"Not Me!" Monday.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

There is absolutely NO WAY that I entered my MckLinky before writing this post so that I could be near the top of the list. Nope, I'm a rule follower and I would never cheat. Not Me!

And I am not going to post this "Not Me!" real quick and then come back and edit it so that you will see this post when you click MckLinky. Nope, not me!

This week I did not chuckle (to myself) at my choir director when he pulled his VERY large truck out of a parking spot and had to back, pull forward, back, pull forward several times before actually being able to drive away. No, I'm never judgmental about others' driving. Not me!

It was NOT mere seconds later that I backed my own VERY large truck out of my parking spot and crashed into a car parked behind me! There is no way that was me! I was not so thankful that my choir director was gone and that he did not see my little accident. Not me!

There is no way that I considered* driving away from the accident without doing anything about it. I always take care of my responsibilities, even in thought. I do not run away from confrontation. Not me!

*I did in fact leave a note.

Double Giveaway Full of Christmas Cheer.

MckMama of "My Charming Kids" and Grammie of "The Grammie Diaries" in a show of forgiveness and solidarity have chosen to give away a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, respectively.

To win just enter at MckMama's or Grammie's

No More "Merry Christmas"!

So we all know that there's been a big swing towards being PC around the holidays. And many businesses as well as people have stopped saying, "Merry Christmas!" Instead they choose to use more ambiguous terms like, "Happy holidays.", "Season's Greetings." Things that won't offend people of other faiths or those with no faith at all. And the Christians are all up in arms.

While I agree somewhat with the sentiment that they are taking the Christ out of our Christmas, and it's absolutely ridiculous that the majority(Christians, in this case) have allowed the minority(those of other religious beliefs) to dictate away our faith, even in things as small as the phrase "Merry Christmas!"

But I began to wonder, what does "Merry Christmas!" really mean, and how does it really relate to anything substantial in my faith? I thought about the word merry, and what it means. Here's what the dictionary says:

merry:
1. full of cheerfulness or gaiety; joyous in disposition or spirit
2. laughingly happy; mirthful; festively joyous; hilarious
3. Archaic. causing happiness; pleasant; delightful.

While all these things are rightful to feel in view of what Christ has done in my heart and as a response to celebrating His birth. They are in fact a result of the work that Christ has done in me, not feelings that I can affect. As I pondered this I began to feel that saying a simple, "Merry Christmas!" falls very short of the goal of sharing the gospel to a lost and dying world. So, rather than wishing people gaiety and cheerfulness this season, I'd rather wish them Christ.

I propose:
"May the Christ of Christmas bring peace to your heart!"

A MckMama Giveaway!!

One of my absolute favorite blogs is "My Charming Kids". MckMama is fun and has a great big heart! This month she is giving away an HP TouchSmart computer, so hop on over to here and leave a comment to enter. Tweet about it and get a second entry. Post and link about it in your own blog to get a third entry!

I hope you win. Actually, I hope I win! ;)

Wordless Winds-day.

The Green, Green Grass of Home.

Well, of Todd's hometown anyway.

One of the days that we were back in Iowa for Thanksgiving, my sweet, very patient husband took me out for a drive in the countryside. We had no firm plan other than to find some cool stuff to photograph. It was c-c-c-cold and somewhat rainy, so my sock monkey hat and mittens had their job cut out for them. We turned off the highway onto an unknown gravel road and picked our way along by whim and wisdom, and found enough cool stuff to shoot that I filled a whole 2GB card! Graveyards, barns, windmills are the stuff that makes up the Iowa countryside. Here are several of my favorite barns.

This is the first farm we noticed. There's something about red barns and windmills that is so picturesque. Maybe it's the contrast to the green grass, but it just seems so peaceful and homey.
At this little set up, I was greeted by a very friendly golden retriever, who gave up and left me alone when he found I had nothing of interest for him.
This cow, whom we affectionately named Trey (you know, for the 3 distictive spots), got photographed simply because we liked his spots. He lived down a "minimum maintainance" dirt mud road. I really wanted to test out the landyatchs 4-wheel drive, but Todd's experience on such roads won out and we turned back. It was probably a good thing because we nearly got stuck trying to turn around! I guess when the county posts a sign that reads, "Enter at your own risk" it really is a good indication that you should steer clear (pun intended!)!
I don't know about you, but this barn just makes me want to host a Ho-Down! It just looks like a warm inviting place to have fun.
As we got closer to home I caught these next 2 pictures on the fly. I just love how the firewood is stacked so neat and orderly. This place was clearly Amish.

Beautiful. This jewel is just around the corner...
...and has an Amish neighbor across the way.
And this set wouldn't be complete without a picture of the family homestead. The fondations of this house date back 200 years. Todd's aunt and uncle currently live here. I think the trees are as impressive as anything.

"Not Me!" Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This past week was a whirlwind, what with laundry, packing and driving 13 hours to spend Thanksgiving with extended family. I'm certain that I did not do anything that I wouldn't want anyone to know about.

I did not mistakenly assume that my washing machine was going out when the sprinkler system drain hose got knocked out of the drain and made the laundry room floor all wet. Nope, I'm a logical person and always check things out. I was not completely disappointed when we learned that we did not need a new washer. Not me!

I so did not throw a little hissy fit at Thanksgiving dinner when the family started to sing the traditional prayer before I had my phone ready to video record it. I am really more mature than to roll my eyes, and slam my phone down on the table, in the middle of said prayer. That was SO not me!

Oh, and you know how when we were kids driving down the highway on a long trip we would pass semis and get them to honk by mimicking pulling the chain for the blow horn? Yeah, I so did not do that to the driver of a passenger van, who looked at me like I was completely insane! Nope, not me!

What didn't you do this week?