when did i become a fuddy duddy?

today at church (which was awesome by the way) there was a teenage boy sitting 3 rows in front of me. not only did he chew gum the entire time which i tend to think could only be very distracting for him during worship, but he was wearing a baseball cap. when i was a teenager i didn't like that people judged my peers for wearing hats to church. 'it's the heart that matters, not the appearance or dress'. today that changed. i was VERY bothered that this kid was wearing a hat and that his parents didn't make him take it off. i felt like asking him if he had a medical condition that required him to wear the hat and disrespect his worship. i figured that would be out of line, afterall, it IS the heart that the Lord looks at and i just need to get over myself. good lesson to re-learn.

lessons from my dog

you have probably read my blogs in the past mentioning my dog maggie; this is her! monday is her fourth birthday...don't let her bit of gray fool you :) she has been my little buddy for the last 4 years and i so enjoy having her around. she has even become a member of the whole family, being titled 'grandpuppy' by my mom and dad (who by the way were not dog people before her).

when i got her i wasn't expecting to learn anything from her, afterall, she's an animal. however, i have gleaned so much from this little canine and i thought i'd share some main points with you:

1. be careful when someone comes to the door, but once you know it's someone you like, be VERY EXCITED to see them. they are there to see YOU afterall.

2. cuddle with the people you love.

3. be willing to learn new things. especially when there is a treat at the end of your lesson.

4a. the simple act of being yourself is endearing

4b. the simple act of being yourself and doing what you were created and gifted to do brings worship to God.

5. whenever someone says 'you wanna go outside?' (or to a movie, game, etc) DO IT!

6. loyalty is very important

7. say hello to everyone you meet

8. to really get to know someone, you have to be open, vulnerable and willing to be a little uncomfortable (butt-sniffing comes to mind, though please let's leave that to the dogs)

now, there are a lot of other lessons i have learned from maggie, but these are some of the basics. i have also learned what it might be like for our Heavenly Father to deal with us...you parents out there can draw the same lesson from your relationship with your children. when she does something over and over again that she's not supposed to do, or she destroys something of mine, of course i am upset. in the end though, i still love her and want to see her do 'the right thing' a.k.a. not pee on the floor.
i am very thankful for maggie and her simple companionship. there have been times where she's the only 'friend' i felt i had, and she has been a great help to me through my times of intense anxiety.

happy 4th birthday to

magdalena juanita conchita alonzo riveres gonzales-gonzales

laid up

for some reason my back went out this evening. it hasn't been this bad in a few years so it kind of took me by surprise. i have a factured vertebra (T-9 to be exact) and it has the tendancy to put pressure on the nerves that come off of that part of the spine. when that happens my back freezes up and is extremely painful. i can't move, it hurts to breathe...just overall unpleasant. i called my mom to come over and rescue me, which she did. i crawled over to the door and unlocked it so she could come in...i felt like i needed one of those life alert necklaces "i've fallen and i can't get up!"
feeling a bit better now, and i'm at least able to sit up straight and walk slowly. gonna take it easy though for the next couple days and make a visit to my chiropractor on monday.
please pray for healing! :)