The evil cheap-butt? Or extravagant fool?

I admit it I am cheap-butt.

I prefer to call myself "thrifty".

I rarely buy anything at the grocery store or clothing stores for that matter-that is not on sale... big time.    If I have a double off coupon, I am filled with glee.  If it is a SUPER DOUBLE coupon, AND on sale, I chortle loudly in a fiendish way....rolling my fake mustache.

Do ya'll remember Snidley Whiplash?

 

 

 

Weirdo, I know, but I somehow fool myself into believing I have beat the system. Ya know, stuck it to "the man".

 

Being a missionary and living on a missionary income for the last 25 years helps my thriftiness.  I remember when we first came home from overseas I did not allow myself to buy things like garbage bags, using paper grocery bags  in my trash cans instead. I stopped short of re-using paper plates...

 

Yes I am a cheap butt.

 

Sometimes I am smug and judgmental of those I don't think are thrifty enough.  Besides being a cheap butt-

 

I guess I am also a dumb butt. 

 

 

 Because...

 

 I need to Thank my Jesus for the un-cheapness,

 

for the generosity

 

for the extravagance

 

of God's people who have supported financially the Sieges Wycliffe ministry sieges.org

 

 For the last 25 years.  Without them, Tim and I would be more than cheap butts, we would be destitute.

 

The last few months, we have been saving for a new vehicle that we know we desperately need. We just got word yesterday that an extravagant person who does not even know us ( a friend of a friend)  gave us a gift that put us over our goal. 

 

 

 

EXTRAVAGANCE

 

 

When is it ok?

 

We all know God wants us to be wise stewards of what He has given us.  I try to do that.  Last week Tim and I bought our FIRST EVER flat screen TV.  It seemed kind of extravagant to us, but decided it was time.  (Of course it was on clearance)  We only had to call Vizio 3 times to get it set up:)

 

 

 

 

 

It is OK to be extravagant when: 

 

1.God says so

2.Doing something nice for a friend or loved one, just because...

3.Buying "stuff"  for your new baby granddaughter:) 

 

 

 

God's precious love toward us is EXTRAVAGANT.

 

Go ahead, all you cheap butts out there-

 

 just for today:

 

 be a little more like HIM.

 

 

 

#God'sloveisextravagant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

HAND OVER THE THROW PILLOWS, and no one GETS HURT!

Throw pillows bring women much JOY.

Doesn't matter if you live in a dorm room, apartment, or house.   We females live for throw pillows. At a department store, we are drawn to them like flies to dog doo.  

No explanation.

It just is.

We buy them, display them, get irritated when someone messes up our scientific arrangement, 

AND they bring us JOY.     Lots of it.

Recently, I decided to adorn my 2 bare window seats in the living room and adjacent dining room.  

I am confessing this to only YOU, I bought 16 throw pillows in one day. 

 Luckily, they were all on sale, AND I got 60% off the sale price. I spent about $5 per pillow:)  As you probably already know, there are rules about shopping for throw pillows.

1.can't spend more than $10
2.always have to be on sale
3.must have a coupon
4.look for threads hanging to get 10% more off.

Nuff said about that.

I have visions of a gaggle of women storming the Stein Mart or Home Goods with their purses swinging, coupons flying, screaming :

  "HAND OVER THE THROW PILLOWS 

AND NO ONE GETS HURT!"

What in the Cat hair?

Yes, we women of all ages, starting about 16 years old to our death, love throw pillows.  

They bring us joy.

We are drawn to them.

Sometimes we obsess over them.

We relentlessly pursue them.


....Which makes me scratch my head sheepishly and wonder:

When is the last time I relentlessly pursued my Jesus? 

When is the last time I was relentlessly drawn to Him?

When is the last time my relationship with Him brought me immense JOY?

Pursue your relationship with your Jesus BIGGER  than you do with those ole throw pillows.  

With Passion

With Fervor

Relentlessly.

It will bring you endless JOY.

shaved eyebrows and dishwasher regurgitations

The other day I was contemplating the fact that when some things happen, we just simply don't know why.

We can ask

We can surmise

We can reason

We can try to explain

We can scratch our heads


But there are a few things in this scientific life, that cannot be explained away... 

Do ya'll remember Dave?  He is the autistic guy I hang out with daily.  (You can read about Dave in more depth in my post from last year "autism, titanic and upsidown world"- Jan 13, 2012) 


There are many things about  Dave, that cannot be explained.  And he can't explain them to me, since he is not very verbal, and has a hard time expressing himself.  About 2 times a year, Dave randomly shaves off his eyebrows. 

What in the ever loving cat hair? 

 His parents and I have tried to explain it: 

maybe they are itchy?  

maybe he is trying to look like one of his favorite villains in a movie? 

maybe he saw someone on the street like that? 

We just don't know. 


Likewise, about 2 times a year, my dishwasher has to throw up all over my floor.  



She just feels like it.

Each time my husband pulls her out and looks at her mechanics, finds nothing wrong, and pushes her back in. She works fine for 6 months, then pukes soapy water again.  

She doesn't even explain herself.



You know the guys on The Big Bang Theory?


They are forever explaining many scientific things that happen in our world. (they just can't seem to have any lasting relationships but that's a blog for another day)  I would like to see these fellas explain away the eyebrows and dishwasher stuff in my life:)

 I have come to the conclusion that I will NOT try to explain away these two fascinating phenomena.  

They just ARE

And that's OK

I take them as a gift from God, something we humans can't dissect, divide, or conquer.

What has God put in your life, good or bad that you just can't explain away? 

 That you just accept, with (some would say) blind faith?

Something that you have decided NOT to strive against, but  take at face value.

Maybe even a little sumthin your Jesus is teaching you, through it

 about YOU,  and how you are living THIS LIFE   He has given you.

Think about it the next time somebody you know shaves his or her eyebrows, or your dishwasher overflows.  

or anything else that gets you to say "what in the cathair?"

STOP

LOOK

LISTEN

ACCEPT

What He is showing you.  

You just might learn something.

About eyebrows

or dishwashers

or better yet: YOURSELF


"Look at the Nations and watch- and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in YOUR days, that you would not believe , even if you were told."   Habakkuk 1:5



 

Harlem WHAT IN THE CAT HAIR Shake?

The Harlem Shake?

What in the Cat Hair?

When Evan told me Friday evening on skype that he had just gotten finished meeting with about 1000 other students in the middle of the campus at App State to do a 15 second dance i DID say "What in the Cathair, son?"


WHY?  

What are the meanings?  

How can we explain it?

Let's wring our hands excessively and examine this phenomena deeply......



I consider myself at least minimally aware of pop culture and what is going on, but this befuddled me, to say the least. So doing a little research....I think I figured it out.  

It is silly

just for fun,

no reasons

and anyone can do it.  


THAT  is the kind of stuff I LOVE:)  


Here is what Wikipedia had to say about it, dated a few days ago:

"The videos last 30-something seconds and feature an excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake" by electronic musician Baauer. Usually, a video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video switches to the entire crowd doing a crazy convulsive dance for the next 15 seconds... Also, in the second half of the video, people often wear  crazy outfits or costumes while wielding strange props."


OK sounds good to me, why not?



Go on to u-tube and you will find about 4000 different 

renditions of it....many claiming to be the first, Feb 

something of this year.


Here is the one my son was in just to give you a peek of

what all the college campuses, sports teams, office groups, 

and high schools are doing... just for fun.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK12pcRCu


The Washington Post, NY Times, and other fabulous publications are trying to figure it out... 

why is this so popular? What does it mean?  How will it affect the future of mankind??  What will be the significance in the annuls of history?  

They give lots of in-depth reasons:)

For me...  

I like it.  

It's fun.

That's it. 

What in the cathair is the meaning behind "the wave" at sports events?? 

Sometimes, on a dreary Monday morning, we all need a little fun, for absolutely NO good reason.

AND

I can't wait to see the first missionary Harlem Shake....

I think God will smile at that...He might even laugh out loud:)

Lastly, Our family has a great reason to do a Sieges rendition of the Harlem Shake.  We were blessed 3 weeks ago with a fabulous new life.  

Emelia Margaret Born Jan 27 in Waco, TX

Harlem Shake?

Let me at it!

PANTS ON FIRE!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Your Nose is longer than a telephone wire...

Yup, I did say that to my brothers and sisters when I was  kid..I said it alot.  But last week in sports news, I could have gone horse chanting that to some Pinocchio look a-likes:) A couple of little fellas had their rear-ends lit up pretty darn good:)  read on... 

I am not sure I can say WHAT IN THE CAT HAIR?  enough times in today's blog.

Lance Armstrong and Mante Teo have been media un-darlings lately because of their propensity for falsehoods....

Admittedly, while the famous cyclist Armstrong has been lying like a dog for years and has left hurricane-like debris in his wake, Teo's story seems to be more one where he used embellishment and got himself in too deep. My father in law would have said "roll up your pant legs, its gettin DEEP in here"...

 Both Liars 

Both stacked them up taller than the Tower of Babel

Both backstroking like they are in the Olympics 

If you don't know the full extent of both stories, just open up any Yahoo or ESPN  Sports pages on the internet and you will be shaking your head in incredulous wonder....

You can't make this stuff up...or can you?

For us what in the cat hair folks, 

a chance to reiterate what we tell our kids from toddlerhood on....

DON'T LIE

TOP TEN REASONS TO AVOID FALSEHOODS LIKE BIBLICAL PLAGUES:

1.If you tell one lie, you will probably have to tell 100 more to support your stupidity. (I refer to our two sports stars)

2.You WILL  be caught in your lie, maybe not today but someday, you'll pay the piper.  (again, my two fellas Armstrong and Teo)

3.If you always tell the truth, you won't have to remember what you said.  Mark Twain told us this years ago, and it is great advice as we get older and can't remember anything anyhow:)

4.Don't embellish or exaggerate your life- you are fascinating enough without the lies- at least to somebody....

5.If you do find yourself caught in a falsehood, make it right as soon as possible, for your own integrity, and for the people you harmed in your lie.

6.Yes cheating on your taxes and speeding are forms of lying....still better off not to do it.  I can attest to that with the $230 I left at the Union county traffic court a few months ago:(

7.
"A good lie will have traveled half way around the world while the truth is putting on her boots."
(again, my friend Mark Twain) If you think you need to lie not to hurt someone's feelings, DON'T SAY ANYTHING, don't open your mouth and prove your ignorance, better to stay silent and keep them guessing. (that guy Twain was pretty smart... and told the truth...alot)

8.Scripture tells us the truth will set us free.  (Jn 8:32)  

That is the truth, not a lie.

9.Sometimes I wonder about my Jesus and what He thinks of all the cheating and lying going on in the world today.

 I believe His grief is great.


10.
EVERYONE CHEATS ....

EVERYONE LIES.....

Well... if YOU always tell the truth...  that is at least one person.

It's a Start.