What cats do when you're gone

We always wonder what Ginger, our cat, does when we're gone. Many times the evidence is pretty clear. Other times, we can only speculate. This time we're pretty sure we know!

We've noticed that if she's sitting on our lap when the phone rings, she knows to hop down so we can answer the phone. She usually trots towards the phone, getting in our way as we try to get there before the answering machine picks up.

Well, when we came home from church Sunday, we noticed the answering machine had turned off. Usually, this only happens when either the off button has been clicked, or the tape (yes it's a very old machine) has gotten full. We had been hoping for a message from J & E, since they were away with a youth group for the weekend, and were momentarily disappointed that the machine was off and we would have missed their call. Then, I remembered having glanced at it before leaving and noticing that there were no new messages.

So, if the machine was on with no messages when we left, what happened? We turned on the machine and it started rewinding... and rewinding... and rewinding... The whole tape was full! Was it telemarketers? A politician? Or someone with something very important to say? One way to find out... Hit play...

The first sound was phone noises. Then the recording from the phone company... "If you would like to make a call, please hang up and dial again..." Then an entire tape of the usual "phone is off the hook" noises.

Now it became pretty clear what had happened. A few things that belonged on the bureau where the answering machine sits had been knocked to the floor. And a certain feline seemed to have a lot to meow about.

No guarantees, but I suspect someone called us and got our answering machine, which would trigger our voice recording. Ginger, being annoyed by the phone ringing, and hearing our voice, decided to take matters into her own paws. She can't reach the phone (thank goodness, though I wouldn't put it past her), so she did the next best thing and tried to answer for us through the answering machine by pushing the conversation button, thus recording any sounds that came in over the phone line. What do you suppose? Is she guilty?

God spoke in our worship

Sunday, T & I attended First Baptist Church of Charleston. We had debated about where to attend church this week, as we've been attending a different one that we all like. But J & E were not with us this weekend, & this is a church we have wanted to visit for a long time. Afterward, we both agreed that this was where God wanted us on this day, because we needed the encouragement that this pastor presented in this message.


All passages are from:
New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984
by International Bible Society


The Unison Reading was from Psalm 63:1-7 (NIV)

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

The choir sang this meditation, a favorite that I sang with a choir many years ago:

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
by Carl Mueller

Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;
and hold me, uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Then the pastor, Marshall Blalock, used these passages in his message:

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...

Micah 7:8 (NIV)
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.

Hebrews 12. The pastor's main emphasis from Hebrews 12 was on verse 6, but I have included more verses, because they really speak to me:

Hebrews 12:5-11
5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Ephesians 3:14-21

A Prayer for the Ephesians

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Sometimes, we've wondered where God is in all the changes we're facing right now. Sometimes it seems hard to see where He's leading us, but this message helped confirm that since we are in Christ, that He is always with us. We know these things, but it is comforting to be reminded.

O'Dark Thirty

This morning, T was preparing to go to a little one-day job, when suddenly, the lights started flashing, & the phone made that "power's going out" ringing sound. After a few flashes, it was dark. Pitch black dark... or "as dark as 40 black cats."

We scrambled for flashlights & a lantern, & contemplated what could and could not be done with the power out. It seems there are always things you wish you'd done sooner, if only you'd known...

• showered
• shaved (for T at least. Even with a non-electric razor, there's great risk shaving by lantern-light)
• gotten a drink of water

Things you can't or shouldn't do when the power's out:

• open the refrigerator or freezer
• get a drink of water (we're on a well, & you need electricity for the pump to run, so no water, & the water in the fridge requires opening the door)
• flush the toilet... OK, it's good for 1 flush, but the tank can't refill, because the pump isn't running
  
• cook breakfast
• check email
• post on my new blog
• go back to sleep (because it's TOO QUIET! All the little household motor noises aren't running, plus you're wondering every second if the power's about to come back on, and there are things you should be doing...)

It amazes me how dependent we are on electricity, especially when only 75 years ago the REA (Rural Electrification Administration) hadn't been created yet, and rural areas like ours had no electric power.

It makes me thankful that in the New Jerusalem, we won't need electric power. God's glory is all we will need.

23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

Revelation 21:23-25 (New International Version)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

About thirty minutes after the power went out, & just after T left, the power trucks arrived and restored power. Life is back to normal... for now.

A New Blogger on the Block!

We have had so much going on in our lives lately. I thought a blog might help me keep some of my thoughts organized, and give me a place to jot down things I want to remember. Plus, maybe my kids will think it's cool that Mom has a blog, and has finally entered this century! I'm all for learning new things, so I guess a blog is the new thing I'll try to learn next!