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[CatieladyB]

Jesus died to make all our Fridays GOOD!
He rose and lives again to make all our days GREAT!

[CatieladyB]

Nut In A Torn Bag

I was a nut in a torn bag
Then Jesus found me, Cracked me,
Salted me, Shook me, And threw me into the world!



Author unknown

[CatieladyB]

How rebellious are you?

Rebellion for the sake of rebellion never accomplishes anything, rebellion for the sake of change and growth can be life saving! When Jesus calls are you rebellious enough to answer?

[CatieladyB]

God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way! So, He sent His son Jesus for you to follow! Look for Him today!

[CatieladyB]

Did God Really Say You Couldn't?

Almost everyone is familiar with the following story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and how they gave into temptation ruining man's relationship with God for all the rest of us:

Genesis 2:15-17 "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Then God decided it was not good for the man to be alone, he needed a helper, so God took a rib from Adam and created a woman. The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame.

Genesis 3:1-7 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die." "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." When God found out He was very displeased with them.

Then in Genesis 3:12-13 "The man said, "The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "the serpent deceived me and I ate."

They were told not to do something but they did it anyway, but is there an underlying meaning to this account? Why would God tell them not to eat from that one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What was so important about it that they were told "you will surely die."?

Well there are several ideas that come to mind; one would be that God gave man the freedom of choice. Man could choose to follow the directions or commands of God or he could follow his own desires. God said not to eat the fruit or to even touch one certain tree, because He knew what would happen if they did, but he did not stop them, he let them choose. From the very beginning God did not force His will on man, but let man seek Him out on his own. He doesn't tell them that they can't; but His warning is that they shouldn't. The death that God had hoped to have Adam and Eve avoid was the death of their innocence, like a parent with a child longing to keep them safe from the horrors of the world.

Another thought is that this is the beginning of the "blame game" that has been handed down from generation to generation since the creation of the world. First Adam blames Eve for giving the fruit to him, then Eve blames the evil snake for telling her it was ok to eat it. So there it is, the practice of passing the blame to someone else instead of taking the responsibility for one's own mistakes. This is still prevalent in the world today; it's always someone else's fault when things go wrong and not ours. We never want to step up and take responsibility for our own problems or short comings. The reason being we don't want to deal with the consequences; we want someone else to take the punishment.

Still another thought would be that God knows what is best for us and He gives us fair warning not to go against His commands. God is like a loving parent, giving us guidelines to follow throughout life. Things such as the Ten Commandments were meant to help us avoid the pitfalls of life on earth and keep us out of trouble. The whole Old Testament of the Bible is all about God trying to teach His strong willed and stiff-necked people a lesson in love.

Maybe we need to pay more attention to the warnings God has given us and learn how to deal with the consequences of our own actions instead of placing the blame on others. Now is the time to stop being a stiff necked and strong willed people and let God lead us in the right direction through the salvation given freely by His Son, Jesus Christ!

[CatieladyB]

 The Voice of the Serpent

Why is it that the people who think their views should be tolerated, are the ones who are the least tolerant of others? Why do homosexuals think that we should tolerate their adverse behavior and allow them to call their union a marriage? Or let them adopt children? Why is it that children can learn in school about religious holidays and practices, such as the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah or Yom Kippur, along with the African-American celebration Kwanzaa, but not the celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas or the true meaning of Easter? Most people celebrate Thanksgiving, but who are they expressing their thankfulness to? Why do we pledge our allegiance to One Nation under God, but at every turn we try to take Him out of it? Why is it ok to be pro abortion, including partial birth abortion (where the fetus is killed during birth) and to be vocal about it, but you can't speak out against it or the sale of fetal parts? How did profanity and obscenity become an accepted part of the English language? Why is it that believers in Christ must learn to tolerate all these things, but no one seems to want to tolerate them? Why are Christians put down for wanting the world to have some shred of integrity, decency and moral fiber in it?

The new morale for the current American society is; there are no morals, no rules, nothing to guide us through life, except our own fantasies. Our own desires have become the focus and there is no right and wrong, no good or bad. The new philosophy of choice being that of secularism, which assumes that this world "the material world" is all that we have by which and for which to live, so therefore any view of a spiritual essence or of other worldliness is by definition considered irrelevant or irrational. This form of secularization asserts that public life is to be governed by laws that are not influenced by religion, or any transcendent sacred notion. With the philosophy of pluralization all belief structures, such as religions, are held to be true, so you can believe anything you want and say that it is true. Then there is the privatization of beliefs, the socially required and legally enforced separation of our private lives and our public personas. In effect, privatization insists that issues of ultimate meaning be kept within our private spheres. If you take a close look at our society, you'll find that all those protesters from back in the sixties and seventies are now in positions of authority and who's agenda have they been pushing for?

We have let ourselves fall into the trap which was set back when time began, in the garden of long ago, when the serpent said to the woman "Did God really say you couldn't?" It has been a downward spiral for man ever since. The fall of mankind through Adam and Eve, brought sin and shame into this world and with them knowledge of what is right and wrong. They learned the lesson the hard way; they now knew the difference between right and wrong, but they had to leave their perfect home and life behind. After their exile from the garden they began what continues, even to this day, a constant battle to try to cover their shame and the guilt of sin on their own, apart from God. Each new generation putting that shame farther and farther behind them, until today we have no shame at all. We do the most heinous things without thinking; we live by our own terms, doing pretty much whatever we feel like. Then we try to remove the shame further by declaring it to be normal. As though it's one's personal right to kill an unborn child, because a pregnant woman decides she can't deal with the consequences of her behavior. There are circumstances such as rape or incest where pregnancy occurs, but those might be better dealt with in a more dignified manor for both the unborn child and the mother. Then some would have us believe that the sexual union of two people of the same sex is normal or that it is a natural thing for people to be attracted to others of the same sex. When we want to fulfill our desires, no matter how detestable or vile, we comfort ourselves by saying its normal and therefore ok. It's as though we keep hearing the voice of the snake whispering in our ear, prodding us on, saying "Did God really say you couldn't? You will not surely die." So we just keep twisting the truth to fit our desires.

The most upsetting thing is that the church has let this way of thinking filter into its very core, by accepting things as normal which are not, as though it is trying to fit into the world, when what it should be doing is putting God and Christ back where they belong, at the head and center of everything! Ravi Zacharias tells us the three moods of our current culture will do the following: secularization will hurt those we love through loss of shame, pluralization will hurt those we choose to hate through loss of reason and privatization will hurt ourselves through loss of meaning. Perhaps Christians and the church need to stop tolerating the things they know are wrong and start changing from within, putting the focus on becoming more Christ like in their dealings with the world by learning to address the needs of the individual and not to be distracted by their outward appearance or behavior. Maybe our society needs to return to its earlier morals, ethics and values and the church should lead the way!

[CatieladyB]

In need of a makeover?

Have you been feeling down, lost or forgotten; are you in need of a change? Let God give you an Extreme Makeover, you will become a new creation! It's free, all work is done compliments of Jesus Christ; don't miss out, call on Him today for the chance of a lifetime!

[CatieladyB]

 Zombie Apocalypse or Resurrection?

Could there be a real threat of Zombie retaliation? Man has been fascinated with zombies for a long time, not only in horror movies and TV shows, but in third world countries, like Africa and Jamaica, where the belief in zombies is quite real. Practitioners of Voodoo and other mystical religions believe they can bring the dead back to life to accomplish evil deeds.

But are there really such beings as Zombies? It's my thought that zombies do exist here among us right now. There might be at least two or three different types of zombies out there in the world already. One kind might be those people who do not believe in Christ as the Son of God or that God even exists at all and they wander around in a fog, not having any purpose or faith in anything but themselves, like walking dead. They are essentially dead to God.

Another kind could be those of us who believe that Christ died for our sins, rose again and is returning for us. We have died to self and now live in Christ. We are simply taking up space here on earth until He calls us home or He returns, we are dead to the world of sin, but alive through Christ and what He has done for us.

The Bible is full of "zombies" or those who have risen from the dead. In the Old Testament Elijah raised the widow of Zarephath's son in 1 Kings 17:22 and in 2 Kings 4 Elisha raises a Shunammite woman's son. Then again, a man was raised when his dead body came into contact with Elisha's bones in 2 Kings 13. These to me sound like zombies; they came back to life, got up, walked around and interacted with others, but no reports of them attacking and eating their fellow man! All though later on in the New Testament is the account of the demon possessed men and how Christ drove their demons into the pigs in Luke 8:26-39, which comes pretty close!

The New Testament gives some examples that are very well known; probably the most famous of all was when Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been buried for four days in John 11:38-44. He raised a widow's son during a funeral in Luke 7:11-17 and Jairus daughter in Mark 5:21-43. But the ultimate rise from the dead was by Jesus Christ himself, when he was crucified, buried and then rose on the third day! Again He was alive, walking and talking with people! Now if you really want "zombies" this was the real deal, during Christ's crucifixion many of the dead came out of the tombs, Matt. 27:52. Talk about zombies!

But wait, we aren't done yet, there are still more examples to come! Paul raises Eutychus after he falls from a 2nd story window in Acts 20:7-12 and Peter raises Dorcas in Acts 9:36-42. Although all of these certainly sound like zombies to me, I am of the opinion that the real Zombie Apocalypse isn't scheduled until Christ returns.

We read this account of our final victory in 1Corinthians 15:50-58:"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

That to me sounds like a Zombie Apocalypse if ever there was one! In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 we get another image, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." Philippians 3:20-21 tells us "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control; will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

The thing that gets me the most, is all these TV shows about preparing for the Apocalypse and Zombies, basically only show people hording supplies and things or building fortresses, but they offer no real solutions. There is but one way to prepare for such events and that is to prepare our hearts to accept Jesus as Christ and as Our Savior, because He is the only one who can save us from such things. If you have not prepared yourself by accepting Christ as your Savior, then you will have no hope of surviving an Apocalypse of any kind and all the supplies and preparations will be for nothing!

Instead of storing up useless things here on earth, we should be preparing to share the love of Christ with others while we are here. So take the time now, while you still have it, to put your Spiritual house in order, get your life back on the right track and be assured of where you will go when the Zombie Apocalypse hits! There are only two places a person could end up in when it's all over, Heaven with God and Christ or Hell with the Devil! So prepare wisely!

[CatieladyB]

A little ghost story:

The Vanishing Girl

The bell clanged loudly; it was time to go back to class. It was my duty, being the newest and youngest teacher at King Elementary School, in the ghetto, to supervise the children at recess and herd them back into the building when it ended.

I was busily doing so when I noticed a little Negro girl pressed close against the schoolyard's iron fence, looking in from the outside. She appeared to be a year or so younger than the children in my class of first graders. She wore a handed down blue dress which was clean and neatly ironed, an old red jacket and sneakers without socks. Her hair was combed and braided with care, blue ribbons adorned each end. Her brown eyes, wide with wonder and excitement, disclosed that she had been watching the school children play. A tiny brown finger rested on her pale lips as if to hold back a secret wish ready to burst forth.

When the last of my wards was safely in the door, I looked for her, but she was gone. Had I only imagined her? As I looked around at the aging apartments across the street, I didn't see her, but looking down by the fence I noticed a blue ribbon laying there on the ground! Perhaps I will see her in the school over the coming years!

[CatieladyB]

Messing with Creation

With all the controversy that has been sparked by the sex transformation of the well-known athlete, Bruce Jenner, here are some of my own thoughts. One of the first questions would be, is it a sin? Well, let's look at it from the beginning; he was created as a man by God, God doesn't make mistakes, humans do. So His creations are perfect the way they are in God's eyes, no improvement needed. So do we as humans have the right to mess with his design? Aren't we showing disrespect to Him by trying to change what He has created?

He has given us the knowledge and skills to use in correcting birth defects and other health problems, along with repairing the damage we do to ourselves, but we carry it a bit too far. We think we can improve things by reconstructing them to fit our own perverse desires. To me this seems like we are trying to steal His glory.

I don't believe it when people say stuff like "I always knew I was a girl in a boy's body or a boy in a girl's body." It just isn't true; the only thing that is wrong with our bodies is our own depraved desires. If you think about it logically, people who undergo a sex change or gender change are only altering their outside appearance; they can never really be transformed totally from the inside out. So people like Jenner, will never be a real woman or a real man. Where are the female organs, ovaries and uterus? Where are the male organs, prostate and testicles? Even if there's a way to add female genitalia or male, they will not function as if they were natural, so all of the money, time and pain can never truly fulfill their dream!

From the "fall of mankind" we have set about to go against creation. We think we know what is best for us, when actually that doesn't play into the scenario at all! We are just trying to fill a void in our lives, a void that should be filled by God! As His main creation we have never liked being told what to do or how to live, that's just our nature. So we pick which ever thing that seems to feel good at the moment.

I believe it's a part of our internal makeup to have a little bit of both femininity and masculinity ingrained in us. For women having a little masculinity helps us to be strong enough to weather the storms in life and for men having a little femininity in them makes them a little more sensitive to others. The problems arise when we decide to let either femininity or masculinity take us over. We are not happy with ourselves as we are and think we will be more appealing to others by changing.

There are actually people who do have a legitimate reason to feel that they are in the wrong bodies, they are called "Intersex" or "Hermaphrodites" because they are born with the genitalia of both sexes. Usually the parents decide which sex the child should be shortly after birth and have the child surgically altered, so the parents could actually pick the wrong sex for the child. These days they are often left to decide for themselves and may never make a decision at all.

There was a time in my youth when I actually applauded women who didn't flaunt their sexuality, by dressing in a way that didn't use sex as a means of covering up for their lack of talent! The problem was most of them actually turned out to be "gay", which was very disappointing to say the least! There also were men whom you knew seemed a little too feminine and they too ended up being "gay"!

The really disappointing thing is when people like Jenner, use it as a means of exploitation! If he was really sincere in wanting to be just a woman, he would not have made such a big deal about it, he would have done it quietly like so many others. He isn't the first, there is a relatively famous model that started out as a boy in some foreign country too, but no one knew until she spoke out awhile ago. There have been so many famous people or children of famous people who have decided to change sexes, but I do find it odd that Jenner has a reality show lined up already!

I do believe that it is a sin against God to alter our sex for our own perverse desires; it's a sin that many have to live with the rest of their lives, but it's no greater than the sin of just changing our sexual preference or abortion, adultery, incest, pornography, drugs or any other.

Perhaps Bruce Jenner will someday be called by Jesus and repent with the rest of us sinners! I'm sure God is waiting!

[CatieladyB]

Can they be Christians?

Our country is in the middle of a huge debate as to whether people of the same sex should be allowed to be legally married; some states have already legalized it. But there is another problem that arises from this issue, marriage has always been defined as the union of a man (male) and a woman (female) and this still stands in most Churches. But recently things have changed even within the Church, some religions have chosen to follow the trend of modern society and allow homosexuals to be Priests, Ministers or Pastors, even in some "Christian" sects. This is a reflection of the sad state of Christianity in the world today. We are being forced to follow today's trend in society, which says don't make waves, let people live their lives the way they want. Unfortunately that is not how Christ lived or how God wants us to live, Christ stood openly against such hypocrisy!

We are expected to give others the freedom to say and do as they like, but we as Christians don't receive the same treatment. It would seem as though Christians are the only ones who don't have rights these days. We are not allowed to speak openly about our beliefs (prayer in schools, pledge of allegiance, etc.) or to even have displays depicting scenes referring to Christ out in public anymore. Everywhere you look, TV, movies, the internet, all have jumped on the band wagon, helping to promote same sex relationships as normal. TV shows and even commercials have added scenes which depict homosexuals in everyday life, even as parents being normal.

Now this type of thing has even started to creep into the most scared of places, the Church, with some actually condoning this behavior by letting "gays" call themselves "Christians". The problem arises with this question, can one be living in the sin of homosexually and also be a Christian? I believe the Bible says no, because when we answer the call of Christ to follow Him, we are to put the things of God ahead of our earthly desires and selfish indulgences, we are to became a new creation, by putting off the sins of the old person we are washed clean by the blood of Christ.

In Ephesians 4:17-24 it says "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Let's also consider 1Corinthians 6:18-20 which says "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

So if you believe in the Bible as the inspired word of God and are truly a follower of Christ and not just a "fan", than this is very important! It is basically telling us not to remain in the sins of our old life, i.e. homosexuality, adultery, thievery, drugs, alcohol, etc., but to start living a life that is honoring to God. God does not want us to continue doing the very things that separate us from Him. If you are truly sincere in wanting to follow Christ by becoming Christ like or Christian, you would want to honor God by letting go of your sexual desires for the same sex or at the very least remain celibate!

  In John chapter 8:1-11, it tells of the woman the scribes and Pharisees brought before Jesus that was caught in the act of adultery and they wanted to stone. They quoted the Law of Moses to test Him, which said that she should be put to death and asked Jesus what should be done. At first Jesus acts as though He doesn't hear them as He stoops down and draws in the dirt. Finally He stands and says "he who is without sin cast the first stone," after thinking this over one by one they all walk away. When they had all gone, Jesus was left alone with the woman and He asked "where are your accusers, has no one condemned you?" She answers "no one, Lord" and He says "neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." He later continued speaking to the people saying "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

As you can see Jesus did not say "I don't condemn you either, now go and continue in your sin!" Nor did He say "it's ok I'll be dying on the cross soon for your sins and all will be forgiven." He specifically told her not to continue sinning.

I think the biggest miss conception that we all have and that we take for granted is that the forgiveness of the Cross means we can just keep sinning and in the end all will be forgiven. I don't think there is real forgiveness if we never repent of our sins. 2 Peter 3:8-9 says "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." To me that would mean that if God is waiting for us to repent and we never do, then we will perish by ending up in Hell. The only real forgiveness comes when we repent and try not to continue in sin. On the Day of Judgment we will face Christ and our name will either be found in the Book of Life or not. Because Christ knows our hearts, he will know if we have repented or not, if not we will be told by Christ "I never knew you!" Meaning you were not sincere and didn't have a direct relationship with God through Christ. This point is also made very clear in the passage of 1 John 3:4-6 where we learn the following, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him."

Christ's death on the cross was not a blank check that we fill in as we go, it was a onetime deal, once for all, but it's a gift that has to be accepted to count. The proof of the acceptance is in the change from our old life to the new one offered by Jesus. So I think the Church has to find a way to take in people with sins like homosexuality and help them to see the importance of making the change by using Biblical scripture to introduce them to what Jesus desires for us. We need to learn to have compassion and to treat them with love as Christ would do, not to condone their lifestyle but to help them grow in the Lord.

So according to Romans 3:22-24 which says "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus," we are all counted as sinners no matter how righteous we think we are. The only difference is that we as Christians have faith that Jesus will show us how to change our lives through his righteousness. The fact that they have shown up on the doorsteps of the Church, tells us that they are looking for the truth. So instead of rejecting them because of their lifestyle or condoning it, we need to step up in love and really try to help them see the change they need to make to become more like Christ or Christian!

[CatieladyB]

Another plus (as per a 26yr old daughter):

Wearing a mask during a Pandemic means you don't need to spend an hour doing your make up before going to work!

[CatieladyB]

Waiting For An Empty Nest:

When I was young I dreamed of marring and having a family, now that having come true I have another dream. I married in my late twenties and was blessed with five children of my own and a niece who came to live with us just before turning two. She came to live with my husband and I along with my first three children, a son and two daughters, because her parents had gotten in trouble with the law. Her mother was sent to prison for selling drugs and her father, my brother, was in and out of jail. They had an older daughter who was taken in by one of her mother's friends, but they didn't want the second child, so my mother suggested she come live with me. So now I had four children, an eight year old daughter, a seven year old son, a three year old daughter and now a two year old niece. They kept me very busy, then six years later I had another daughter and about twenty one months after that, another little girl! A family of six children, a tank full of fish and a Doberman Pincher!

The nest was quite full over the following years, several dogs, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, a cat and even a bird! I did not personally have to take care of all the pets, I fed the dogs once in awhile, but that was about it. I took care of the kids, my husband and the house for the most part. I left my paying job when I had my first child and I would tell myself that when the kids were all in school I would go back. Then as the years went on I changed it to when the kids were all out of school. Now the kids are all grown up and some have moved out, two others have even gotten married. Now I should be able to complete my second dream of returning to some form of paid job, but alas, things have gotten out of control.

My husband had told me years ago that I didn't need to go back to work because for years he had a good paying job and got raises every year, that lasted over twenty years until he lost it. He never was able to find another job that paid that well, his last job was delivering heating oil, but lost that to the PANDEMIC!

Four of the kids have moved out, two have married, one is engaged living with her fiancé and another has moved into an apartment on her own. That leaves two at home, my son in his mid thirties and my second youngest daughter twenty six. My son had a cat for several years, but had to put if down when it got sick, but my daughter has two rabbits and two dogs. Last year in 2021 she became pregnant and had a little boy, so she and her boy friend came to live with us along with his dog.

This is my second grandson, my first is two years old and his parents are married and live in New York. I don't get to see him too often because of COVID. So even though I'd love to see this daughter and her boy friend marry and give this little guy a normal family life, I would never disown any of my children for the mistakes that they make.

So my dreams of an empty nest are put on hold for now, instead of having more time to myself, I'm busier than I've been in years. My daughter works nights at an Animal Emergency Hospital and her boy friend works days, so I'm on call as a babysitter and have to deal with the dogs, I don't do rabbits! Having three dogs can be a handful! Two of them are older dogs, a male and a female, the third one is a little over a year old. The two females are rather needy, the older one Tiffy is a barker and whiner; she barks at every sound and whines as I make her meals. The younger one Missy is very excitable, barking and jumping on people, standing against the sliding door barking at every creature she sees in the back yard!  The male dog Mouth has his issues too, doesn't like my son and can be very needy as well and wants to climb on my lap, being a Pit Bull mix he is big and weighs almost 100lbs. I have to deal with these guys every day, all day.

It's been almost twenty five years since I've had to change diapers and bottle feed a baby, but it's coming back to me slowly. I enjoy spending time with this little fellow; he's so cute and funny! He just turned six months and is able to sit up for quite awhile before he decides to grab for something and lose his balance, but hasn't figured out how to crawl yet. I don't mind the extra burden of the baby or even the parents, it's the animals that are wearing me out!

In the future things will probably slow down when my daughter and her boy friend are able to find a place of their own; they're trying, but it's not so easy to find a place that will let them keep so many animals. In the mean time with the help of the Lord I will have to learn to be patient!

There may come a day when this empty nest dream will be a reality and I won't be as happy as I thought!

[CatieladyB]

I try to live a balanced life rather than a yo-yo life.

[CatieladyB]

Who told you life wasn't worth the fight? They were wrong!