Where your
  pleasure is, there is
    your treasure;
     where your treasure,
       there your heart;
         where your heart,
           there your happiness.


                                                       
~St. Augustine

Where is your pleasure?

We watched Rain Man last
night.  I don’t think I’d seen it since we started doing Gracie’s
program last summer.  I’m curious what NACD could do for autistic
children.  Not that I wish Gracie was any different….um….my
brother just came and cleaned the computer screen while I was
typing… 
Anyway, as I was saying, it’s interesting to learn all
this stuff about development in children, and to learn phrases like proximal distal, sequential processing, proprioceptive awareness, and central macular vision. 
Equally fascinating is to see how physical therapy is often linked to
neurological development.  Thank God for groups like NACD and
their staff.  I never would have known that we’d need to teach
Sonya something as basic as chewing.  And even if I did figure out
that she needed it, I’d have been clueless as to how to go about
teaching it.  What a blessing this program is!

Edit:  I visited NACD’s website (www.nacd.org) and read testimonials about autism…wow.

Friends, I just saw God do some amazing things in my
life this week.  He keeps showing me how intimately He has His
hand on my life.



One of these things has to do with my taxes.  They
are done!  Before the 14th!!  But the best news is, I owe
about half of what I thought
when I first figured them this afternoon.  I was freaked out,
because I’m basically broke, and the IRS doesn’t really understand how
willing I would be to pay them later.  I prayed so hard, and He
answered within the hour. 
My mom helped, but I know she was just God’s tool.  YES! 



I’m so happy!  I don’t want to go to bed.  I just want to sit
downstairs where the windows are all still open and dance.  (It’s
nice to have a dad who enjoys the breeze as much as I do.)  I feel
like singing that children’s song…

                   
My God is so big

   
                   
So strong and so mighty

      
                         
There’s nothing my God cannot do!

My sister and my best friend and I saw this yesterday
afternoon.  It’s not too bad.  It had it’s
typical Disney cliches–believe in yourself (and only yourself), 
you can always show up the snobs, etc.  And some of the over-done parts were way overdone. 
I can see that it’d be hard to fit a military plot into a PG movie
without some serious cheesy-ness.  But the movie had it’s
redeeming qualities, too.  Some of the “sweet” moments really were
sweet, and some of the kids were really good actors.  There are
definitely
some mute or skip scenes if the little ones watch it, but Diesel is
better at emotional acting than I thought he’d be.  He’s decent at
playing the
soldier-turned-babysitter/bodyguard, who ends up actually caring.  Anyone who’s been around children will appreciate
the tough-guy
bachelor-type suffering through his first changing of a dirty diaper,
reminiscent of The Family Man,
and other similar firsts.  Of course, they had to fit in fight
scenes, since that’s
what he’s usually best at, but at least they were believable.  All
in all, it was enjoyable, the bad parts overlook-able, and Vin
Diesel…well, let’s just say that for the sake of keeping my heart intact and my thoughts
pure, I’ll be careful about how often I watch his movies.  Why is
it that I’m attracted to men who seem like they
could kill me with one hand?  It’s a good thing he’s only an actor.  I guess if I ever run into
a real Navy Seal I’m a goner, eh?

You're beautiful and I am weakened by the force of your eyes

Have you ever been haunted
The way I’ve been by you?
And have you ever felt
The measure of the days
That I’ve spent waiting
Pining for you?

 ~Jars of Clay

Swinging is the best invention ever. 

  Especially if it is under a
tree that has just got it’s leaves. 

       Ash trees may have their
problems, but the wind doesn’t

   move other trees quite the same
way. 

It’s fun to close your eyes and see the shadows from

   the sun
shining through the new leaves. 

      It’s like a strobe light, but
more dappled, warmer. 

  And then you open your eyes and find that your body has

    automatically swung you higher and higher.

And you feel like a kid again.

   You know in my three weeks in France and
England,

      I never once saw a swing. 

 They may have style and
history over there, but they know nothing

   about soaring. 

     Swinging
is like being in love with God.





Today was perfect.  Relaxing…

   well, sort of. 

     I got up at
six to take my little sister Sophie to Walmart

         to help her spend her
money on more toy horses–

             she collects them. 

(Six AM because I
hate Walmart even more than usual

     when there are other people
there.  
         And yes, I like people, Abby!  In
moderation…) 

  We got to see the sun come up driving down Hwy.
96, and on the

      way home we stopped at the Kolache Shop for
breakfast. 

Sophie said the best part about going herself is that she
could

    get chocolate milk, which people always forgot to get her. 


 We took our treat to a little park down the road

      in the historic
section of town and sat on a freezing-cold,

        stone picnic bench. 


Okay, so 49 degrees is a little cool when you’re dressed for 65. 


  My backside was sooo cold when we stood up. 

 I need to do that
with more of my younger siblings. 

   It was so fun to just take it
easy and do whatever we wanted. 

      Oh, and she got a very cute–and
fat–stuffed pig,

            which I like to call Pacha.



This afternoon Stacy and I worked outside–

    together, but not on
purpose. 

       She trimmed her rose bush and I

          trimmed the crepe
myrtles for Mom,

       which seems to be my job every spring, but I forgot
this year,

   so one of them had already started to get leaves. 

Did
you know that they only bloom on new growth? 

     So if you don’t want
a blooming tree (just a blooming bush),
          you have to trim them every year or so. 

Our
neighbor has yet to learn that, so I suppose

      we’ll have crepe myrtle
branches coming through

         between the fence boards and pink flowers


     dropping in our backyard again this year. 

Someday it will be a
veritable monster and take over their oak tree,

      which they also fail to
prune, and, I fear,

          will one day uproot their upstairs deck. 

   Or
grow through it. 

I don’t think they know very much about plants.





Rambling is so delightful on a day like
this. 

  I think having Abby here this morning made me act like
this. 

     Who knew that after all that rain and cold,

        we could have
so many days of blue sky, sunshine,

          green leaves, and–best of
all–breezes. 

    I love breezes. 

The wind is fun–if it’s a
stormy wind, or a beach wind. 

   But wind by itself…? 


      Reminiscent of dust storms in Lubbock. 

   But breezes…those are the
best kind of wind. 

And breezes make for good swinging hours,
too. 



 Do you know how easy it is to spend an hour swinging under a tree? 
 
                   
                 
        It’s like being close to God….

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts men of their need for a savior,
not me. 

It is God’s Word that converts the soul,
not mine.


This is what my dad has taught me. 


Imagine you are a vessel,
and you are empty. 


You will fill up with something;
as a Christian it should be God.


Your responsibility
is to fill yourself up with
God and His Word and His truth
so that you overflow and it “slops out” on whoever is nearby.


Now, get this, it is God who decides where it slops out,
not us.


How many times have I
tried to tip the vessel so that it could spill
out on someone,
but I was tipping it because it wasn’t full enough to
overflow!
I was mixing up my responsibilities
with God’s.


He doesn’t read my Bible for me,
and I can’t decide where I will have impact.


Obedience.


Not worrying
about what to say, or when to say it.


Not worrying
that someone will go to hell because I messed up.


(Am I really that conceited? 
to think I am so great
as to make God lose one of His own?)


Obedience.


If I focus
on my relationship with Christ,
how can I help being a good witness?!


Isn’t that what Paul said?

What shall we say then?  Is
there unrighteousness with God?  Certainly not!  For He says
to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised
you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be
declared in all the earth.”  Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.  (Rom. 9:14-18)

…not of him who wills, nor of him who runs…

(And this from a man who was bent on finishing the race.)


There are some who believe they are called to be a witness simply through a godly life.


There are others who believe they are called to seek the lost.


(Don’t confuse that with going out to “seek and to save that which was lost,”
Luke 19:10–that was not us He was talking about.)


Still others are called to minister to the church itself.


Can you imagine
if missionaries and evangelists did not spend time filling themselves up before they spoke?


What could they possibly have to say?


Is it any wonder that men like David Brainard
spent 3-8 hours in prayer every day. 


Some might call that selfish.
(Couldn’t he do with two hours a day?
He might be missing an opportunity to witness.)


Some might call it pious, even too pious.

But isn’t it rather
wisdom enough to recognize a desperate need?
To men like that,
prayer and time in the Word is much more than duty.


It is daily bread.


It is survival.


I may not be called
to be a great missionary,
or even a marvelous witness.


But I am called to take up my cross and follow.

I am called to fill myself with Him.


Obedience…

That is what I am learning.  Read Romans 9.  Better yet, read all of Romans.

Mercy!  Yesterday was crazy.  I would call it a freaking-out day. 

I spent several hours recording music for Michelle’s plays.  No, I
wasn’t playing the whole time–Hannah and Noah did some, too.  But
it still freaked me out, trying to be creative, and I think I was tense.  My neck and shoulders were hurting
later.  It’s bad enough to try to perform–perfectly–a piece
you’ve been playing for years.  It’s worse when you have to make
something up on the spot.  On the other hand, I was working for
creepy and mysterious, so as long as I stayed away from major cords, I
didn’t really consider anything a mistake.  Nice.  Anyway, I
hope we gave Michelle something to work with.  Hannah had a couple
of really nice ones (including a Chopin), and Noah has a couple of
really amazing original pieces.  The best part was having the
strawberries and cream that Abby made.  (Thank you, dear.  It
was so relaxing to sit in there with “the girls.”)

Last night we watched The Village,
and I freaked out again.  I kept trying to cover my ears, and my
cousin would pull my hand off and hold it down.  And when
I tried to hide behind my pillow, he took that away, too.  Which
means I was forced to see and hear the entire thing.  People told
me that it wasn’t as scary as Signs, but I disagree.  While it did take me longer to trust the darkness after Signs,
I wasn’t nearly as terrified during the actual movie.  (I heard
that Sigourney Weaver had nightmares for two weeks after reading the
script–and that didn’t even have music in it!)  The main girl
is way too good an actress.  (Did ya’ll know she’s Ron Howard’s
daughter?)  There were a couple of times when I could hardly catch
my breath because I could feel exactly what the character did. 
The most redeeming quality about the movie (besides
what you find out at the end, and how amusing Kevin was), is the story
of the boy and girl. 
I love how the director did the scene where he grabs her hand and saves
her–slow motion, totally unexpected music.  And the speech on her
front porch–!  What girl wouldn’t fall for that?!  I was
ready to marry him on the spot.  *wink*

We also watched Chronicles of Riddick, which kept us up too late, so I
feel kind of like a zombie today.  That movie bugged me because he
didn’t get the girl.  I was already annoyed that The Village
wasn’t longer (I wanted to see him get well!), and it took much
persuasion from my cousins for me to see that Riddick just isn’t the
type of guy who gets the girl, or even wants to.  Bah!  What
kind of hero is that?  He’ll fall for one eventually.

I think I need to see The Village again.  Or at least the sweet parts…. *smiles*

On a more…shall we say, spiritual note…I’ve been reading some
amazing Scriptures all week that have overwhelmed me.  I haven’t
even been able to collect my thoughts on them long enough to write them
down.  And Dad read some excellent stuff from James this
morning.  He talked a lot about the tongue.  It’s like the
verse Abby and I liked from last Sunday night–about speaking only what
is good for necessary edification.  Hmm…now I wonder about all
the stuff I just shared…

Edify, Sara…edify.

Reasons
why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The bandage was wound
around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse
more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if
he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in
the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, it must be time to
present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9)
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the
object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row
among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to
close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A
seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with
planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to
wind the sail
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon
seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the
subject to a series of tests
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate
friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in
hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented
in England or French fries in
France (Surprise!). Sweetmeats are
candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

Quicksand works
slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from
Guinea nor is it a pig And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and
hammers don’t ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural
of booth beeth? One goose, 2
geese.So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends
but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends
and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?  Is it an odd, or an
end?

If teachers taught, why don’t preachers praught? If  vegetarians eat
vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite a
play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses
that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be
the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You must marvel
at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns
down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which, an alarm goes
off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it
reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at
all.  That is why, when the stars are out, they’re visible, but when the lights
are out, they’re invisible.

P.S. – Why doesn’t “Buick” rhyme with
“quick”?