Spiritual Spa in May

We were so blessed at the Spiritual Spa yesterday with eighteen beautiful women who brought us much joy. I love meeting new people and pampering them. The Spa TECH's, Nancy, Susan, Polly, Diane, Kristy, Patti and I pray for days and weeks for the ladies before they attend Spiritual Spa. Our prayer is that they will experience a fresh awakening of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

I don't want to tell you too much about the spa in case you visit us one day, but please know that there is power in human touch...especially when God is the One using your hands to touch His daughters...a hug, a massage, a pat on the back, holding praying hands...His love just flows, one to the other.

Our desire is to bless the ladies but we are the ones who receive the blessing.

Clothe me Lord!

I didn't want to leave you hanging...my husband liked the new hairstyle. What is it about getting older and finally feeling content and then we get this notion to change things up a bit. I really was fine with the hairstyle I had but there was something inside yearning for a fresh look. When Kendall finished coloring and cutting my hair I must say I thought I looked a lot like my 6 year old granddaughter and that was a little too youthful! But once I got home and put some spice into it, I felt sassy. Just the feeling I was looking for.

The shopping trip was a real treat since I didn't purchase any clothes last year and only a few necessities this year. As I get older I feel less and less comfortable buying clothes. First of all, my size has shrunk...what in the world did the clothing industry do...did they mean to make clothes smaller? Second, I like the styles for twenty, thirty and forty-somethings but where are the styles for the 50 somethings...what happened to clothes for the curvy woman?

I have been talking to so many women who are ready to throw in the towel, sit back and grow old. I really don't think that is what they want for themselves but they settle for that because that is the expectation for the more mature woman. But there is something happening in the over 50 group that is sweeping the nation. There is a strong desire to reinvent themselves, go to college, change careers and enjoy challenges not hide from them. Sometimes just changing your style gives you a new frame of mind.

There should not be any worries in my life about what to wear. For God has clothed me with His garments. For those of us who believe Jesus is the way, truth and the life we are clothed with His righteousness. He clothes us with His compassion and love and fills us with His joy. He is all I need and all I want. This earthly tent will go away and my spirit will endure forever.

My Interpretations:

My earthly clothes makes me happy and helps to lift my spirit...but the Holy Spirit of Christ in me clothes me with His JOY and gives me eternal life!!

New Hair Do and Shoppping!

I had the most fun today! My good friend Donna went with me to Raleigh so I could get my hair cut by the best stylist, Kendall Walls. I took a deep breath and decided to go short, or at least shorter than my usual cut. By the time my husband saw my hair though, I had it held back with a clip and it really didn't look all that good, but I thought he would at least have noticed that it was shorter. NOT! He asked if I spent all day in Raleigh while he was looking at me like he knew he should say something but wasn't sure what to say. So....after he left to meet our youngest son and his freind at the local Wings and Rings to watch the final hockey game, I took a shower and freshened up my new do. We'll see if he notices when he gets home!

He just walked in...and he noticed!! Gotta go! I'll tell you about the shopping trip tomorrow.

The Pool is filling up with water and I can get back to blogging!

Well today was sunny and the guys came to fix the pool and right now we are filling it up with water. Hopefully tomorrow everything will be finished and just in time for the weekend. Even though it isn't warm enough to swim, it will be pretty to look at. I have 20 ladies that will be attending Spiritual Spa and we go through our yard to the river and my parents and sister and her husband are coming to visit...so I am thankful!

Now I can get back to blogging about the "change of life" that so many of us are entering. I was in Walmart yesterday and overheard three ladies talking about how one of them was having some aches and pains and the older lady just laughed and said, "Girl, you're going through menopause! You'll be alright!" I wanted to say something but how rude that may have seemed...listening in on their conversation.

I want to look up some statistics because it sure seems there are a lot of us in the same boat. Instead of using the paddles to hit ourselves and others we need to use them to reach out to those who have jumped in the swirling water. We don't always have sympathy for ladies who are angry and upset. Maybe, just maybe they are menopausal and need extra kindness.

My Interpretation:

"Girl, you're going through menopause! You'll be alright!"

I love this song by Amy Grant. To all the mothers who have given their children the love to be unafraid....GOD BLESS YOU!

Enjoy

Truth spoken with grace.

What a wonderful Mother's Day! The sun was shining and it was just the right temperature. Going to church was the best antidote for me to get over my frustration with the pool people. Actually I think I felt better after writing my feelings in the last post. Sorry I'm using this as therapy! :) But guess what happened when I got home from spending time with the Lord's people? The pool people came to drain the water and prepare the pool for the liner tomorrow. I wasn't rude and I felt God gave me the right words and they received them well. They assured me that all will be taken care of and the pool will be ready by the weekend. Providing the weather doesn't turn wild on us. And I put my trust in them.

I know some of you may think that I am weird to think the Lord answered my prayer for wisdom in how to handle this. But I believe He helped because I asked. He knew I would make a total fool of myself and I am thankful He interceded. There was a lesson in all this I am sure, but right now I don't know what it is....it'll hit me later.

Then 3 of my 4 sons and my 2 grandchildren came for the afternoon. We enjoyed a meal and a walk along the river. Oh' I love my children ...I missed our youngest son and his wife. But I will see them next weekend. Spending time with family reminds me that we use the pool to gather us together in the summer but it is just a pool and not what makes the times good. It is being with the people I love that is most important. As we talked about in Sunday School class, our reality is in the heavenly realm with Christ and this world and everything in it will one day be gone, but we will live on in the spirit.

My Interpretation:

Trust God to give you the right words to say...and then say them with grace.

Swimming Pool Fiasco!

Here I am at 7:30 on a Sunday morning...Mother's Day ...I'm ready to go to church and I am so upset! I have established this little routine when upon awakening in the mornings, I go to the window and look out. The view from our bedroom is awesome because you can see the river and trees. But for the last 5 weeks I have looked out and seen our swimming pool a mess. Our only Swimming Pool dealer in town, told me it would take no more than 10 to replace the liner. They had to remove the liner (which they did the week before we went on Easter break, April 9) and order the liner (took 7 days) and then they were to patch it and replace it (they said 2 days tops). Well, it is 4 weeks later..28 days later and the pool has been exposed to a lot of rain and now the boards are warping.

So I am sitting here trying to calm down. My husband deals with businesses and people who do not do what they say will do all the time, but I don't. He wanted me to call them everyday, but I couldn't. I did call once week with legitimate concerns, like when they told me I needed to skim the bottom of the pool with concrete...an extra $8,000. NOT! So what was minor repairs they would patch free, they now wanted an extra $1,200 from our original agreement. Then I called to ask if the wind and rain would hurt the pool and should it be covered. The receptionist told me if it needed to be done they would do it. Well they didn't and now the pool is much worse than when they removed the old liner.

This is when being a Christian gets tough for me. Yes, I am upset because the quality of workmanship that we are paying for, with our hard earned money, is poor, very poor. And yet I talk to these people and they are nice...is that PR? How do I handle this? Do I get demanding and rude to get their attention, because being nice has not gotten me any results? They called and said they will be here tomorrow. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow and the forecast is for 69 degrees and it needs to be above 75. So now who can I blame for that...God? Heavens no! But it would have been nice if they had covered the pool.

Now I will see what kind of business people they are, for if they offer to fix the warped boards caused by their practices I will be satisfied. If not, I will be upset. What do I do then? I did think of contacting "5 on Your Side", which is the local TV station from Raleigh, who loves to handle problems like this. But I don't want to ruin their reputation, I just want quality work.

So now I am trying to calm down, change my frame of mind, and get prepared to go to church to worship the Lord, and teach Sunday School. I must focus on extending grace but ...
Dear Lord, help me to know how to handle this. Give me wisdom.

It's just a swimming pool. But it does matter. It's just a swimming pool. But we want it to be repaired correctly. It's just a swimming pool.

What would you do ?