JsueChat

Remember the movie Galaxy Quest ? A wonderful parody of Star Trek starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Justin Long ... to name a few. I often use this motto when I'm in the throes of something worthwhile and fighting to see it through to the end. It has been my experience that Anything I've done that I felt was God's will in my life has always faced tremendous adversity and giving up is one thing I used to do. However, one year, Scott and I vacationed in Grand Lake, Colorado. It was June ... Early June. There was a constant chill in the air and we wanted to do a lot of hiking.  Well, hiking at 60 or 70 pounds overweight is tough. Add the altitude and perseverance is critical. But on this particular trip God gave me  a lesson in perseverance that I will always remember. We decided to climb a mountain the first day there. We must have hiked for a solid two hours and then decided to turn around. We got tired. It was so pretty all along the way. So mu

So yesterday was my Weight Watchers meeting. I was feeling pretty good about the week and was looking forward to my feedback. "Feedback" is my word for when I weigh in. My pants are really falling under the "clown pants" category now. Sagging everywhere. And a little long in the leg. (nice problem!) So, earlier this week I had a little spare time and went to my favorite store and purchased two new pairs of slacks. I have to hem them but here's the best part: I bought one size smaller!!!! Of course, it would be even better if we weren't victims of "vanity" sizing now but the pants felt great. Looked nice. It was a sweet reward. But, before that, I had an even better moment. Renewed Thinking Now, the best way to change one's habits and attitudes is to start with your thoughts. But to change thoughts with lousy outcomes you can't simply stop thinking in bad ways. There's a second step and that's to START thinking in better

Isn't this a peaceful setting where I can read, reflect, and restore? Yep. That's what Jesus said. He first said, "Peace I give to you." and then he stated it again but added the "My". This morning I was reading the book teaching on the 23rd Psalm. It is written by a man who used to be a shepherd. We were looking at the phrase "you annoint my head with oil." Now, it is allergy season here and my eyes are itchy, my nose is twitchy and sometimes I want to scratch my skin off. So, as the writer began to tell about fly season for the sheep I completely understood the torment of flies and parasites. Apparently sheep can get these nasty little critters so bad they even get in through their noses into their brains and drives them absolutely crazy. They'll run and rub and itch to the point where they'll bash into anything they think will remove the irritation. Sometimes this will result in even killing themselves. It must be aw

So, over the Labor Day weekend we had some great times with my mother-in-law (Pat) and my eldest son (AB). We invited Pat over for a sleep-over on Sunday so we could enjoy a full day with her. (Even though we only live 30 minutes apart we don't get together much.) AB hooked up with a buddy for frisbee golf that morning so Scott and I felt industrious and made breakfast for his mom. The menu consisted of biscuits and gravy, bacon, and scrambled eggs (light) with bell peppers and onions. We told AB to invite Eddie (his frisbee golf mate) since we knew they would be a bit hungry. I had ulterior motives, too, because I wanted to play frisbee golf, too ... on the Wii. It worked. Eddie joined us and after breakfast we played frisbee golf. It was a blast. But, that's just to set the context of this post. During breakfast we were visiting and for some reason I started reminiscing about AB while he was growing up. Funny - I can't even recall right now what it was I sai

Conductor in an orchestra rehearsal. Found this photo on Flickr by  Jorge Franganillo We just had a retreat this weekend where we worked on music for our Christmas presentation. It may be corny but I always seem to notice the parallels in my life experience to what God's word teaches. As we worked together to learn the music we were nearing the close of our efforts Saturday afternoon. We were completely running through all the music that we had worked on. And, of course, watching the director brought us to the end together. But there was one piece in particular where our horns were lagging, the choir was churning out the notes, and I bet we had about four different tempos going on. As I watched our director increase the size of his pattern, move to get our attention and energize his efforts to make us all realize ... we are out of synch! We were not together! WATCH ME! He didn't say a word but I thought what a fantastic picture of the body of Christ. Without a wor

This is one defining area of my life that, well, frankly is a major struggle. When I finished high school I was a svelte 125-130 pound young lady. I went to college and put on the “freshman 10”. Then I got married and put on another 10. Then there were two children which I never totally lost that baby-induced-gain. I’ve joined Weight Watchers three times (currently a member today). Used various fad diets. Read at least a dozen books on nutrition and weight loss. Then there’s the motivational books and other soul searching, inspirational studies. See how I tried to hide my fat in this photo! Sigh. It is now 30 years or so that I’ve been more than 20 pounds overweight. The up and down struggle has been enormous. It’s emotional. It’s hard. It’s overwhelming. It’s spiritual. I’m ashamed about it, too. Yet, I’m so grateful. Being the Christian that I am I see this as THE central part of my life which God has used to shape me (no, not a pun) into the person I am today. The La

So I'm taking the plunge into the social world of bloggers. Why? Because I’m a chatty, social person who would like to say something. First, all the opinions and comments in this blog are completely mine. They come from my own thoughts and I want to make it perfectly clear that they are my opinions and should not reflect upon my employer, my family or any of my affiliates. I know these people cannot dissociate from me. I hope my posts will prove to be a source of good feelings about their association with me. If not, please see the intent is to be kind, gracious, honest and well-mannered. That said - who am I anyway? and what do I plan to say here? Second question first: I have no idea what I will end up saying on this blog. I hope it will be worth reading, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and offer a little wisdom. Mostly I plan to share experiences, recipes, opinions, and, with a little luck, they will add to the life of anyone who reads this. Who am I? Janet Sue as a