Monthly Archive for May, 2007Page 3 of 4

Happy Wednesday!

Today, I’m going to make a concerted effort to concentrate on happy things, blessings, and love. And blonde jokes. And the song “Fighter” because it makes me smile.

Yesterday, I was reminded of some important life lessons:

1. Don’t stand in the wind after you put on lipgloss.
2. If a blonde has little “diamonds” put on the tips of her fingernails, staring at the ’shiny-ness’ can cause her to almost wreck her car on the drive home (or so I’ve been told). Speaking of which:

Q.: What does a blonde say if you ask her if her car blinkers work?
A.: Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No.

When someone in my family tries to make point or argument that doesn’t make sense, my daughters (14 & 17) will say, “That ship didn’t land!”. This is because, a while back I was telling a joke the Angie-way (which is to lead with the punch-line, then get confused and say something like “…or whatever!”, and I said, “Boy, that ship didn’t land!”, one daughter said, “Mom, ships don’t ‘land’!” to which I replied, “…yes they do, if they’re a SPACESHIP!”.

The boys crawled into our bed this morning - their first official day of summer and watched Byron get ready for the day.
Nate (9): “Dad, you mean you still have to go to work in the summertime?!”
Ethan (6): “Nate, adults only get the summer off if they leave the country!!”

Happy Wednesday!
Happy Summertime! (where’s my passport!!)

(”…thanks for making me a fighter…”)

Published
by
angiebledsoe
on May 23, 2007
in jokes, life and wednesday
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The Art of Losing

Music moves me. Sometimes, when I can’t find the words to express my feelings (my family will say that’s never!), music can say it for me. Hillsong United has put out some great worship music, and tonight at band practice we sang what I’m feeling:

“From the Inside Out”

“A thousand times I’ve failed, still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again, still, I’m caught in Your grace.
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades.
Neverending, Your glory goes beyond all fame.

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise.
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades.
Neverending, Your glory goes beyond all fame.

In my heart, in my soul, Lord, I give you control
Consume me from the inside out, Lord
Let justice and [grace] become my embrace
To love You from the inside out.”

This song was for me tonight because I’ve been struggling all day with “the art of losing myself in bringing [Him] praise…”.
Just when I think I’m doing okay, I feel misunderstood, mistreated or misrepresented, then I want to fight back, defend myself or just sit in the corner and cry. But, I know God is teaching me things I can only learn through loss - then I can see the colors created by the art of pain.

A moment ago, my son sat in his dad’s arms and cried over his own loss of friends. My agony at the sight of father and son crying together reminds me of how much more the heart of God breaks in our sorrow. He sees and hears - we must remember this always…”Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades. Neverending, Your glory goes beyond all fame. And the cry of my heart is to bring you praise, from the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out…”.

Published
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angiebledsoe
on May 23, 2007
in music
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Keepin’ it real

I love “blonde jokes”. I know them well as I have heard hundreds over my years as me - (Plus, I kind of consider myself one long-running blonde joke). Here’s a good one:

“What do you call a blonde with half a brain?”:

“Gifted!”

Published
by
angiebledsoe
on May 22, 2007
in jokes
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Letting Go

It’s my boys’ last day of school. This is especially significant because, after today, their school is closing for good. So, my heart is heavy and hurting for the teachers and families affected. I want to focus on my pain today, but time is short and ministry doesn’t stop because I’m playing hurt.

People leave a church for reasons as various and as basic as why they came in the first place. I’m trying to learn the art of letting go. If someone wants to go, one reason is as good as the next, and not letting go soon enough can cause you to feel dragged down the highway, your chin hitting the pavement as you try to stop a speeding car by holding on to the bumper. I’m doing my best to learn this lesson - apparently I’m a slow learner because I seem to revisit this lesson over and over.

Traditionally speaking, success in the ministry is defined by not losing any good church member (or bad ones for that matter) unless they are dead (then you have to bury them on the property) or they move to Alaska (and then they must visit if they are within an 8 hour driving distance). Bottom line: A good church doesn’t lose good people for no good reason! The only problem with all this is: IT’S A LIE.

But, redefining success - actually is just choosing to let go of my desire to know if I’m being “successful” in ministry or in life. My job is to just be obedient, and to let go of everything that gets in the way of that. That may sound cold or uncaring, but I don’t let go because I don’t care; I choose to let go because it hurts enough to really get in the way.

So, today when my boys get home from school, I’m sure I’ll have a moment to feel my grief - the loss of children that I won’t get to see grow up, the knowledge that those who leave won’t get to see and feel what God’s going to do. But I choose to lay it down and walk on. My heart is broken, but my spirit is free.

Published
by
angiebledsoe
on May 22, 2007
in life lessons
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