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What a cast!

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I was on my way to church one Sunday when I paid special attention to something I pass by almost every day. There's a narrow section of the lake that extends to the highway. Apparently, people think it's a good place to fish, because the evidence is just overhead.  A cable is tangled with many lines and lures from those casting in that area. Just as I drove past it that day, I glanced at my radio and the song playing was Cast My Cares . Immediately, my thought process took off.  How many times do we cast our cares and our burdens in areas that lead us to nothing but a tangled mess? The song, Cast My Cares , was written by the lead singer and a few friends, but the original idea came from David. Psalm 55 is considered an instructive psalm and was written during a very difficult time in David's life. His son was rebelling against him and his close friend had betrayed him. David said that he even wished he had wings so he could fly away from his troubles. Yet in the end, he kn...
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A Change of Heart

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I went grocery shopping at Aldi on Friday. I made sure to grab a quarter from my change jar before I left. If you aren't familiar with the store, you have to pay to use a shopping cart. The carts are attached by a chain and when you insert a quarter, the lock releases. When you return the cart and lock the chain, you receive your deposit back.  I approached the long row of chained baskets and prepared to insert my coin but found that someone had left one unlocked . After paying for the groceries and loading the car, I went to return the cart to its rightful place. Since it wasn't my quarter to begin with, I didn't feel right taking one in return. So I parked it just as I had found it, unlocked and ready to be a blessing for someone else that needed it. (If you're considering giving me a pat on the back at this point, don't. There's more to the story.) As soon as I stepped back and headed toward my car, the lady waiting behind me locked both my cart and hers then...
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Help! It’s Taking Over

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A few years ago, Rusty and I spent some time trimming the many overhanging branches and shrubs from the fence-line on my mom's property. I recently noticed how all of the branches we had cut back were once again reaching across the fence and encroaching on the property as if we had never touched them. I dreaded tackling the task again but knew if we didn't tend to it soon, the job would be more than we could handle. It would be overwhelming.  Have you ever felt like your life was becoming the same way? You may have job related pressures, lengthy illnesses, or family stress that creep in on you like over-reaching branches needing to be pruned, but feel like you no longer have the strength or energy to handle them.  The psalmist David knew where to seek help when he became overwhelmed.    In Psalm 61 , David knew that he had no strength on his own, but remembered how God had been his refuge and strength in times past. He began the psalm by asking Him to hear his prayer...
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Do You See What I See?

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  Last week, I went to see a friend.  On my way inside, I noticed that although it was mid February, there was a Merry Christmas flag in the flower bed.  I started to pick on her about it, but decided not to give her a hard time. Yesterday, Rusty and I were headed out the door to church when I looked over and happened to notice that I still had a metal nativity scene in my own flower bed. I mentioned to Rusty that even though I walk past it every day, I hadn't realized that it was still there and I should probably put it up. His response was..."Yeah, I was wondering about that."   Have you ever noticed something going on with someone else only to later discover that you had something just as bad or worse going on in your own life?  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses the importance of making sure we look at ourselves before we look at others.  Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own e...
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What Stress?

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Due to family history, I had a few routine tests done last week. I had early morning appointments and thought I wouldn't have to worry about too much traffic, but I was wrong and arrived a few minutes late.  After frantically looking for a parking space, I finally found one and made my way into the hospital to check in.  They had an issue getting the admissions window to open that morning, so my tardiness didn't affect my check in time at all. I had rushed for no reason.  After one test was out of the way, it was now time for the stress test. The hospital had just acquired a new treadmill system and lucky me was the first person to try it out.  The equipment representative was there training the employees on the workings of the new machine.  After a while of trying to figure out how to hook me up, I had to perform my walk with a room full of onlookers. When it was finally over with, I was told that I was finished and directed to the exit. I made my way to the pa...
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My Pot Runneth Over

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  We drink lots of coffee at our house and we like it fresh, so we make it several times a day. Usually, it's add some grounds, pour out the old, rinse the pot, fill it with water, and pour into the coffee maker. Sounds pretty simple, right?  But after a recent repair to our water meter caused us to use bottled water for a while rather than tap, my whole routine was thrown off.   I had just started a fresh pot of coffee and patiently waited for the three beeps of the Cuisinart to let me know it was ready. What I found when I entered the kitchen was much more than a fresh pot of coffee. There was a huge puddle of the hot brown liquid in the floor and running across the kitchen counter.  I quickly cleaned up the mess, but was baffled by what could have caused the overflow. I wish I could say this was the only time the incident happened, but it wasn't until it happened again a few days later that I realized my mistake.  I had never poured out the old coff...
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What A Week!

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     Arkansas Dept. of Transportation               Street Camera             Interstate 40 in Clarksville, AR on Jan. 25th Last week began pretty well. Rusty was released to go back to work on Tuesday night. He did really good, but it will still take some time to build his strength back up to where it was before. He didn’t have to work too long though because a few days later the winter storm hit. The roads were covered with snow and ice and his plant shut down for a few days. I missed most of it because I was sick with what I assume was the flu. While others were making snowmen and sledding, I never ventured out of the house. Thankfully our power stayed on, so we stayed warm and no pipes froze. For the first time since April, Rusty was able to climb up on the tractor and put it to use. It was so good to look out the window and see him plowing the lane, something he wouldn't have been able to...
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