Hair Repair

The victim




The product


The hero




Before





After
Mama Winkler saved the day! Thanks, Tracy!! :) :) :) And Theresa looked just fabulous, too!

Girl days are fun...Or as Ted would say "dress ups and Barbies" make for a good day!

Eric leaves with Paul...and malpractice.

I think Eric may have been a Paul Newman fan. He and Paul both left for the Heavenlies today. :(

I unfortunately may bear some responsibility in Eric's death...When I was feeding him there were times when there was more milk coming out of the syringe than he could take in...I tried to keep it to where I only gave him some when he was licking the syringe or grabbing for it. I was concerned about him aspirating, but it was hard to regulate...And I think he must have...so he got fluid in his lungs. The rehabber I was planning to take him to today pretty much confirmed that. When I told her his condition at the end she said kind of shortly (not realizing I had been the only one to feed him) "Whoever had him before you force fed him and the fluid went to his lungs instead of his stomach".

I said it was me that fed him and I didn't force feed him. I explained about trying to regulate the syringe. She back pedaled then and said "I thought someone had him before you" I said "Yeah, but they didn't give him anything"...She said "Oh....well, we live and learn...It's OK"...Funny how people talk when they think they are talking about someone else...

I'm not going to live in condemnation of myself, but I'm also not going to live in denial of my mistake. The rehabber was right - we do live and learn. I will be even more careful next time.

I know Eric is in a good place...

Unexpected guest...

I had a knock at the door this evening...



The neighbor kids found this baby underneath a tree. His siblings were dead but he was still alive. The kids were not allowed to take care of him and since I'm kinda known as the animal lady (maybe it's the 2 dogs, 2 cats and stream of rescue dogs and rats we have fostered??) I guess they figured I'd know what to do for him...

I don't...LOL! But I know this little guys Creator and I have friends in the vet field! So with prayer and nourishment we're gonna bring him back to health! Right now I am feeding him goat's milk. He only drinks a little at a time. But he seems to be resting more comfortably than when he first arrived.

Anyone have any wildlife rescue experience??

Please keep him in prayer...The kids named him "Eric"

Some people I love!

Here are some recent pictures of some of my favorite people! I have been a part of many communities of faith - all have been wonderful...But there is something special about these folks. I have found a community that truly meets you where you are, understands that we're all broken vessels in need of Jesus, but that understands God loves us too much to leave us where we are. We all are so much more than "sinners saved by grace"...We are saints and we are royalty in the Kingdom of God, made to walk in the many gifts God gives us to love and serve others. Royalty that serves...Odd concept!

Tony, Maria, Julie and Theresa. We're all building a place on Glenway called "Refuge Coffee Bar".



Jason, Lori, Bob (having some sort of angelic visitation, apparently!) and Shari. Lori is my sister-in-law and often partner in crime. Bob and Shari are one of those annoyingly cute couples. :) :)


This is Carol...She's a little bit, well...uh...Special. :) We call her our monkey girl. She can wrap both of her legs around her neck!


Carol, Steve, Kelly and Vaceisa. Steve is my brother from another mother. Kelly and Vaceisa I am enjoying getting to know. Kelly makes killer jewelry and Vacisa is a multi-talented performer and attended the same high school as I did - the School for Creative and Performing Arts.


I'm not sure who these 2 weirdos are...But I think they're pretty harmless.


Don and Margaret are another annoyingly cute couple. :) They run a construction company together and here he is removing a splinter from Margaret's finger after a hard day's work. These two are also gifted spiritual warriors - though they'd never admit it!


And finally, this is the gnome butt that greets you upon exiting the House of Horgan. The Horgans are an awesome family of faith and love and kindness...They just need to tame their devious yard decorations! (This is also a special tribute to Reverb who once posted very naughty pictures of these gnomes!)

THE END

Review

Contemporary Christian artist David Phelps has just released his latest CD, "The Voice". Last night I settled into my pillow with my Sansa MP3 Player to take a listen. From the first note of his peerless cover of Foreigner's "I want to know what love is" to the last note of "Your love", I was carried away into another world full of lush melodies, angelic imagry and even a spiritual battleground in "The end of the line", a song befitting of a Webber-esque rock opera.

This recording marks a turning point in David Phelps' artistic journey of faith. He performs with a freedom and maturity that are doubtless a culmination of years honing his talent with the Gaither Vocal Band and his prior solo projects. While all of his work has been - in this girl's opinion - well done and often spine-chilling vocally, this one is different. It's as if his previous work had been mere stepping stones to this place where his unique style, gifts of writing and arranging, his musical influences and his personality combine into a fantastical blend of sultry and energetic.

What I found myself most impressed with is that he no longer plays only upon his stunning 4 octave tenor range to wow the audience, but that he "lives" each song. He lets the lyrics and the message of each one color his delivery - drawing on a previously underplayed lower range that whispers and rasps as led by the spirit of each piece.

Knowing the solid faith of this performer's heart, that Spirit no doubt is an overflow of The God that he loves and lives for. Songs which in the mainstream might simply be a love song to a human lover, Phelps leaves one guessing as to whom he sings these songs of devotion. His beloved wife? Or his beloved Lord? Quite possibly both. And that is the beauty of The Voice. It wraps you up in a world of love and surrender, tender mercies and everlasting life; All of which come from Heaven and invade the Earth through human vessels....In this case, an artist with a voice and talent worthy of extended ovation.

Black Monday...

What else was there to do on a no-electric day? I colored my hair...Black this time...Not sure why...Help me decide the best reason...

In honor of the tiny little Native American roots in my heritage, maybe?




Or to Match Sketch?

Or maybe in honor of Joan Jett and 80's punk rock?

Hurricane!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am writing from the local library because we don't have power at home. It's the only place in the area that is open that has WiFi. We were expecting some weather yesterday from Ike but I don't think anyone expected what we got! We had winds up to 84 MPH. I was on my way to an outreach yesterday when I came across two downed trees. On the next street the awning on the old bar that my church is rehabbing into a coffeehousehad been blown down and was on the sidewalk in front. I called someone from church to alert them and asked if the outreach was still on. At that time it was so I continued on to the meeting place but then the car in front of me got smashed with a falling sign from the car wash! It was insane! The lady pulled onto a street - which was my sister-in-law's street and I follwed her to see if she was OK. I called my SIL and she said she was going to come meet us but then a tree came down right across the whole street! So I said "Well, you won't be able to get to us now because there's a tree in the way". They say we won't have power til Wednesday. School was also closed today so no work today. Normally that would be groovy but with no electricity it was kinda pointless. Oh well. I took a nap and talked to God and stuff. A nutty nutty time! Hope all is well in everyone else's world! HUGS!

How did everyone else do?!

Sevens

As requested by Remedy...

A list of sevens

Seven random things you might not know about me:

1. My maternal grandparents met on an immigration boat from Wales...I am only the second generation on my mom's side to be born in the United States.

2. My paternal grandparents met when they were both a part of a theatre group.

3. My mom and dad met while performing in a traveling entertainment gig called "Showmobile" for the US Army.

4. I was named after my maternal Aunt Helen and Aunt Ann...If I had been a boy I would have been named Robert Charles after my maternal uncles.

5. I am a book-a-holic.

6. I went skinny-dipping in the Atlantic ocean when I was 12.

7. I have at one time or another had the following animal companions: gerbils, parakeets, a hermit crab, a degu, dogs, cats, fish, rats and I had a worm garden when I was 5 years old.

Seven Favorite names I have had for my pets:

1. Dinah Talytha (my kitty)

2. Taxi (a yellow parakeet)

3. Hoover (a rat who loved to eat)

4. Bentley Bruiser Betz (my maltese)

5. Sketch (my JRT)

6. Calpurnia (my cat)

7. Splunk (a hermit crab)

Seven Random Photos

Worship at Vineyard Westside

Sculpture at Northern Kentucky University

Lori and Dorothy

Missouri Morning

Dinah Talytha

Fernbank Park Flag

Beheadings at the Bier Garten

Seven Favorite Movies

1. The Exorcist

2. Life is Beautiful

3. Flashdance

4. The Little Mermaid

5. The Breakfast Club

6. Bruce Almighty

7. Facing The Giants

Now post your own blog of sevens and link it in the box below! :)

Babe-a-Thon 2008

Every year at Vineyard Westside, the men have something called the "Stud-a-Thon". They get together and do competitive games all day long. There was nothing comprable for the women folk and so my friend Margaret and I launched the first Babe-a-Thon last year.

Here is a video from this year's competition!

Sticker Speak

I don't usually do a lot of political talking...But my big bro in Christ, Don, had these bumper stickers made and it pretty much sums up my current take on things...


Woohoo!

Roaring Lambs

We watched Evan Almighty tonight. It was a very fun movie, created by Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk - the same team responsible for Bruce Almighty. They are both fellow Christ followers and also what writer Bob Briner once termed "roaring lambs"...Roaring lambs are folks who, rather than sit on the sidelines and decry the lacking "values" of the entertainment world, step into it and shine light into the darkness. Roaring Lambs will often tell you that "those people" are just like anyone else and their hostility or rebellion toward the message of Jesus Christ is due in part to poor representation (I state while pointing squarely at the mirror).

While many will debate whether or not the film is theologically perfect, I enjoyed Evan Almighty for it's humor. And at the same time I was struck by the deeper (sometimes less comfortable) spiritual truths that it reveals...

Here are just a few:

1. God always operates from love. Even though it sometimes doesn't seem like it.

2. When you invite God into your life he may well turn your life upside down.

3. You can make your plans, but God often has a different idea.

4. His idea is always better and always has way bigger implications than you could ever imagine.

5. Truth number 4 is painfully hard to understand as you're walking through it. It requires complete trust that God IS love and that his purpose is always redemptive.

6. God has a very keen sense of humor.

7. When you choose to follow God, your friends, family and peers may begin to think you're foolish or mental. Prepare for ridicule both to your face and behind your back.

8. God gives you exactly what you need when you need it.

9. Walking in your true identity as a child of God - equipped with sometimes strange looking gifts - is quite natural and comfortable once you stop fighting against it.

10. Be careful of thinking you have a prophetic word (aka - a prompting from God) all figured out. The bigger picture often looks different than what you expect.

11. Often God's "wrath" is simply the consequence of actions that are contrary to God's perfect ideal for humankind.

And my favorite:

11. Once you get over yourself you can share a beautiful friendship with the Living God!!

Woohoo!

Here is an interview with Tom Shadyac in which he answers questions about Bruce Almighty's "questionable" content considering his position as a Christian (such as the fact that the lead characters are unmarried and cohabitating and the use of profanity)...

My script contains some similar aspects and I so love his response to these questions.

Roar on, child of God!