When I told him about the idea, he was green with envy over the mascot position, so I hired him for the job!
Once he turned green it was perfect for the color choices because of the holidays and all…
Adding the red and purple as our team colors seemed perfectly natural.
Brutus found a friend and asked if I would make her a shirt too… Meet Dinky! She follows Brutus all over the rugby field and copies everything he does. I think she’s adorable don’t you?
She is still too small to be out on the field without getting trampled by accident, so Brutus will do all that part.
Brutus wanted the number 8 for his Jersey, to match the number of horns on his forehead. If you count more or less than that, please don’t say anything to him, because he is so excited!
At his request, we named our rugby team the Dangerous Dragons… it may not seem like a great name, but the other two choices Brutus came up with were not very appealing. The first was Dragon Ballers and the second was Dirty Dragons and neither seemed appropriate, so Dangerous Dragons it is…
I have an idea that managed to get dropped into my think tank sometime in the last few weeks. I can’t really tell you what the idea is, first of all, because it is still swirling around in there looking for a place to settle into… and secondly, because some ideas are better once they have been birthed into a real thing. If I shared what I am thinking before it has time to define itself, it usually comes out sort of ridiculous and get’s lost in the telling … no no no says I!
Sometimes, it is better to be an Idea Savings Account, than an Idea Mr. Microphone, if you get my drift!
These last few weeks have felt somewhat like a furnace, as far as survival goes, but I’m made of tough fibers… have been since birth! I’m almost beginning to think that I write better under pressure or heavy flames. I’m actually getting to the point that I seldom flinch from the sparks that can sometimes singe my soul… and I honestly don’t seek to know why anymore.
In the bible, Hebrews 11:1-3 says,
“Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
With this truth in mind, I am getting better at walking just one day at a time… there is a sweet peace in this type of surrender that is beyond words.
I cannot describe this place of the heart, as it is a very personal and intimate place within my spirit that only God dwells. Everyone has this place so don’t feel left out! I want to share one of my favorite verses with you, as it confirms my belief in this place within each of us…
9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”[a]— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
1 Corinthians 2:9-13
I know I could have just shared the little bit in the middle, but I love this verse and wanted you to read it in its whole form… besides, this is my blog and this IS Thoughtful Thursday! Who else’s thoughts would you expect to find in here, right?!
I don’t know about any of you, but I always wanted to get picked up and swirled into a different land, just like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I dreamt of it often when I was small, just as it looked in Oz. As I grew up, obviously I didn’t keep dreaming the idea of a child, so the dream began to morph somewhat, or mature, if you will. I’ve never really shared with anyone what this dream looks like, but now thanks to my AI tool, I think I just might be able to do this very thing.
Daily writing prompt
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?
When I was small, I don’t think I dreamt of books or writing journals, but as I began discovering my love for literature in all forms, I think this was where my vision of a safe harbor began to change…
In the beginning, it was just me myself and I… alone, but safe in a place of peace and happiness.
The dream seemed lonely to just hang around a barn in the country all by myself, so I started imagining things nearby to interact with if it became too quiet.
After a time, as I began reading more and more… I began to desire more close company when I went to this oasis of peace. So I invited a friend…
Once I did that… well, all the doors flew off my barn and in came more inspiration. I had read every one of Louis Lamour’s stories by then…
As my love for books and stories began to shift towards creating my own adventures, my safe haven morphed somewhat into a farmyard menagerie…
This secret place was where I often went for peace and calm, when my world felt overly chaotic. I never stopped dreaming about this secret place, though now it is much simpler and less scattered… maybe because I started writing out everything that was in my head and heart.
I will now show you my safe haven, in a way that I currently would dream it, if I could bring it to fruition as a book nook.
This would now be the front yard or entryway, since my foals grew too big for the back of the stable. They take lawn management very seriously, hence the nicely clipped grass…
This is my nook where I would spend my work hours…
I will never be bored or lonely from my time in this hidden oasis for creative writing… no no… you still need to come and see who is in the back yard.
Brutus can easily come in or out through that window I left open for him.
There you have it folks, my perfect place to read and write… I think this is totally doable!
I don’t need them new, I don’t want em pretty… I want dirt, mud and chips in the windshield! You see all these commercials for some pretty beautiful rigs, but I highly doubt anyone who just dropped 60 to 80k will be playing in the mud much! Every single bump and ding just brings up dollar signs for at least the first two years.
Now, I didn’t say there was anything bad about those newer trucks… they are gorgeous, really! But this girl always thinks ahead, when it comes to the long run… sometimes good ole fashioned farm trucks will do the trick… they can take a hit from a bull, haul tons of hay, roll right on through the mud, and when they break down… the engine is simple enough to work on yourself with minimal tools and solid parts.
I’m gonna let it all hang out on this one… I am a country girl… all the way down the lane to the farm! I did my fair share of cow tipping and Snype hunting as a kid… yup, that was me growing up! Now, when you hear me say that I am made GOD tough… you get where the reference was from… this tiny lady is corn fed, tough as nails, born for the wilds, and not in the least sorry!
Putting me in a pretty little sports car is laughable… I’d either break one of the dials in the first five minutes, or spill my fries right down between the two front seats!
For the sake of the vehicle, as well as my peace of mind, just put me in something big and tough… you don’t even have to paint it, cause I’d have fun splashing it with a can of old tractor paint out of the barn. This is also a great deterrent to thieves. IF they got past my oversized guard dogs, if they didn’t know the trick to starting the engine with the screwdriver laying on the floorboard… well, it would be a long and cold night out in that barn… hehehehehehehe!
Not my traveling… I stayed home. For many others, however, today is probably both a traveling and recuperating day. The week between Christmas and New Years is always a bit of a blur, if you ask my opinion.
There’s always the clean up, which can be quite daunting if you have a large family that gathered. If you aren’t the party host, you still have to take all your holiday booty home and find a place to stuff it!
There are leftover Divas making Pinterest presentable dishes for posting, belated Christmas gift exchanges, half hearted attempts at returning to work, and preparations for all our last hoorah’s on the last night of the year. New Years Resolution lists will be forthcoming for most by the next morning!
While there was no traveling, or partying, I am still feeling exhausted… I didn’t even do anything.
My coffee just beeped, so I’m gonna enjoy my first cup of Jo for the morning. After that… who knows.
For myself personally, the only thing worth looking back on in 1968 would be birthdays… I share a birth year with Lisa Marie, Brendan Frazier, Hugh Jackman, Gillian Anderson, and Will Smith among others.
When I saw the prompt today, I had to actually go to the Internet for information… don’t judge… many humans avoid thinking on and remembering things from 1968… dark times for us as well as North Korea and Vietnam.
Since it is the season of Good Will to all Men, I won’t go into the distasteful part of that years World History. Instead, I shall stay with the light and fluffy things of my birth year.
Speaking of light and fluffy… we did get our first 747 off the ground that year, as well as getting Apollo 8 all the way round the moon. That is a part of history that I can think back on with National Pride and good feelings, how bout you?
Probably the best thing to end my recollections of 1968 is this clip from Google… lucky number 7…
” 7. November 22: “Star Trek” airs American television’s first interracial kiss
In 1968 “Star Trek” actors Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner performed the first interracial kiss on American TV. CBS via Getty Images
In an episode of TV’s original “Star Trek” entitled “Plato’s Stepchildren,” the crew aboard the Starship Enterprise became enslaved by humanoid Platonians, who possessed a telekinetic ability to force them to do anything the Platonians wanted them to do. “
That sent the world spinning off its axis for a good bit… but time waits for no man as they say, and here we are today watching all sorts of TMI, and we don’t even need a TVs to do it…
Have you ever noticed how, when you read a bible verse, within mere seconds you are already trying to conform the verse to a picture reflecting what you want to see? It’s easy to do since we are human, selfish by nature… good for survival and self-preservation, but not so good for the long run, if you know what I mean. Too much self is never a good thing!
Take my Note To Self #18…
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
In truth, when I was a young Christian I read this as a sign that said if I did all I was supposed to do, then I would be blessed with long life and wealth… cause that’s what I thought I wanted! I also have now come to the realization that I had an unrealistic expectation of the timeline for said $$$ to reveal itself!
I have discovered, as many of you also have, the above verse never said anything about what it means to “Delight yourself” nor did it say the timeline for said results of this delighting stuff! I think it is because over time, we have become conditioned to the old InstantGratificationitis! We want to see results… right fast and in a hurry, or else we surmise that we either failed or just did things wrong the first, second or third time through.
Through the years I have discovered a few things about God, the world, myself and the way of things. One thing about God… He loves to give gifts! I have discovered that every dream or desire I think I really want or need… He always does one better! The other thing about God is that He is much wiser than I shall ever be… things I thought I wanted ended up not being what I needed, or if they were, they were nowhere near being on the same timeline as His!
I think the part I should be focusing on is the delighting, rather than the desiring… at least that is what my spirit is saying.
I chose to put this verse into my list of notes, so that I am reminded each time I read to practice the delighting part first… only after this can I begin to even consider a desire. Each time I read the verse, it poses a question to me… what does the bible say delighting is?
According to Google,
“The Hebrew word for delight (anag) commands us to find enjoyment in God. The Lord wants us to incline our hearts toward Him –– to lean in to Christ where we will discover unspeakable joy.”
I have to admit that Google gave a pretty accurate and simple answer, but still not enough for us to head out with a list of things “to do” that will bring the results necessary. From one answer we head off with more questions… how do we find enjoyment, and what does it mean to incline our hearts toward Him?
God delighted himself when creating us in His image, so therefore, we should be able to feel delight when we are near Him, I think. As humans, do we not gain a great amount of delight and pleasure when we have gained the approval of our parents? God is the only parent I have, so for me it is easy… I just seek to make Him proud of me, in all I do and say.
Before you start guessing and things get complicated, I will just tell you what I do to make God proud. I believe in Him, I trust Him, and I surrender to His will for my life… One Day at a Time… on my knees and in His word! That’s it! Super Simple! No, I don’t spend hours a day doing this, some days maybe, but not everyday! Most days I read a little, work on a memory verse, and spend a few moments in thoughtful prayer… though I do talk to God repeatedly, at many different times of the day.
That’s one of the many beautiful things about God… at any moment we make room for Him, there He will faithfully be standing and ready to meet with us. When David was only a boy, tending his fathers flocks, he spent many a solitary hour walking with and talking with God. That young king to be, spent a great many hours delighting in the Lord, out in the middle of nowhere, with no music band or fancy choir to perform for God… it was just a boy who loved God so much that he always wrote, sang and danced before his heavenly Father. From the boy in the field, to the young man before a Giant, and on to the King he became… always the delight would surface.
All the way back to when this verse was put to paper, David was probably the originator of the acronym, KISS. Again, I am pleased with Google’s response,
Keep it simple, stupid (KISS) is a design principle which states that designs and/or systems should be as simple as possible. Wherever possible, complexity should be avoided in a system—as simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction.
I shall take from both David and Google, not overthinking like I sometimes can, and just delight in God each day! He knows my needs and desires even before I do, so there’s no reason to try keeping a list, or try guessing God’s timeline or plan… He’s got this so I’m going to let Him handle all my presents!
Journey With Me! 