Crucible of Praise

Everyone likes to be praised for a job well done. It is something that comes standard with the package of our humanity. Some folks become praise junkies. They go about doing things just to be recognized and rewarded. Others while they relish the compliments, prefer to remain anonymous in their well doing. Proverbs 27:21 sheds some light upon the power and purpose of praise. The Message states it this way: "The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; The purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame."

I am still learning how to be gracious when receiving compliments. When I know I have done well, I tend to reward myself. Not necessarily in a tangible way, but I just have a deep satisfaction in my labors. Often I am perceived as being ungrateful due to my inadequate responses. In reality, I love the accolades but I don't want to let them swell my head. I am learning to say a simple "thank you" and/or "to God be the glory".

Praise can incite pride or it can work perfection. Pride is the automatic response of the flesh. Perfection is the result of yielding to the Spirit of God. Remember, everything He created is good. The Word says so. Yet there is no goodness about the flesh. It is merely an earthen housing for the Spirit of God. So the Apostle Paul adds that we must keep the flesh under the control of the Spirit.

Basically, I said all of that to preface this huge thank you to Rita at Saved by Grace. She has bestowed upon me the "Nice Matters" award. Let me also add, to God be the Glory, Great Things He Has Done. Without Him, I would be neither nice, friendly, good, positive, or influential.

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."
I have met so many nice bloggers in the few months that I have been in the bloggyhood. Those who are nice are also positive influences in the blogosphere. Inspirational is yet another word for various blogs I have read. "Feel good" blogs are as infinite as the stars in the sky. Finding 7 worthy recipients is easy. Keeping the list to 7 is the hard part. And.......Now........The envelopes please................Ooops! There must be some mistake. I have been handed some bills instead of the nominations for the "Nice Matters" awards. Sorry to disappoint you folks, but the hour is late, the awards will have to wait..... until my next post.

Summer Blogging Delays

My how time flies! I did not realize that it had been 10 days since my last post. According to my sitemeter, some of you have been checking in regularly. So sorry for the lack of new material. I've had lots of laundry to catch up on since vacation. And we have been involved in a couple of outreach opportunities with our church. My sis over at BTIW tells me that traffic always slacks up in the summer but mine has been pretty consistent.
Thank you for your continued support. You will find my post for today at Beneath the Ivy Wreath's Worship Wednesday.

Lazy Way Wednesday

Come see me here today. I just can't seem to finish anything these days. I have four posts in progress. Each needing that little something to make them complete. It is not just in the blogosphere that I am slacking. I have several home improvement projects that are awaiting my attention. Maybe I have adult ADHD. :>)

******News Flash**** It is 2pm and my sister there has not posted it yet.*****
Guess you'll have to shame her into giving me posting access to her place. Then it would actually be my fault if Worship Wednesday was not posted on time. :-)

Priorities: it is all about priorities. That's a post for another day.

Right now, I need to be getting my bills ready to mail. They are in a stack right beside the printer. But..... I needed to write and send a post to my sister before morning. That's how I wound up on the computer in the first place..... but.....and....but....and... Excuses abound.

Seriously, I should be posting some better material soon.

P.S. Have any of you ever gotten a bug or virus from blogger comments? Just wondering.

Dodge Ball Anyone?

Chet tagged me with the Jesus meme on the same day that I tagged 5 more folks. Time out! (smile) In the childhood game of tag, you only tagged one person at a time. A girl can't even get a regular post out, for everyone in the neighborhood wanting to play. (smile) The blogosphere park has no bounds, there are innumerable rides, and the merry-go-round never ends.

Even as a child, I would get weary of playing tag. I was a bit on the heavy side and running was not my thing. When I got tired, I would just leave the gang and hide out until I cooled off. Hide and seek was my game. Perhaps that's why I enjoy lurking around here so much. Well, I used to lurk. Now I just jump right into most any kind of conversation. If I don't like what's being said, I just surf on over to someplace else.

Surfing: Now that's a sport I never even considered. Then again, how many waves can one catch in the heart of Dixie?

Actually, I like the attention that getting tagged brings. It is the responsibility of perpetuating the game that overloads me at times. I'm a slow typist and still a novice with computer applications. Yeah, yeah the last post looked pretty good, but it took me about 4 hours. Now how many folks with full time jobs and families have that kind of time to spend on one post? Looks like I did; but that isn't the norm.

So how about some help around here. Larissa over at Living in Liberty asked a question in the comments of my last post. She wants to know more about this tagging stuff and how to do it. Does anyone have a post about "how to play tag"? If so, could you post the link in my comments for her. Or better yet, go see her and leave it in her comment box. Thanks.


P.S. We usually play horseshoes on the Fourth of July. That is if we can get the horses to part with them for a few hours. See y'all after the holiday.

Tagged again, "Blog Rocker" ??

I remember as a child watching tag team wrestling with my PaPaw. When one wrestler got tired, he just went to his corner and tagged his partner to fight awhile. I have been to a few camp meetings where the evangelists did some tag team preaching. But this is a first for me, seems I got tagged twice in the same week. Being the practical sort, I just answered them both in the same post. The only problem, I'm still pretty slow with linking and such. So the folks I'm tagging get a twice is nice kind of tag. They are all Rocking bloggers that love Jesus.
There's Peg, Rosemary, Janet, Supermom, andJanna.



compliments of Melanie@ This Ain't New York

The 5 Things I love about Jesus meme- tagged by slw @ Thundersounds
Instead of writing 5 paragraphs, I thought I would practice some more 'puter skills.











You get the picture.

Harmless ???

Pretty good! The Bible couldn't even get that rating. With all the violence, blood and guts, beatings, imprisonments, murder, rape, and war, it would have to be at least an "R". Notice I didn't mention the language found in the Bible. No need, it doesn't seem to count with the movie ratings anyway. Besides, folks don't care about the ratings if the ads look inviting.

I picked up this button from my sister @ Beneath the Ivy Wreath. She had picked it up from fellow blogger who had most likely done the same. Internet information is like the common cold; it can be spread with little effort, causes varied reactions, and can not be completely erased.

The button is nice commendation for my blog. It also can be a tool for checking out the blogs or websites of others. However, when you follow it to it's source you will find it is really a clever way to get you to an online dating site. You may be saying, "what difference does that make?".

None, I guess. I liked the button, so I used it. Then again, I changed the code a bit, because I didn't like it showing "online dating" below the button. Again, what's the diff? When I click on it, I go to mingle2.com and the header tells me it is an online dating site. I just don't know, something about it seems deceptive.

If it is truly a device of the enemy, then I shouldn't perpetuate it. If it is merely a tool that can be used in both positive and negative ways then it is up to me to use it wisely. (Somebody help me with this.) I suppose it is no different than the Internet itself. The super information highway is an infinite supply of tools. In and of themselves neutral until wielded by man. Then they can be instruments of destruction or building blocks of goodness.

Reminds me how something so wonderful as the Bible can be twisted to support something so evil as a cult. Today more than ever we must be diligent in prayer and watchfulness. We must know what the scriptures say and what they mean. The Word of God can be used as a litmus test for every situation, so we must know how to apply it as well.

No doubt I could have used these few minutes and this space in a better way. Guess I just needed to 'talk it out'. To be sure this post is not a total loss, I offer the following verses.

13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. II Corinthians 11:13-15

1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I John 4:1

Just another note about buttons. Please avail yourselves of the ones in my sidebar.( I believe I have them posted correctly.) Pneumabloggers takes you to Rich Tatum's sites, the Comfort Cafe offers a variety of authors, and the Blogging for Jesus button takes you to PilgrimScribblings.

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by Godzheart. If you need some encouragement today, see her June 10,2007 post. Her other blog Lessons from Life is both educational and devotional.
This is a first for me. I left her a note that I had never been very good at playing tag. Actually, I wasn't fast enough to catch most of the kids I played with. Seems I have been a bit slow with this tag too.

Here are the rules:
Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random things about me.
1. I have always been a tom-boy.
2. I love Gospel music. Gospel as in the old-time "Black Gospel".
3. I work in the medical field as a Laboratory Technician.
4. I am a fix-it kind of person. I love tinkering with mechanical things.
5. Ooops! #4 has 2 things listed.
6. I settled for "B's" in school rather than apply myself to study.
7. Now I enjoy studying and want to give my best effort.
8. I hate answering the telephone.

Now, who to tag??? I would love to know more about my readers, but many of them have little time for games. I have made some new discoveries. Some of them I enjoy reading simply because they are about living and working in the country. Those folks may not have much time for games either. We will see. I thought of tagging Heather, but you can read her 8 random things here.


Northern Farmer @ Healing Waters Flow
Jel @ My Place
ND Homekeeper @ ND Homekeeper
Jenn @ Reflecting Him ---- rec'd updated info, see this.
Karla @ Looking Towards Heaven
Melanie @ This Aint New York
Peanut @ Peanut's Place
Stephanie @ Olive Tree

Don't forget to catch me over @ Beneath the Ivy Wreath where I post Worship Wednesday for my sister.

Blogging w/Purpose II

VisitChurch Communications Pro.Com to find out everything you ever wanted to know about blogging.

Blogging about blogging; that's something like being taught how to teach.

For more on the subject of blogging, particularly as it relates to pastors; see
Pastor Steve Weaver's blog. There is lots of other great material there, definitely worth adding to your favorites.

My latest find is The Blogging ministry by Michael G. Davis. The following is an excerpt from the 'about' section:
"We plan to post articles about how Blogger might be used as a platform for Ministry and how to get started."
Be sure to go to his home page for additional links and resources.

Blogging with Purpose

When I first heard of blogging I wasn't too impressed. I thought it was just a means of escaping reality, anonymous venting, or simply writing a diary on-line. I had no idea how fulfilling and valuable it could be. I have been blogging for 3 months now and wonder why I wasn't doing it sooner. It has forced me to hone my communication skills and to be more internet savvy.

Rich Tatum gives some insight to the value of blogging. The following is an excerpt from the linked post.
"Blogging, in some ways, is like an interest-bearing savings account. As long as your ideas are only spoken, they’re being spent as soon as you generate them — just like spending your entire paycheck the very week you get it. But if you can “bank” some of those thoughts, they’ll go to work for you on your behalf, influencing more than just the handful within earshot. And like money in the bank, your blog-published ideas compound their influence week after week after week."

Julie says "Every idiot has an opinion, but not every person takes the time to translate what is observed before shouting out an opinion."

That is what blogging has done for me. It has caused me to look at my opinions and thoughtfully consider whether or not they are consistent with the actual meaning of scripture. Pray for me as I endeavor to post the messages of timeless text.