In other words, I’ve been skulking (NOT sulking!) around. And have come across some genuinely gems of posts! Check them out!

Okay, so while visiting Carol, a blog buddy I’ve been neglecting terrible (I’ve been neglecting all my blog buddies terribly for months now) I find a link to Big Mama. Obviously, I’ve been missing out. So I go check her out.

Wow! Her post about trusting God, called Going For Gold, really hits home. I’m quoting extensively from her because it’s so great, so be sure to click over and read the entire post!

In short, I was the Bode Miller of Christian faith. Remember Bode Miller? The skier in the Winter Olympics last year that was supposed to win all the medals? He was the best, he had tons of experience, he was the media favorite, and when it came time for the biggest event of his career…he choked. He didn’t win one medal.

That’s me. I have experience. I’ve walked with Christ for fifteen years. He’s blessed me with a great husband, beautiful daughter, wonderful friends and a happy home. He’s carried me through the lonely days of being a new college graduate in a town where I knew no one, bad job situations, deaths of people I love, and a heartbreaking miscarriage. I know Him. I have tested Him and He has always proved faithful. Always.

In turn, I am so quick to prove faithless. In the Olympics of Christianity, I wouldn’t even get a bronze medal based on my reaction to what was going on in my life.

And speaking of Carol, I don’t know why I’ve been neglecting her. I’ve started revisiting her site to find she writes just as well as she used to! She has a fantastic post about a humbling experience she has, called She’s In a Hurry, So Move.

How many people will I face in heaven that I harbored ill feelings toward here on life’s highway while rushing around on my way to “the other church”? Not the one I’m a member of, but the one where I’m supposed to be helping out. The one that has a need and looks to me to fill it. The one that trusts my efforts will be a blessing and an example of Jesus’ love.

Good stuff.

And on the lighter side, check out why Carol thinks Texas is the place to live, in her post called She Likes Where She Lives. Funneh!

And another good laugh…how about those inseparable pals, Pride and Fall? Mopsy has written The Shortest Play Ever. It’s great!

Hey, did you guys know I was on a diet? Yup! Post-pregnancy diet, but I really needed to be heading in that direction before I was pregnant. I can’t really use that as my excuse. Well, I’m a member of a group blog called One Weigh or Another. It’s a wonderful group of women who are on the weight-loss road together and we support, encourage, and even pass out tremendous WHONKS on the head. Okay, we don’t all do that. But the oh-so-magnificent Blest is wonderful at keeping us on track.

Well, on this blog I’ve met Blair. Well, I actually kinda knew Blair already from Carnival of Beauty stuff. But I’m getting to know her so much better now. She’s great. Don’t believe me? Read this really cool post called How to Cheat on Your Diet. Even if you aren’t dieting, the point of the post is that we all think we can handle things on our own.

Okay then. That’s all for now. Good-bye folks!

By the way, I’d like to point out that I’m not sulking! I’m skulking! (That because I’ve had several commenters in the past ask what I was sulking about!)

Happy for your spoilage! And we are sulking because…..?

For some reason I read the title to this post as Shamelessly Sulking and couldn’t figure out what you were brooding about. LOL

Well, finally the blogging mood hit me. A little bit anyway. For those of you who read my post a few days ago about getting tested for gestational diabetes….well, I passed with flying colors! Yay! No special diet for me. Thanks for your kind comments.

And….what’s cool out in the blogosphere? Well, to be honest, I haven’t spent nearly as much time skulking about as I used to. So I know I’m missing lots of great posts. But I’ve got a few cool ones to share today.

This one is about a week or so old but I liked it so much I had to share. Jared shares a bit of the scandal of grace. My husband (who is blogging again!) pointed me to this post. It’s a must read!

Paul is a guy who used to go by the name Saul. It’s possible he is responsible for the murder of someone you know, perhaps even your parents or one of your children. Now you have to sit and listen to someone read not just words from this guy, but instructions from this guy. Since his conversion from Christ-hating enforcer of the Law to card-carrying Jesus freak, he’s not just one of your fellow Christians. He’s an authority over all Christians recognized by nearly everyone.

Are you pro-life? Here’s a really great video. Hat tip to Job’s Tale who also has a great adoption post.

And if you are looking for a fun weekly blog activity, check out the new one at Blest With Sons, called Take Your Kid to Blog Day! Here is the premire edition! You might wanna consider joining in next week! Here is my daughter’s submission.

And, as always, Choosing Home Blog has some interesting posts going on. If you need to get your children involved in household chores and serving each other as a family check out their site. They have all kinds of information on children and chores. They finish with their Family Acts of Service Gathering where they link to lots of posts on the topic. Check them all out!

That’s all I have time for today! Hope you find something good to read! I have not one, but two birthday parties to go shop for! (My sister-in-law and my Dad!) When you are in a large family there are always birthday parties to attend!

Happy Saturday!

Well, it’s Saturday…the first one in January. And my first day off since my vacation ended. It couldn’t have come soon enough! Whew! Work has been….ummm…long this week!

But I crashed last night to the sound of lots of giggling (my daughter has a friend over) and got lots of sleep. So, here I am, reading through the blogosphere…and boy, have I found some interesting things!

Don’t you love when you have a favorite author, artist, etc. and stumble across their blog? I do. It hasn’t happened much…but I did discover Chris Rice had a blog a few months ago. I was psyched! Well today it has happened again.

I have always enjoyed reading Joshua Harris books. I wish I had read them as a teenager and plan to have my children read them at a young age. Well, I happened across his blog this morning. Is that not exciting?

I happened upon it through Challies, who is jealous of Joshua Harris because he was mentored by C.J. Mahaney.

There is little doubt in my mind that part of what has made Harris such a gifted teacher of the Word is that C.J. Mahaney invested so heavily in him. I’m guessing that Harris would be the first to agree with me. Harris had his mentor in Mahaney, and I couldn’t think of too many guys who would do a better job of it. There isn’t much I wouldn’t give to have that type of relationship with a man like Mahaney.

Also, Adrian Warnock interviewed Johsua about that mentorship.

It’s all rather interesting!

And while on Joshua Harris’ blog, I found a link to this site. This blog called Married Life is full of information for couples from date nights, romance, parenting, and knowing God. This blog is a must read for couples!

Blest With Sons, one of my favorite bloggers, has been posting on time management. You can read her first, second, and third post where she review’s George McDonald’s book Ordering Your Private World.

She says:

Whether I like it or not, a lot of my time usage choices have already been made by the life, and lives, with which I am blest. I am a Wife. I am a Mommy. The responsibilities which come with those identities are to a certain degree non-negotiable. I have avoided them in the past, burying my head in the sand of my personal interests. But one truth I have learned and relearned is that I can not truly enjoy doing “my own thing” when I’m not doing God’s own things. A distinctive restless irritability begins to possess me when I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. How much sweeter the times I get to spend doing my crafts, or my singing, or whatever, when those times are the refreshment after a job well done, rather than stolen water.

Good stuff.

I love tributes. I love to read a wonderful tribute to a loved one or admired person on a blog. Mopsy at Lifenut just recently lost her grandmother. She actually lost two grandmothers this year. While it has to be tough, she has posted the most beautiful tribute to her grandmother who died two days before Christmas. (This is the original piece written about a year ago. Mopsy recently re-posted this as a tribute to her grandmother.)

I felt a profound connection between these words and my grandma’s outlook on life. She has been around the world and back again. She has weathered the “tempestuous shocks” of loss and stood on the eternal rocks. Through it all, she has maintained her devotion to God and lives showing so much love, not only despite the tempest, but because of it.

And don’t forget to say a prayer for Mopsy and her family.

And if you would like to read a beautiful post that starts with a little boy looking for a hero, check this out from Matthew at This Is Not For You.

Reading of his battles (both military and political) and marveling at the all-consuming fury which drove him to glory upon glory, until he wielded the power of a mythological god – it seemed to the foolish boy that I was, that I had finally found a mentor worthy of my own ambitions. In great Caesar and those who would follow him in building the Roman Empire, I had found confirmation of all of my primal and bestial urgings towards the subjugation of others for my own ends… �but beneath the shining veneer of the marble of the Coliseum, there was a bone of contention wedged deep within my throat.

What an incredible writer!

And I happened upon another blog I had never been on before. And a quick trip through Broken Messenger’s archives found a really great post on Women as Pastors.

And given my upbringing and the culture with which I was raised, I have to admit that I am uncomfortable when reading the Scriptures concerning the roles of women and leadership in the church. I suppose much of it is the product of our politically correct culture too. I have always tried to be generally unoffensive whenever possible, but I have learned that comfort does not automatically equal truth.

This post, although it will probably offend all my feminst readers (ha!) is absolutely wonderful about the role of women as far as leadership goes. What do you think about women as pastors? I must say I’m agree with the message Broken Messenger has presented here.

Ah…and as well as Broken Messenger, Brad Huston also has a magnificent photoblog. Beautiful!

And lastly, my husband is getting a few atheists stirred up by giving out his sixth Scornful Skeptic Award. (He seems to be quite talented at that!) Of course, I think the award was well deserved. Just be warned….it’s not pretty. (BTW, Joshua is blogging on a regular basis again!)

So, that’s that. Hope you find something you like!

I’m doing my usual early morning lurking about the blogosphere and I see so many wonderful Chrsitmas post. I feel obligated to share some of those.

Doug at Coffee Swirls (a really, really great blog, btw) there are two amazing Christmas posts. The first one is on the shepherds which is a post he wrote last year….but certainly worth a read this year. This post points out that all who come to worship Christ have been invited to do so.

Those who were called to come and worship at our savior’s feet were lowly shepherds and magi from a distant land. Both groups mentioned here were ceremoniously unclean by Jewish law. But they had an invitation. They were called in ways that they could understand and they stopped what they were doing to answer the call.

A wonderful read. As well as this post on the scandal of Joseph. It gives some insight into what life might have been like for Joseph and Mary and how their decision to let God use them to bring the Christ child into the world could have serious social and cultural effects.

Have you ever been accused of a sin that you know you are not guilty of? Most of the time, we are able to use reason and evidence to either show our innocence or to show that it is unlikely to be true. Joseph and Mary did not have this luxury. Yes, Mary could have been examined by a doctor to show that she was still a virgin but the Bible does not say that she did this. It does show that Jesus was born into a scandal and that he carried the errant stigma of being conceived out of wedlock. The son of a loose woman and a man who wasn’t fully committed to the letter of the law, if you will.

Amanda at Wittingshire has posted a lovely Christmas poem by GK Chesterton. Here’s a bit of it…

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

Sallie, at Two Talent Living, has started a Carnival of Beauty. The most recent category was The Beauty of Tradition and the posts are in. Check out all the wonderful posts here. So go read them!

Then Blest With Sons has a stocking full of Christmas traditions from around the blogosphere she’s sharing. She even links to my post on It’s A Wonderful Life in it!

There are other great posts out there as well, but I have gifts to wrap. So, enjoy…and have a lovely Christmas holiday.

I was going to skip my shameless skulk…I’m getting married one week from today and life is busy! I have a shower to attend in a few hours and a house to clean as well. But my first stop of the day was too good to not share and I decided, well, why the heck not? Let’s skulk about a bit! (It’s really easy for me to find an excuse to go blog-hopping!)

Bill from Out of the Bloo has a short but sweet post on encouragement.

Encouragement – when spoken out of truth and not flattery – is golden.

So, go encourage someone! They will need it. We all do.

At Wittingshire Amanda quotes from the great G.K. Chesterton on neighbors.

We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbour.

Lucky for me I have the world’s greatest neighbors! But I do recall neighbor meaning a bit more than the person who has a yard joined with yours….

She also has a cute converstaion post that took place between her and her sons…

And as always, lovely pictures. I wonder if she takes all these pictures herself. They are amazing!

And on one of my favorite preacher blogs, Rev-Ed discusses whether or not you should advertise your faith.

But the assumption is that a person wearing a cross must have some connection to Jesus. If that person doesn’t act like Jesus would have us act, the world cries, “Hypocrite!”

Read his post and tell me what you think!

And Blest With Sons is back! Yay!

And I have just recently found Job’s Tale. Check out the site…all of it. And pray for him and his family.

Kinda short, but good stuff! That is all I have time for this weekend! I have a wedding shower to attend in a few hours!

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

I haven’t done a Shamelessly Skulking post since before Katrina due to lots and lots of computer issues. First, of course, I didn’t even have electricity for two weeks. Then, Cable One, was not exactly quick at hooking my internet back up. Well, about the time my internet gets hooked up, my site gets hacked….and so on and so on.

But I’m back to skulking around…and there’s lots of great posts I want to share. Some are rather old now…as I read them when I was unable to post but still want to share them.

Learning the Glad Surrender is a blog I discovered after the storm. I linked to an article Bonnie posted about Hurricane Katrina becaue I liked it. Since then I’ve dug through the archives of this blog and have found several posts of interest.

First, Bonnie frequently posts humorous things that will have you rolling on the floor laughing like this post about the worst first date ever .

It was midwinter and snowing…quite cold…and her date had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a day trip, and they had actually never met before and were essentially strangers. So as such–there would be no overnight stays. The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they headed home late that afternoon. They were driving back down the mountain when she gradually began to realize that her extra grande-non-fat-decaf-latte-with-2-Splenda-hold-the-whip wasn’t such a great idea. They were about an hour away from civilization, much less a rest area, with no signs of life in sight.

Check it out to find out what happens….

And this post about how to be romantic.

Some things are inherently romantic, like hearts. This is useful, but the trick is to figure out what is romantic and what isn’t. Basic rule of thumb: if it’s cool, it’s not romantic. High powered rifles are not romantic. DVD players are not romantic unless playing Sleepless In Seattle.

Content Warning:

But although Bonnie’s blog is quite humorous she also has some really thought provoking posts. One post about how pornography ruins lives really makes you stop and think about the depravity of our culture by sharing the thoughts of a man whose expectations have been completely changed by pornography.

He writes-

If you’re female and you don’t possess prodigal, Einsteinian caliber intelligence that would propel the cause of humanity forward, and, if you don’t relish the idea of being alone, then . . .

throw every last dollar you have at your physical appearance.

I’m serious. Personal trainer. Porcelain veneers. High-end boob job. Get scared and get it done.
Do not extend my gender any credit. Do not hope that a guy will be in awe of your cello playing, your VP title, or your cute apartment.

I promise you he won’t care. Don’t kid yourself into thinking he will. Men are programmed to respond to the visual.

Look good or you’re alone.

And a pastor comments on what he has to say-

As a pastor, I have heard this post told dozens of times in slightly different ways by men and women whose vision and values of sex and relationships have been shattered by the pervasive culture of pornography that surrounds us.

The struggle continues, even in the church. Women feel pressured to look like the seductive, air-brushed, perfect images that pervade our society, and men feel guilty for secretly desiring such perfection from their women and being disappointed when it doesn’t happen. Then that leaves us women striving all the more to find our identities and self-worth in the size of our jeans or the perfection of our appearance. In both cases, we forget we are both created in the image of God to reflect His glory. We both exchange the pursuit of that glory for far less, and this is the downward spiral that ensues.

So anyway…check her site out!

And my favorite e-pal has just moved to Texas. So she’s been recycling old posts. But before she left she posted on how boys will become men. I actually thought about posting on something similar but it was during my blogless days and she did such a good job I think I’ll just share some of what she had to say.

I want my boys to have a firm and noble vision of what it means to be a man…God’s man. I want them to be ready to defend their faith, their families, and their country. And it is hard to do that in a world that wants to make boys out of sugar and spice instead of snips and snails.

and…

Look. I’m not saying that boys can’t be or shouldn’t be sensitive. I’m not saying they can’t cry. I’m not saying that we should raise them to go around clocking people in the head. But what I am saying is that coddling and babying are the treatment for hot house flowers – not future men.

And if you like the graphic on that post, she is selling t-shirts with it. I bought one! It’s cool. Find out more here.

And it’s that time of year again…the Christmas season is upon us. Sometimes faster than I like. (I prefer Christmas to wait until after Thanksgiving!) Rev-ed at Attention Span brings up the topic of our politically correct culture and the discouragement of the phrase “Merry Christmas!”

After all, stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears and Kohls makes a few boatloads of dollars on — dare I say it? — Christmas. Hannukuh and the new addition to the holiday sweepstakes, Kwanzaa don’t even do a fraction of the sales figures that Christmas does. If anything, I’d expect these stores to go out of their way to promote Christmas. The bottom line rules in retail. And after all, it’s hardly a religious holiday anymore.

Attention Span is also the blog where I found Chris Rice’s blog. Cool. Check out this post (that I’ve already linked to once but liked it well enough to link to it again) on how we communicate with non-Christians.

I have a friend who serves tables at a local restaurant. She’s really honest. We don’t believe the same things, and we talk about it. We have great conversations. There are often some four-letter words mixed in.

She hates serving the Sunday “after church” tables. They leave the biggest “%$#&” messes. They leave the smallest tips. And they always have a cute phrase like “Have a blessed day!” for her when they’re walking out. Sometimes they leave her a tract. You know, one of those fake $20 bills that have the “gospel message” on the other side.

Clever? Witness? No, just alienating.

“Blessed?” She says. “If they wanted me to be ‘blessed’ (whatever that means), wouldn’t they have a genuine conversation as if I’m a real person, or compliment me without that fake Christian smile, and leave me a tip that means something? I don’t think THEY even know what ‘blessed’ means.”

Interesting.

And if you are in the mood for a good laugh read this at All Things 2 All. Sounds like Catez is having fun!

The end of the world: Once I attended a series of talks by a preacher who was an expert on the end times. He said we are all going to have bar codes in the middle of our foreheads. I decided to grow a fringe. That same month a guy came up to me when I was out shopping and started telling me about the end times and the rapture (that’s not the song by Madonna). He showed me his bankcard. It had the letter b in 3 different colours. He got real close up and told me this was the mark of the beast. bbb=666. I was so relieved I was with another bank and had a cute picture of a horse on my bankcard. Then I remembered the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I give up. I should just build a bomb shelter.

Why do we blog? That’s a question I’m sure each blogger has thought about before. I know we bloggers tend to have a bit of a, um…addiction? to this blogging lifestyle. I often hear something said and think about how I can incorportate it into a post…or something funny happens and I can’t wait to get home and blog about it. Also, when something I feel deeply about comes up I have a means of sharing it…

Vashti of Sing for Your Supper discusses reasons she blogs and why she thinks others are so addicted to blogging! Check out what she has to say.

There is an extensive community that exists among bloggers. Mine is still a small circle but mainly the same people remain in my circle. This led me to the question of “why do people blog?”

…and on the community she’s found within the blogosphere…

Other than that, I get the privilege to share and to learn random, funny, sad, deep, and sometimes fluffy facts in this new community I have found. It has become important to “check-in” on my new virtual friends. I find myself thinking about trials they have written about and wondering if things are smoothing out. I have found myself giggling out loud as I think of particularly funny posts. At times, my brain is challenged for hours or days by interesting thoughts shared for me to contemplate. I have found people on similar roads in their journey and people with completely different lives. All have been interesting.

I had other blogs I was going to link to but my computer is acting up tremendously…so maybe next weekend I’ll add those! Anyway, enjoy!