Cell phones in church are the devil & why # 4 is my favorite number

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Technology sure enough has its way of butting its way in & taking over everything. Sometimes I want to tell that guy to slow himself down just a bit. But then, I turn around & let my cell phone be the boss of me so much. Y’all, it’s just too easy to do. I know I shouldn’t be so weak. Even when I am sitting talking to my sweetie. I’m just going to briefly check my emails while he is telling me about his day. Then, all of a sudden y’all, I see an email where Vera Bradley is having a sale & it’s off to the races! The next thing I know of

He’s saying, “Did you hear what I just said?”

I’m like, “Sure, but could you repeat it just to make sure?”

He does the same thing to me so not much harm done. But do you see what’s happening here? DISTRACTIONS folks! Those of the technological kind. They run our lives.

Here is my message to technology:

“While I appreciate all you do for us, there are some things you should just be ashamed of. That’s right. You know what you’ve done. Stop it with the distractions.”

I will tell you, I do have an apparent pet peeve that is, looking on your phone during church. I get using a Bible app on your phone. I am talking about checking Facebook, looking on Pinterest, texting, etc.,. did I say DURING church? It’s so easy to be distracted by a phone. Even though you are supposed to be at church worshiping the Lord, that died for your sins, some people can’t give up the phone long enough to do that. And that’s WRONG if I’ve ever seen it. Just don’t do it. Don’t.

Coming up y’all, how I really feel about it.

I think this is a commandment or something.

I know it could be something as innocent as getting on your Bible app. In the process, you see you have notifications on Facebook or Pinterest. You are just going to glance to see what’s going on & before you know you are scrolling & looking & not paying attention to the preacher & the lesson being taught. Satan will try everything he can to take you away from the Lord. Even, using your phone. And why not? You can access anything on your phone & I mean ANYTHING. You have to be stronger than that & resist what the devil is laying out there at your feet. Or in this case, your fingers.

I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

If we are at church to worship, let’s worship. I don’t think the Lord really wants any less. Ya know?

John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

How can we worship in spirit & truth if our mind is on what’s going on with Facebook? What did we ever do before social media & knowing what others are doing ALL. THE. TIME? Let the Lord have His time in your life. That’s what’s most important. Not “Suzy’s” new outfit or what “Bob” had for breakfast. You can get the 411 after you finish with worship service. I know. I know. It’s the whole fear of missing out thing. I addressed that here. We need to give God our best. Not what’s left over. Pretty sure the above scripture is a commandment, not a suggestion.

I hope everybody has had a blessed weekend. We attended a football game where my nephew played like a champ. Right now, the number 4 is truly my favorite number. (More about that later.) However, a grand time was had by all. Which means we saw our peeps & ate like pigs. Our favorite. Until next time, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

My favorite number 4.

Me & my favorite number 4.

More faces I love.

photo credits: http://www.compliancesigns.com, http://www.smartsign.com

Taylor Swift: Nice or needs attention?

January 7, 2015January 5, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Have you seen the video of Taylor Swift giving away gifts to her fans for Christmas? She has been dubbed as Taylurking. It is where she has sort of stalked some of her fans on social media. Then, learned what they like, where they work, go to school, what their kids & friends, names are, etc.,. She bought presents for these people in regards to what their interests are. The video has been circling around the internet. I saw it shared by someone on Facebook. If you missed it, you can see it here.

I watched it. My first knee jerk reaction was, “That was nice of her.” Then, I got to thinking about it. Being the first class skeptic I am , I have a few questions.

1. Who filmed this? Obviously, it was intentional. Not just some random personal videoing going on.

2. Why did this individual/individuals video it? Was it just for fun or entertainment? Then, they got the idea, “Let’s make a video for the internet so everybody can see how amazing Taylor really is?”

3. Why did Taylor feel the need to display her kindness? Albeit, this was a well thought out, good hearted, thing to do, why toot your own horn, Taylor?

4. Did Taylor feel the need to have praise for what she did?

5. Am I looking at this all wrong?

6. Why would she have not done these kind deeds & kept this as a special memory of friendships with her fans?

I saw a comment by someone on the Facebook post stating Taylor had recently been to a children’s hospital. They said she spent more than normal celebrity time with the patients & no one knew about it. Ok. What’s wrong with that?

This is what Jesus says about doing for others:

Matthew 6:1-5

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ²Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ³But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. (NKJV)

I am not a Taylor Swift hater. As a matter of fact, I like her music. I think she made a very strategic move going from Country to Rock. It was inevitable. To my knowledge, she has not publically twerked or sung songs about kissing girls & liking it. So, she has that much about her. I can let my 11 year old listen to her, without much worry. But, this video stunt is kinda like being classy. If you have to tell someone you are classy, then are you? If you have to make a video about what a big heart you have, then do you have a big heart? Someone help me get through this. Any insight is welcome.

I hope you are having a great week. Whoever is praying for rain, in northeast Mississippi, please stop. We are good. Until the sun shines again, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

Me & my girl Taylor PDAin’ it up.

credits: yourecards,youtube

Prayers for Lightning McQueen & you know what I think?

October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

As you may already know, I love to pray. I love prayer. I believe without prayer, we are helpless. I try to show the little ones in my Wednesday night Bible class how important prayer is. We have a prayer pail, where we put the names of people we want to pray for on popsicle sticks. Then, each child draws a stick out of the pail. When they read the name on the stick, that’s who they pray for. I enjoy this activity because it gives the class an opportunity to lift others up in prayer. I especially like to hear who the kids are concerned about. We have all kinds of prayer requests. One of my favorites came from a little boy, who obviously has a tender heart. One Wednesday night, as the kids were getting settled in, I asked the question,

“Does anyone have someone, they know of, that needs prayer?”

This little boy answered, “Lightning McQueen! Because those other cars really get after him.”

Just thinking about this makes me smile. My little Bible student understood the concept of asking Jesus to help. He knew if he went to Jesus in prayer, he was making a wise choice. In our class, we do pray for actual people. Even though, we have also been known to pray for a flying squirrel, too. Hey, if you had of heard the sad story of how sick this squirrel was, you would have been praying along with us. These kids have the kindest hearts. They know Jesus will take care of whatever they ask. They trust in Him. That’s all any of us should strive to do.

Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Prayer is comforting. Last night, I got a text message from a sweet friend that simply said,

“I’ve been thinking of you & praying for you.”

That automatically made me happy & feel good inside. Like chocolate gravy & biscuits good! You see, just knowing I am thought of & loved is a wonderful feeling only Jesus can give.

On another random note- not that ya’ll care, but I have a little list of things, I have written down in the past few weeks, that may or may not have to do with the fact I ran out of hormones. These are in no certain order of how I have felt about some events in my life. You may or may not agree with them, but here is the list titled :

You Know What I Think?

1. I think if you are in the passing lane you should pass.

2. I think blinkers are put on vehicles for reasons.

3. I think some middle school teachers should rethink their career path.

4. I think people should do more of what I say & less of what they think is a good idea.

5. I think 15 lbs of corn meal would make a big pone of cornbread.

6. I think spoken words should be put off until later on in the morning.

7. I think coffee doesn’t judge me. Coffee understands.

8. I think folks should be thankful for what they have instead of trying to ruin it for everybody else.

9. I think people could use some of the time they spend checking Facebook to read scripture on their Bible app.

10. I think your mood should not dictate your manners.

I hope everyone is having a good week. We have had some lower temperatures in northeast Mississippi this week. We have our hayride at church Saturday night. It should be lots of fun. Until then, I should be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: photoswithquotes, Disney, pinterest

The time I broke up with Walmart

July 2, 2014September 4, 2014 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

It was the summer of 2009 & I had had it. Every time I turned around, I was running to Walmart for something. My husband had been laid off from his job. We were turning off lights, taking shorter showers, limiting our cell phone usage, and basically only going to church & to & from work. We cut way down on eating out. Lots of things we learned quickly we thought we had to have, we didn’t.

One day, after coming out of Walmart, I was studying my receipt. Now, I know Walmart is the place you have to watch out for falling prices. They also price match anyone’s ad that’s a lower price than theirs. So why, pray tell, could I not come out of there under $150? Hmmm….I got to investigating more on this mystery. I went down the list & low & behold I found the answer.

Walmart was sucking my bank account dry.

I was going in & making my price slashed purchases. However, I was coming out with stuff I could very easily do without. I made up my mind right then & there, I was not going to take it anymore. So, I did what any full-blooded Southern, penny pinching consumer would do.

I broke up with Walmart.

There were others there to comfort me through this life changing decision. K-mart stepped right in & gave me a card, that when you buy your wares, you start racking up points. In return, you can cash those boogers in & get money off. Right off your total purchase! I thought they were just flirting with me, until I bought a nice birthday present for nearly nothing out of pocket.

Next, Dollar General became my new love. Do you know you can get $5 off coupons that make $25 worth of necessary things only cost you $20? I’ll take $5 free dollars. The Dollar Tree got on my list of favorites, as well. Do you know how many things you can get in Dollar Tree for $50? (Yup, 50, that’s how many.) They even have food now. As I happily started seeing my money being put to better use, I realized Walmart had too many distractions. Yes, I can get soap cheaper at Walmart than Dollar General. However, I am not bombarded with stuff, as soon as I walk in the door. Stuff that I & lots of other well meaning, moneysaving shoppers think they have to have. (But honestly do not.)

Sometimes my spiritual life seems to get spent the same way. Temptations & enticements easily lead me away. There are times I have so many things that try to get in the way of me reading my Bible. Often enough, I don’t take the time to stop & encourage someone. Or I let other things get in the way of me stopping to send a card to someone sick. I don’t take the opportunity to acknowledge someone’s problems because I’m too busy doing things that really aren’t helping me at all.

Such as reading all the wonderful, uplifting posts on my Facebook news feed.

(Ha. Haha. Hahahaha.)

Or perhaps I might find a wee bit of time to help someone if I weren’t on Pinterest pinning funny sayings to my board. Or looking for new hair styles, or pinning lots of lovely things to my crafty project boards – that I will probably never get time to do anyway.

James 1: 22 says But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

That means I have got to be a doer. A doer for good. Then, maybe my temptations won’t seem so big.

John said in

I John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (NKJV)

This means all the stuff I was seeing that I just HAD to have, was not only not necessary, it’s not of the Father. SO, I had no business with it anyway.

The apostle Paul cautioned Timothy in

I Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.(NKJV)

Buying more things than I needed was foolish & harmful. It just wasn’t doing anything but leaving me with less money. At the time, I just didn’t need to be doing that. While things are more on track now, I still don’t need to throw our money away.

Now that we are in 2014 & we have been back to a 2 job home for a while, I still do not go in Walmart very often. My break up with Walmart taught me a few things.

I have to hold myself to my shopping list. If I go in to buy notebooks for $.10, but still wind up with $103.17 worth of stuff in my buggy, those $.10 notebooks weren’t really that cheap, were they?
I can survive without Walmart.
Change may not be as bad as you think.
I am not willingly subjecting myself to a store’s ploy to take my money. Because, hey I admit it. I am a sucker for a bargain & Walmart is FULL of them, plus lots of other stuff I don’t need.
I can do without a lot of things I thought I could not.
Even if I have money to purchase things, I need to ask myself if it’s a need or a want.

Just so the elephant in the room can move on out, this is not a paid endorsement from Kmart, Dollar General, nor The Dollar Tree. These are my own personal opinions, in which have been perfectly approved by the president & CEO of I should be washing clothes (Which is me.) I’m not bitter with Walmart. I think they taught me some valuable lessons. Some that I would have never experienced, if not for them & their stuff.

Thank you for coming by to visit with me today. I have enjoyed our time together. I hope you are able to provide for your family’s needs and wants. Just remember, too, God will provide. He provided for us while we were a one job household & He will provide for you, too. I hope you enjoy this beautiful holiday weekend. As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: sodahead, tattoodonkey, & howtobreakup.net

Do you have FOMO? I know I do!

October 2, 2012 / kstrick7 / 1 Comment

I saw a commercial the other night on t.v. that got me to thinking. It was talking about FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). We have so many things that are a part of our daily life- due to FOMO. I know I have FOMO. I check my Facebook page to see if anyone has commented on anything noteworthy or has tagged me in a post. I look at my phone, from time to time throughout the day, just to see if someone texting me or has called me. I have to hop on Pinterest to see what is new in the world of crafts, funny sayings, fashion, recipes, home décor, & the like, because I don’t want to be the last one to know what’s happening. I have to check my email, read the articles on Yahoo & scan the blogs I love- just to make sure I am up to date.

Then, there are cell phones….need I say more?? Why is that I cannot go anywhere without my phone? I mean I take it room to room with me, at home. I have it while I am driving, at the store, at work, at church (on silent of course), wherever I am I have my phone. Texting is a whole other entity in itself. There is a campaign going on with AT & T telling people – “It can wait.” Why? Because people have a fear of missing out, more now, than ever before.

There’s one appointment, that we do not have to worry about missing out on. The Hebrew writer tells of it in

Hebrews 9:27-And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

If we miss death, then we will meet the Lord in judgment.

I Thessalonians 4:15 For we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.What a wonderful thing to look forward to. I admit, I seriously have a bad case of FOMO. But am so happy I won’t have to miss out on seeing Jesus one day!
I am so glad you stopped by my blog today. I hope you are having a great week. Fall weather is in the air & it’s making the days much more bearable. Welcome October! I am so glad to see you! I have to be going now, because I should be washing clothes…..