in 2001 and the first hot day hit. Having moved from Southern California where it's hot during the day and cools off at night, I did the same thing here by turning off the air conditioner and opening up the windows to get the cool air inside the house. Bad move! It didn't cool off at night and there was NO cool air. I closed the house back up and kept on the air conditioner for the next six months. Like I always say, I'm glad to live in Florida and be able to endure the heat and humidity for six months of the year with air conditioning. But, I'm REALLY glad when it cools off in in November and we can turn off the air conditioning until early May of the next year. Opening up the house and it getting cooler also motivates me to clean up, throw out and get rid of clutter.

Managing Emotions

I attended a good all-day workshop today entitled "Managing Emotions Under Pressure." I used to think that I had a pretty good handle on my emotions and then some things happened in my work and personal life and I realized I didn't have such a good handle on these emotions. I find that God has done lots of deep work in me digging out the baggage and triggers through most of my emotional stuff...but, there are still those times when I lose it emotionally. In fact, it just happened the other day. My rational mind knows something is not right, but my emotions just do what they want. It's like Paul says in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate."

I went hoping to get some good ideas on how to identify these triggers and change some behaviors. The instructor shared how we have two areas that control our behavior - the rational part of our brain (the neo-cortex) and the emotive part of our brain (the limbic system.) The neo-cortex is where learning takes place, but then the limbic system is where all the emotions and long-term memories reside. To make it more clear he asked, "Have you ever ridden a horse?" Most people said "yes" and then he asked, "Does a horse ever do what it doesn't want to do?" Most of us laughed, remembering being thrown off a horse or being taken back to the stable when the horse wanted to go. It takes a very skilled rider to control and train that horse to do what the rider wants it to do - not let the horse control the situation.


Our emotions (limbic system) are the horse and our rational thoughts (neo-cortex) are the rider. When the horse inside us - and yes, everyone has a horse! - controls what we do, then we are being controlled by our emotions and not rational thought. Therefore, the key is to train the horse inside us (our emotions) to be controlled by the rider (rational thought) and not the other way around. This means that we can unlearn old patterns and re-learn new patterns - so, you CAN teach an old horse new tricks!! This takes time, effort and lots of hard work. I'm praying that God gives me the grace and strength to work on some of these bad habits in my life. I'll keep you posted on the progress!!

I love flowers!

My wonderful roommate, who is in India for two weeks, had these lovely bouquet of flowers sent to me - yeah! There's something wonderful about receiving flowers - they are beautiful, they represent life, they smell really nice and...most important of all - they tell you someone cares about you! If I had the money, I'd send fresh flowers to everyone I know (well, the women :-)...

Alone but not Lonely

Joy and her mom (Esther) left for India yesterday on a two-week trip to see Joy's aunt and Esther's sister, Marietta. Marietta and her husband, Joe, were missionaries at Woodstock School for many years. I'm glad that Joy and Esther have this chance to go on this adventure.

It was a full weekend, with Esther and Joy getting ready for their trip and then lots of family stuff as well. Dad and Mari came in from the beach for the weekend. We had a big family dinner Friday night and then attended my brother's girlfriend's 4 year-old daughter's birthday party. Our family's present to her was the entire Cinderella outfit - yup, dress/ shoes / wand / tiara / gloves. She looked absolutely precious and she twirled and spun the entire time she had it on. It had been awhile since I'd been to a young child's birthday party - I had forgotten how quickly they open presents. I love that they have no pretense at all about being eager to rip off the paper and see what's inside!

Anyway, by the time I'd taken Joy and Esther to the airport and returned home, I was ready for some alone time. People ask me if I get lonely when I'm by myself and the answer is "no." As much of a people person that I am, I also really relish time alone and especially, not having to interact if I don't feel like it. Plus, I have my dogs, Mocha and Kuja, so it's not like I'm really alone - they are great companions and good watch dogs also.