A little bit of randomness

• To all my favorite gals--- I just started Beth Moore's newest bible study, Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman, and it is fan-tastic!  Of course, all of Beth's studies are fabulous, but this one... on my goodness-- it's a keeper.  A must-do.  A run-to-your-nearest-christian bookstore-right-now-and-purchase-the-proper-materials sort of study...  I just cannot recommend it highly enough (are you sensing that??).  As I proceed through the study, I'll surely have little tidbits to pass along, but for now, I'll just share two of my favorite points thus far (both taken from the Introduction video)--> 1) Sometimes, instead of working miracles, God chooses instead to work in the individual, in a very natural setting and realm.  But maybe-- just maybe-- there is no bigger miracle than that. When He enables us to do something we simply could not do with out Him... and 2) according to Beth, "Coincidences are miracles in which God prefers to remain anonymous."  Oh, I simply could not agree more :) So... go. buy. learn. love!
• To Gramoggie & Poppa-- So.  If you recall, Bub swam this weekend-- his last attempt to flesh out his itinerary for the state championships later this month.  Well, on Friday, he swam the 100 yard breaststroke (his weakest stroke by far) and missed the age group cut by 0.01 seconds!!  I kid you not. He needed 1.31.79; he touched the wall at 1.31.80.  Is that a killer or what??  You'd be awfully proud of him, though-- he swam a fantabulous race, cutting his previous personal best by 4.1 seconds!  Oh, but wait. There's more.  His 50 back... 35.87... an 'AA' time!  And the 500 free... 1st place!... and the age group cut.  That's 2 more events added to his docket for states-- he's now maxed out :)  Pretty cool, huh?
• To all my fellow dog lovers & owners-- if you wish to never have a run-in with the animal authorities (we're talking Animal Control here), make sure your back yard gate stays locked, AND make sure the wind is completely incapable of blowing it open.  Yes, I'm sure you can see where this is going... on Friday afternoon, much to our dismay, Beau & Mosby enjoyed a frenzied tour of the neighborhood while Mom and I prepared dinner in the kitchen.  When we realized they were gone, we raced to the front door, keys in hand, only to find both pups and an Animal Control officer sitting by the garden (evidently, when he found them down the street-- playing in the park, no less-- he tried to catch them. They, fortunately, turned tail and ran home.  Oh, I do thank the LORD for this favor!).  Thankfully, our neighborly law enforcer was very friendly and extremely understanding.  And we learned our lesson... nail the gate shut!
• To Jessica (hi, Stephan!)-- Chris passed along the good news... congratulations on your new internship with the Department of Justice!  No doubt you've worked very hard for this one-- we could not be happier for you!  I hope you love every single second of it~
• And now, I'll just pass along a little comment that brought a smile to my face as we were leaving church on Saturday night. Bub was humming a tune-- the very song the orchestra had been playing as the service ended-- when he stopped in the middle to say, "I think that song sounds like I Will Dance with Cinderella..." (a Steven Curtis Chapman song).  Big Man, serious as a heart attack, piped up... "I hate Cinderella."   Ah, I can always count on him to keep it real :)