31 days and counting (but then whose counting?....ME!)

I have neglected to blog lately because I don't really have anything of depth to say....my plate is full and thereful my brain is full of silly things...Ladies, I don't care how simple you attempt to make your daughter's wedding, it ends up being far from simple. Since lately my life is consumed with "fru fru" wedding stuff, I have also feared my blog would appear self centered or vane...So...here goes...I have to share the latest....

Often in my job as a labor & delivery nurse, patients will ask, "Do you have any children yourself", and I would reply with, "Yes, One of each - a daughter ___ years old, and a son ___ years old." Until about 5 years ago, when I would have this conversation with patients, many would gasp and say, "You are kidding! You don't look old enough to have adult children." Whether they meant it or were just attempting to humor me, I really didn' care...I took the compliment and moved on. Over the past few years, I never hear that comment anymore and recently a nurse on another floor invited me to be a member of the red head society (A club for those 50 and older, I'm 46!) It has not bothered me over the past few years. I once was caught up in spending money on clothes, too much time on skin care routines, etc...BUT today I woke up thinking, "My daughter is about to be married and maybe it's time for me to do something about this samsonite luggage under my eyes....So, I jumped in my car quite excited! I called my main squeeze on the way to town and said, "Look honey, I'm headed to the makeup counter..I'm going to tell the makeup artist that I'm 46, I look like I'm 56, but when I leave there I want to look like I'm 36, then I'm going to head over to Target and buy a "spanx" so it will hold all my body parts in and I will have the body of a 26 year old". His reply was, "I like all those measurements". I give up! Just like a man to equate numbers with measurements instead of age. So, on with this mundane story....I arrived at the makeup counter and told "Kim" my dilemma....Kim is a beautiful young blond that has on entirely too much makeup and I'm trying to explain to her how I want to look young but natural all at the same time! She studied my face for a few minutes and came back with foundation with some man's name on the label that was entirely too long....she began to dab foundation on my face....she dabbed, and dabbed, and dabbed some more....she then stated, "you'll love this, it has snake venom in it and diminishes fine lines". I thought, "Yeah, I've been dying to have some snake venom on my face." Then out loud I mumbled to her, "Is it toxic?" "Oh no" she said, "this is the same ingredients in botox!" I didn't bother to tell her that I have no desire for my facial expressions to look posed or stuck on my face....She then applied, cheek color, eye color and lipstick...when I looked in the mirror, I was horrified! I looked like a Raggedy Ann doll minus the wiry red hair! I told her maybe I would just stick with the foundation that I already have but I would take some face powder and lip gloss...I thanked "Kim" as I was checking out at the counter and she looked at me with a smile and said, "My name is Jill". I left there quite disappointed! My mission had failed! As for the spanx, well I didn't get one of those either....I rationalized that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. I left there with a vivid reminder in my head of the fact that my Savior is concerned with the inside, not with the outside.

Seeking His Will.....

Today I went for a job interview. I'll tell you like I told my precious nurse manager, Cece, I have not been job hunting. Several weeks ago, Mike and I were talking right before we drifted off to sleep and I told him how content I was at this season of my life....one major area of contentment for me is my job. I am fortunate to see the miracle of life almost every time I go to work and I have a wonderful nurse manager. On occasion, I will tell God, "O.K., God you know I love my job, but if you see fit to place me in a job right here at home, just show me because I'm a little slow." I think I mentioned in a previous blog that I know what it is like to be discontent...and it's quite a miserable place to be. God has such a sense of humor....you know the saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans..." The next day after I had boldly mentioned my contentment to my husband, I received a phone call from a sweet lady that has been a friend and acquaintance for several years now. She mentioned a job opening where she works and asked if I would be interested in applying.....after I told her, "Well, maybe (pause)..." She said, "Well, so far there is about 150 applicants"....I thought to myself, "talk about shooting down the ego, how can an aging woman like myself compete with that." I hung up the phone began to work on my application and placed this situation at the Lord's feet. You see, I don't want any job that God doesn't want me to have! I went for my interview today prayed up! My sweet man prayed with me this morning and my daughter prayed with me this afternoon before the interview. So....now I wait....once again, just seeking His will and trusting that He knows what is best for me and my family :)

Are You Ready?

Yesterday our pastor preached a sermon titled, "Are you ready?". This sermon was based on Matthew 24:27 and is the pre-runner for sermons he will be preaching in the weeks to come from the book of Revelation. I have always been intrigued with the study of eschatology (end time events) even before I was a christian (which doesn't make sense because I certainly wasn't ready then!). However, I always feel a catch in my heart when end time events are preached or taught because of the vast amount of people I love dearly that aren't ready. Our pastor is a "no nonsense" type of guy - he does not preach "feel good" sermons or prosperity messages. He gives the facts and ascertains that they come straight from the Bible. At the end of his sermon today, he began to disclose a dream that he had 30 years ago. In this dream, he is a young boy playing outside when all of a sudden the sky changes and he hears his mother yell from inside the house, "The Lord is coming!" In the next scene of his dream, he's on a large ship at sea, looking back at shore and he sees a family member standing on shore holding a child. The family member says, "Oh, I guess we missed it" and walks away. Our pastor was filled with emotion as he recounted the dream from years ago. His intent in disclosing the dream was not to interpret it's meaning but to tell us that 30 years ago, this dream prompted him to remember that he had loved ones that didn't have a relationship with Jesus. His dream reminded me of this as well. I am thankful that I am ready whether the Lord comes back now or a thousand years from now but I am burdened that many people that I love are not ready. Dear family member, friend, neighbor, co-worker, are you ready? I am praying for you! In a couple of weeks, our church will hold a revival starting September 13th. For more information, go to www.raifordroadchurch.org. If I can pray with you or share the truth of Jesus Christ with you, please send me an email @ suziqcombs@yahoo.com I pray God is dealing with your heart, even as you read this!

Contentment....

I'm always amazed at how God will place a word, phrase, or scripture on your heart in various seasons in your life that will be specific to that season. A few years ago, I was terribly heartbroken. I felt my heart was being ripped from my chest and couldn't understand why things were not going as I thought they should and why I had to endure this heartache. A phrase from scripture rolled over and over in my head, "the secret things belong to the Lord our God"....this was such a comfort to me during this time and even now, with mass chaos and confusion in our world, I catch myself reciting this phrase from God's Word. Other words or phrases have played over in my mind. For instance, "peace" and "legacy", but over the past few months, the word that occupies my thoughts and causes much pondering is "contentment". Several years ago, I went through a long season of discontentment and because of that I can't begin to tell you how welcome contentment is. It's like a cool drink of water on a hot and humid day. Am I saying that I'm always a peace-filled, fun-loving person who rarely has a bad day? Not at all! Contentment takes effort, much prayer, and meditation on scripture. I find that with thankfulness and praise, contentment is a close companion. Contentment is an act of surrender to the One who knew me before I was born, who numbered the hairs on my head, and who named the stars. Contentment is saying to my Maker, "You are the great 'I AM' and I will! Contentment is knowing that regardless of my surroundings, God sees the big picture and hears my prayers and knows what is best!