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[CatieladyB]

Mistaken Identity or the Perfect Crime

We hear all the time about identity theft, a crime in which people have their identities stolen and how it can ruin their lives if not caught in time, but we rarely hear about this next scenario!

Who does this, creates an identity under one kind of genre to release their music, then ten years later claims it was all a mistake and something they never wanted! I recently found out that a group I liked was living a false life! I had been listening to their music for almost ten years; I even own five of their albums! They were a relatively unknown band from Seattle on the West Coast, but my niece had one of their albums and I began seeing their videos on a Christian TV station and started to like the sound of their music. As time went on I began hearing their music played on more and more Christian radio stations, so my assumption was that this band was Christian, what else would I think?

Since I live in Jersey on the East Coast and they are from the West Coast, I believe I wouldn't have heard of them at all, had it not been for the airplay on the Christian stations, I never heard them played on any of my local mainstream stations!

As I began to like their music more and more, I started collecting their CDs, because collecting music has been my passion for years. I started stock piling music back in the '60s with vinyl albums and continue to this day! Although it's a lot easier these days, in the old days you only had two options, the single in vinyl which was actually two songs or the album which usually had about 10 to 12 songs all together. So if you were buying the album because of one or two favorite songs, you might not end up liking the whole album at first. Today it's so easy to buy just a single song or as many as you want from places like iTunes and Amazon, where you can even listen to them first. I like having physical copies, whether I buy them or make them myself from iTunes.

So anyway getting back to this tale of woe and deceit, I liked them enough to buy their CDs and usually liked the entire album. I even went to see them live at a Christian music festival and their performance was really good! They recently released their latest album called "How to Be Human" and I heard they released a single as well, so I was curious about the album and the song. I checked them out on iTunes and was surprised to find the album marked "Explicit" along with the song!

Shortly after there was a big hullabaloo on FaceBook, because the lead singer Matt MacDonald had posted a rant in which he said in no uncertain terms was he or the band the Classic Crime ever a part of the Christian genre! His exact statement was "I do not associate with any aspects of the Christian genre, or the culture and belief system that comes with it." I found this quite amusing, since their music was only played on Christian radio stations across the country and even overseas! Their albums were sold in Christian bookstores as well! Then Robbie Negrin the guitarist chimes in saying they signed with a Christian record company thinking the company was starting a mainstream or non Christian division. Something is very wrong if it took them almost 10 years to come out of the closet! Contracts or not, they could easily have extracted themselves from the Christian music genre, the record company would not have wanted to continue passing them off as something they weren't, because that would have been fraudulent and against Christian ethics!

I believe, like it or not, they had found a way to sell their music and make money, doing big Christian festivals and concerts was bringing in a lot more money than playing in bars! The Christian radio airplay itself was getting their music out to the rest of us and increasing album sales! They used this ploy to build a big enough fan base so they could eventually get funding on future independent projects, smart or just plain evil?

What was even stranger, was the fact that there were two versions of the song "Wonder" from the album, a "clean" version was also offered, which made no sense. Why offer a clean version if the "Explicit" was what you were going for in the first place? The thing I find the most interesting is that even after the sheepskin cloak was removed, they still manage to show up in Christian music! A song from the new album was featured on a Christian music poll called Christian Rock 20 which is featured weekly on different Christian stations as a PodCast. So they seem to be still milking the Christian genre even though they have expressed their hate and disgust for it in multiple articles online and elsewhere!

I just don't see the reason to continue using the disguise of Christian music, if they claim it's limiting their exposure to the kind of audiences they want! Why not be real men by taking off all their music from Christian radio stations and stop submitting their new music to those stations and start submitting where it was intended in the first place, mainstream radio stations, either local or licensed streaming?

Something doesn't seem right, was it really all just a case of mistaken identity or were they trying to kill two birds with one stone! It would seem as though in the end the Classic Crime is getting away with the "Perfect Crime"!

[CatieladyB]

Getting Back on the Right Track

After taking into account the very basic differences between men and women, the fact that men are "blue" and women are "pink", that neither is wrong, just different and conflict in a relationship is natural, then allowing for our own percentage of fault and not placing the entire blame on the other person, a formula for restoration can be found. Trying to repair the damage done to a relationship will take time and effort, but can be done. One way to start is to put the emphases on changing oneself and not on changing the other. Looking to the Lord and his word for inspiration is one of the best places to start, asking the Lord to transform your own heart and to change you from within. Taking the time to learn how to show love and respect to one another is an important part of life. Our relationships and especially our marriages should be able to withstand the test of time. Our goal should be to erase the stigma of being the "disposable" generation. We have become numb as a society and have learned to dispose of everything without a second thought, wives, husbands and even our kids!

Let's get back to the way God intended us to live, loving Him first, then our family and friends and finally our Country, forgiving as Christ forgave and doing God's will as Christ has taught. Colossians 3:12-14 gives us an easy pattern to follow: "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

[CatieladyB]

Making Our Way Down The Path

It is my belief that God has a plan for everyone, even those who never answer his call. He can use those unbelievers to push us in the right direction. His plan is for our good, although sometimes we can't see the good when bad things happen. He lets us pick and choose our paths, but ultimately He is in control. I can see this in my own life because somehow after a life of every kind of depravity (alcohol, drugs, etc.), I find myself here on God's doorstep. I had indulged my every whim (or most of them) in the most destructive manner and yet through God's infinite grace I have been spared. I had picked a destiny of my own or so I thought, but in truth God has placed me in this marriage and this situation for a reason. Maybe it's to set an example to those in my family, my husband, and kids. Or maybe it's that the Lord had chosen me and knew I'd come to Him by no other means. Although it's not what I would call the perfect life (or so it sometimes seems), I will remain in it and let the Lord continue to guide me, until he calls me home.

So, ultimately, God lets us choose our own destinies by choosing our paths in life, either the straight and narrow or the wide. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus puts it this way, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." And in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." But in the end, He makes the final decision. He created us and is in control, no matter what we think or whether we even believe in the God of Heaven and the Universe. His will is done and He is there whenever we need him or even if we don't think we do. All we have to do is seek him and ask. Matthew 7:7-8 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." We should not only seek him when things are bad, but when things are going well, we need to thank him as well!

So if you are feeling like your relationships have gone a bit a rye, that you are not on the right page, remember what the bible says in Ephesians 5:21-33 "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one." This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

The two key words in this passage, being love and respect, for if a man does not learn to show love to a woman, how will the woman learn to show respect to the man? This can only happen when one or the other, steps out in faith and shows love and respect, even when they don't think it is deserved by the other. It is a sign of true maturity, when we put others ahead of ourselves, letting our pride take a backseat to the needs of others. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 states "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."


So it actually becomes a matter of unconditional love and unconditional respect. The man to unconditionally love the woman (wife, girlfriend) and the woman to unconditionally respect the man (husband, boyfriend). Unconditional means it is not based on performance or merit, either past, present or future. It is given even when it is not deserved. The circumstances of one's relationships can be changed by either the man taking the first step and showing unconditional love to the woman or by the woman being the first to show unconditional respect to the man. Men and women were created equal in the eyes of God, but he created them different, male and female, not the same. Each with different needs, the woman with the need to be loved and the man with the need to be respected. When the man feels respected he shows love, when the woman feels loved she shows respect. It is a natural response to the feeling of being unloved to show disrespect. By the same token, when one doesn't feel respected, the natural response is to withhold love. But his love motivates her respect and her respect motivates his love and a new cycle can be started. 

God's love is unconditional, even if we never love Him back, His love will still be there. He doesn't put a price on it either, there are no conditions, no requirements, it's free for the taking, all we have to do is seek Him and love Him back! Jesus came to this earth to show God's great love for us and to show us how to love. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 That He gave his all even unto death! This should be the bases for our relationships, in order for them to work, either one or both parties have to be willing to put aside their own selfish needs for the good of the other.

[CatieladyB]

                        CAUTION 
                    EXPOSURE TO MUSIC....                         
                     May cause sudden                           
                     Outbursts of Joy,
                    Happiness, Energy,                 
                       Creativity,
                      Awareness &
                   Spontaneous Healing!                                                           
                                                                                                                                       
                 HANDLE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[rickyz]

Love it!!!

[Tom Johns]

 

[CatieladyB]

Is it destiny or choice?

Do you ever wonder if we really pick our own destiny? Do the choices we make affect our destiny? How do we know if we've made the right choices? Ever wonder why you are where you are in life? Did your marriage or relationship start out with both of you pretty much on the same "paragraph" or the same "page" at least, but now you aren't in the same "book" or perhaps even the same "library"? What happened? How do we get back on the same page? Do we want to? Sometimes it's simply a matter of change, one changes, and one stays the same. What then? You entered into the relationship when you were younger, thinking this is the love of your life, then one day after 20 some years of marriage, you wake up wondering what you're doing with this person! What happen? Then you realize something is different, something is gone. You have nothing in common. What then? Do you call it quits, pack up and move on to "greener pastures", start it all over and hope it works out better the next time? What if there are kids? Sometimes you can't just leave it all behind. At some point in one's life it is beneficial to just step back and take a good look around. Who changed and why?

Maybe it's because one of you has become a believer in Jesus Christ and has begun an intimate relationship with God. In the Bible, it states in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 this: "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife." And goes on to say in verses 12-16: "to the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?"

So when you started out in this relationship or marriage, neither one of you was saved, things seemed ok. But somehow, somewhere along the line, one of you started to hear the call. Perhaps, it was after the addition of children. One day you felt a strong need to start searching for something of value, some way to instill a moral fiber in the children you brought into the world, a world of confusion and fear. Or maybe it was because you had attended church as a child yourself and when a friend or relative invites you to attend theirs, you do. In the beginning, you would go once in awhile and then more often. Pretty soon, you are going every Sunday; maybe even start attending a few Bible studies.

So, then one day after years of listening and reading, it all makes sense, you could never understand why Christ had to die on the cross, but now the answer finally sinks in and becomes real. He died so you could have life and have it abundantly. So now you start looking closer at your life. You see things in a different light now. Things you thought were ok to do or watch or even say somehow don't seem right anymore. You start filtering out some of the language you use. Some of the shows or movies you used to watch just don't seem appropriate anymore. When you listen to music, the lyrics aren't as innocent as they once seemed. Your whole view of the world is changing; you now have a new understanding of right and wrong.

Now that you have seen the light, you come to the sad realization that your partner doesn't get any of this or care about it or want it. They are quite happy in their old life and see no reason to change. They have no use for God and the saving grace of Jesus. They believe that everything they need, they can get for themselves. You try to share your new found hope, but it falls on deft ears, so you just go about your life wondering what went wrong. As you become more and more involved in your new life, the conflicts between you and your partner start to increase. They start to feel left out because they don't want to share in your new life. You, yourself, start to feel the pinch of alienation, because there are some things about your old life that just don't belong in your new life. So now what? Should you think about ending this relationship and look for someone else?

But the bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you - although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to." So now you're stuck, what should you do? How can you be content in the situation God has put you in? Should you follow the crowd or take the "road less traveled"?

In today's culture, we are led to believe that we can do whatever we want, anything and everything is ok. We are encouraged to indulge ourselves in every whim and think only of ourselves. If our marriage isn't working out the way we think it should, then we feel we should be free to leave or cheat on our partner, no matter what the price is to others. Most of us took wedding vows that had words like "for better or for worse" and "until death do us part", so how do we figure we can come and go as we wish? Why is it that when "the worse" part gets here we feel the need to get going? The Bible says in 1 Corn. 7:17 "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches." So according to this, we as believers are to stay in the same circumstances in which we were called. So with such vast differences in views, how do we make it work? Do we give in to the pressure around us and just go back to the old ways? Or do we take a stand and fight? But how can we fight the tide?

Going against the tide isn't an easy thing to do. But since it's easier to change one's self than to change others, one should start by looking at one's self. Are the new changes to your life apparent to the outside world? Do they show in your actions toward others? Spending time with the Lord in the word and prayer will help us to focus on how Christ would want us to behave toward each other. Once we learn these things, it's a constant daily battle to implement them in our lives. It seems as though we don't always win, but we must keep up the fight, because each time we make a little more progress. Another thing to consider, is how we got here? Looking back on our path to salvation can give us a clue as to how and why we are here. The trials we go through determine who we will become. We say to ourselves "if I had only married this one or that one, things would be so different today", but would you be where you are today in your spiritual life if you had not "chosen" this path?

I can say from my own experience, that had I married someone other than the man I married, I probably would not have found my way to the Lord. It's not because he's saved, he isn't, but because through it I came in contact with others who are. So looking back I can see that the Lord has led me on this path in spite of myself. Even though I "chose" it, the Lord has used it for his own purposes.

So barring extreme physical or mental abuse, but just a growing feeling of separation, how do we become content in our current situation? If there is no threat of violence or bodily harm, but just a feeling of distance through changes in one's own direction, then maybe one should consider the possibilities of remaining in the relationship. But how, is there a way we can reconnect on some level?

The book of Ecclesiastes from the bible, tells of a man who had everything, wisdom, untold wealth, knowledge, power and even all the pleasures he could desire, yet he was not content! He had tried everything and found it all meaningless without one major component! In the end he found that there was only one thing that could make him content in his circumstances. Most biblical scholars believe that this is a reference to King Solomon! The only man in history, to truly have everything, including God's favor! But he found that there is only one way to attain true contentment.  Further on in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 it says "Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot. Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil-this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."

So as King Solomon found, there is only one way to find true contentment in our circumstances, it is to seek God and ask him to make us content. We need to ask God to change our hearts and minds, to give us a spirit of contentment in our marriages, relationships, jobs and our lot in life. Our focus should be on placing others before us and not on our bad lot in life. By placing the focus of our toils on doing our best for the Lord, we can be free in any situation in life and learn to show grace and mercy to those around us, to love the unlovable. This will help us to get through our trials and tribulations. This is why Christ came, to show us by example, how to love one another. We are all sinners, whether saved or not. There are no perfect human beings on earth; we all fall short of the righteousness of God. For this purpose Jesus came to reconnect us with God.

We need to step outside our comfort zone, change the way we think of others and start acting on our beliefs. Just because we show compassion, mercy and grace to the people around us, does not mean that we have to condone their behavior. I can show grace and mercy to my husband who smokes and uses profanity 24/7, even though I don't. I can extend that same grace and mercy to my teenagers, who can't understand why I won't let them live their depraved lifestyles under my roof. I can also practice self control when dealing with my drug crazed alcoholic brother. The Lord has set me on this path for a reason, which until now has never been very obvious to me. So the question still remains, did I really pick my own fate or is it just a slight detour on a more perfect path?

[CatieladyB]

Although this was written during a previous Presidential election it is relevant to what is happening today:

The Lesser of Two Evils: Social Reform or Socialism?

I usually don't pay a whole lot of attention to politics because they can be very scary. Once in awhile I'll listen to candidates running for office and what I hear usually makes me cringe! But with the current Presidential campaigns gearing up and the election looming ahead, one can't get away from it, it's everywhere! But what I've been hearing recently is that our country is actually run by a small handful of influential people with money and the means to buy their way in politics. One way to do that is to buy and control all news media, such as news paper companies and television news shows, that way Americans or we the people, only hear what they want us too, therefore influencing how we think and how we vote.

Before the 2012 election there were a couple of articles about the candidates in the Parade section of the Star Ledger, a local newspaper. After reading the first article about Mitt Romney in the Parade, I was a little confused and a bit unnerved. I guess it was meant to introduce Mitt Romney and his wife to the rest of us in the uneducated population, I found it a bit one sided and the things that were meant to give me a warm fuzzy feeling concerning Mitt and his wife, Ann, only made me more apprehensive! The questions supposedly asked by readers sounded a bit contrived and the answers short and didn't really address the situations mentioned. One of the questions that bothered me the most was where he talked about his financial wealth being dictated by a "blind trust" and his banking may not be done solely in the United States, he said if he's elected president it would probably remain the same.

Another question dealt with an allegation that President Obama may be un American in regards to his politics, implying that Obama was following European standards of government, heavy handed and almost like a dictatorship. We, the ignorant and uneducated, got a big surprise when we found out that Obama was heading toward socialistic reform, not social reforms, a president with a Communistic outlook and back ground!

Later someone brings up Romney's faith and his tithing to the Mormon Church, which again sparks concern. His wife goes into this whole thing about being happy to tithe and crying when they do, but this brings to mind a story from the bible entitled "The Widow's Offering" in Mark 12:41-44 which reads "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on." In my mind the Romneys represent the wealthy as depicted in this bible story. So if this was meant to draw us unsuspecting God fearing church goers into the Romney fold, it missed the mark! Then the questioner goes on to ask if the whole tithing thing isn't a form of socialism, to which Romney replies that helping each other is a basic in society, which may be somewhat biblical. The rest of the article is slightly less upsetting, something about opening up the White House to the public and holding concerts there and grandkids running up and down the halls.

Then on the heels of the Romney article is another issue of Parade featuring his opponent, the man already in the White House, President Obama. The article basically follows the same formula as the previous one, with questions from readers around the country being answered by the President and the First Lady. As in the earlier article about the Romneys, the questions are very vague and the answers really don't give any definite resolutions. Then somehow the article ends on the subject of the First Kids going to camp and being missed, along with First Lady not getting angry with the President.

My guess is the newspaper wants or feels it has to give equal time to both of the major candidates and this is their attempt at doing that. So after reading the articles I'm left with this feeling of confusion, almost dread. The debates were no better; the candidates mainly wasted the time interrupting each other and never really gave any clear answers or solutions to anything. The one with Vice President Biden was the worst, he was out and out rude and Ryan was almost saintly with his patience. Biden came off like an idiot, so with behavior like that how can they expect to gain support for a second term?

On the one hand we have a black communist socialist and on the other a white socialist, so down just what road is America traveling? Would Romney have been the one to put God back in the place He once held in America or are we being duped once again and our downfall as a nation getting closer? So I guess what it boils down to; is the age old practice of picking the lesser of the two evils, which is pretty much standard for elections. I can't help thinking our time as a great nation claiming to be the "home of the brave and land of the free" is drawing to an end, almost reminiscent of all the times the Israelites turned away from God and ended up in captivity under brutal rule. Without God we could easily lose our status as a World Power and end up like so many of the other nations in the world under a dominating ruler!

I am all for social reforms, but certainly not ready for socialism!

[rickyz]

I'm afraid for our country and the way it is heading. They are pushing God further and further away.

[CatieladyB]

So true these are very scary times, taking away funding for the Police and letting criminals have their way is just wrong! Two mass shootings this weekend alone, one in New York in a grocery store and another in California in a Church. Another thing is the shutting down of production from our own country's sources so that the president's family could make more money in other countries, like China! You have the right to be "gay" and put flags up in schools, but they take the real flag of this country out along with any mention of God or prayer! Some schools even want to teach explicit sex in grades earlier than needed, other schools don't let the parents have any say about what should or should not be taught in schools! America is falling apart very fast because the majority of the people have turned away from God! We need to return to God and Christ to get out of this mess, it's the only way!

[rickyz]

Yes I agree 100%. Jesus is the only way.

[CatieladyB]

The original poem from which the song "America the Beautiful" was taken was written by Katherine Lee Bates - 1895

    O beautiful for halcyon skies,
    For amber waves of grain,
    For purple mountain majesties
    Above the enameled plain!
    America! America!
    God shed His grace on thee,
    Till souls wax fair as earth and air
    And music-hearted sea!

    O beautiful for pilgrim feet
    Whose stern, impassioned stress
    A thoroughfare for freedom beat
    Across the wilderness!
    America! America!
    God shed His grace on thee
    Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought
    By pilgrim foot and knee!

    O beautiful for glory-tale
    Of liberating strife,
    When once or twice, for man's avail,
    Men lavished precious life!
    America! America!
    God shed His grace on thee
    Till selfish gain no longer stain,
    The banner of the free!

    O beautiful for patriot dream
    That sees beyond the years
    Thine alabaster cities gleam
    Undimmed by human tears!
    America! America!
    God shed His grace on thee
    Till nobler men keep once again
    Thy whiter jubilee!

[CatieladyB]

       IT'S HARD TO GET
  INTO SHAPE SPIRITUALLY
            IF YOU ONLY
   WORK OUT ON SUNDAY!

[CatieladyB]

One of Life's little wisdoms:

"You're never too old to ROCK & ROLL, if you've got GOD in YOUR SOUL!"

[CatieladyB]

Strange Things

Sometimes God puts strange things in our lives, not bad just strange. The other day I was at the grocery store, finished my shopping and headed to the self checkout isle. I found an open spot, as I was starting to put my bags down I noticed a phone with some keys on top, I had just seen the girl who had used it before me so I picked them up and called out to her. The clerk who was there to help people came over and took them to the girl. I was glad I was able to get them to their rightful owner and went about my business, bought my stuff and bagged it. After loading my groceries into my car I was starting to back out when an elderly woman pulled into the parking spot next to me, so I waited for her to get out of her car, walk around behind mine to get a cart and go into the store. When I was able to back out of my spot I noticed that the trunk of her car was opened and I looked around but didn't see her. I worried that I should run in and try to find her, but decided it would be better to just try and close the trunk. So that's what I did and hoped that the car had been locked.

After I had gotten home there was a package delivered and when I looked to see who it was for I saw that it was address to our neighbor across the street, so I took it over and discovered that our package had been delivered to them.

God had kept me busy that day doing strange things! God's work!