iona's blog 8/9 - 8/13/2005

Note the Archives are presented chronologically.
Scroll right for iona's E-Mail & Links

August 9, 2005

I am fairly new to BLOGs. Pastor Rob's BLOG was the first I had ever read. What a cool way to witness and to chronicle thoughts, blessings and insights! Next was Whateva which is so much fun... I love Eva's "rubber meets the road" reality! So now, here I go ablogging... I've kept a personal as well as prayer journal for some time, but only the Lord and I know what's in them.... but now... now, the whole cyberworld can take a peek into my life. How transparent or detailed should I be? I guess I'll leave that in God's hands and just try to follow His lead.

Wow! What an awesome God we serve! He has been so patient with me. You see, I have tried to serve Him on the internet but sort of got derailed (see below) but when Pastor Rob and Cathy visited this afternoon, something very special happened. Richard (my hubby) and Cathy (Pastor Rob's wife) got to know one another while Pastor Rob and I were pouring over the church web site and expanding our discussion of the internet as a tool for ministry and evangelism. The Holy Spirit was at work as we discussed my doing a BLOG as well as some other little things.

My dormant web ministry sites will now receive the updating they need. I couldn't upload this BLOG without updating a few pages of the site and doing some general cyber housekeeping. Now I am spurred on to opening the channels for the Holy Spirit to lead me in designing a theme and format for this BLOG page and any other pages I may create related to FBC.

Oh, and something else exciting... I will be hosting and facilitating a women's Bible study/prayer group on Thursday mornings... I am thrilled! I can't wait to see what God will do with it and I am eager to get to know the lovely ladies He will bring together in our fellowship. Those readers from Harvest Church in Dothan will recall how blessed I always was with our "Thursday Mornings."

Back to cyberthoughts... I must confess that when I went to work for Wal-Mart three years ago, I let my web ministry slide. I had gone to work to help provide funding for ever growing space and bandwidth needs but was too tired after work to devote much time to my web ministry. Things became stagnant, we lost our server ( I lease server space for many domains) and finally I messed up several sites trying to transfer from one program to another.... Bottom line: Things slid down hill big time!

And the worse they got the harder it was for me to tackle them... Then came Sept. 8, 2004. A TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) my third head injury... I am left with a very leaky memory and somewhat altered personality. I have less drive and much less self-confidence... but that's OK because my God confidence is growing (thanks to HIM). He delights in using the weak and the broken. He specializes in using the imperfect and unwise (in the eyes if the world) and as long as He will use me, I am happy!

But I had not yet thought I was ready to hit the HTML trail again... Then here came Pastor Rob and in opening the church site in Front Page, I am MOTIVATED! No longer the cyberwimp afraid to tackle my sites or build sites for others, I am excited at the challenge. Will I still be any good at it? Who knows, but I am having fun with it and God will use it for His glory... that's ALL I CARE ABOUT!

Thanks for stopping by; come back tomorrow. My therapist is taking me to the Galt Flea Market... Neither of us has ever been to the flea market, so it should be quit a hoot. I'm bringing my umbrella and little folding Angel cart so I can fit in with all the other little old ladies... That's Richard's take. He drives bus and many ladies ride to the flea market equipped with their ANGEL CARTS. Boy, that could lead me into a whole essay!

August 10, 2005

I was pleasantly surprised to see Pastor Rob's BLOG today... His intro of me was flattering and I appreciated his link to this BLOG. By the way, if you haven't yet listened to the song he has above his BLOG, treat yourself! A beautiful and very meaningful musical message. You'll find his music in various places on the FBC site... check it out, you will be blessed and that is a promise!

Well folks, the Galt Flea Market was quite an experience. They had everything from furniture to fruit juice arrayed under tents or booths. Amazing to me is the fact that except for the two days a week they are open, the place is just a huge tarmac parking lot. We rode the SCT/Link bus so had no parking woes. Doorstep service for only $2. It's more if you are not a senior... age has its privileges.

We went to the Wednesday evening Bible Study this evening at the Greenes. It was our first time and a great way to get started because it was Pot Luck night! Good food and great fellowship... Way to Go! There were folks of all ages from teens to seniors, and it was a marvelous mix.

God has given me a wonderful Wednesday, and now after visits from two therapists, a trip to the flea market and a great evening at Bible Study, I'm ready to call it a day. I was up very late last night fixing web pages and setting up this BLOG... lot's of fun, but now I need sleep! Talk with you tomorrow.

August 11, 2005

Sometimes we tend to forget just how many ways the Lord shows us his Love, so when a little reminder comes along to disrupt our routine, we may not immediately realize that we are pretty much buried in blessings!

Today our air conditioning quit... yesterday the garbage disposer died. Weeds are winning the battle in our yard, I think... Truthfully, I don't know anything about horticulture and am not sure I can tell the tares from the wheat as it were. The carpet and walls are majorly dirty and we haven't washed the windows outside since we moved here six months ago! "Cleanliness is next to Godliness," is NOT in the Bible, but it is good advice! I need to get to some big time cleaning...

I considered all this as I prepared for my first trip to Kaiser HMO, I began to pray, and I asked others to pray... God even cares about my reluctance to don the paper gown and sit up in that sterile smelling table which was wearing the same paper fashion as I. First trip to the doctor whose name I cannot pronounce. I chose him from the website not on the basis of his credentials, but I liked his smile and I wanted to tell him about Jesus.

In no time the pretty young assistant had me quantified (and horrified as I peeked at the scale!) and after almost no wait at all, a handsome young doctor appeared and before I knew it, my exam was over. He typed all the pertinent info directly into a computer, chart notes, orders (meds and a mammogram) asked if I had any issues right now. Yes. Three little growths. NOOO problemo! He was back in a flash with a blow torch... actually a freeze torch, looked industrial size to me. "This might sting a bit," the words slipped out casually as he was finishing up. He was proud as punch.. and so was I. Get it done now with no fancy dermatologists visit! And yes, it did sting a bit.

Then, with a friendly wave and a wink, he was gone. I never felt hurried during the exam, but looking back he went very fast and controlled the conversation almost completely. I believe I will send him a personal thank you card... one of my Jesus painting cards then the Holy Spirit will take over. Say a little prayer for my new doctor who may or may not already be a brother in Christ.

Now we're home. We stayed out a while and went out to eat (see, blessings piled high all around us!) and when we got home, the temp was 86 degrees. We opened up everything and praised God for the Delta Breeze. I'll call a carpet cleaner tomorrow and tackle the walls this weekend. In no time, we'll be ready for fall!

I spoke with Pastor Al today... He is a way cool guy! We were discussing the new Women's Bible Study. I am working on a graphical theme for our web area, handouts, etc...also developing a project plan. Many folks are interested advisors so I need to have a developed plan from which to consider their input and create a final focus and task list.

August 13, 2005

Somehow I lost Friday. I've been busy trying to make my Macintosh and my Compaq talk to one another. My web the authoring software is on the Compaq and my graphics software is on the Macintosh. For some reason the Macintosh and the Compaq do not get along. I finally got the Compaq to speak to the Mac, but Mac would have nothing to do with Compaq! Finally, after much prayer and two frustrating days there is peace in computer land and every one is communicating with everyone else. All this means that I can really get going on some long overdue web work.

I hope to revive the Handmaidens site, update ionanet and my art site, and convert Jerris Munchies so as to get some regular devotionals online. I am also working on a site for our new Women's Bible Study... I love doing it when the computers are behaving themselves, but all this techno-bickering has made me tired and taken up waaay too much time.

I have been listening and enjoying Pastor Rob's song, I Am. You'll find it in his BLOG, and you can listen to it for absolutely nothing. Not only is a great music, but it sends my heart soaring heavenward as I contemplate my Jesus. I love how he is described in the book of John. Oh well, let's face it, I love everything said about him in all of scripture. But John is still my favorite.

I'm going to do one last web thing before I go to bed. I'm going to try and make this page "belong" with the FBC pages. So that the same interface more or less carries through. NOTE: Iona's Blog officially moved in to the church site Sept. 27, 2005.

No Previous | See Archives 2 for Next