Incontinence

2 Timothy 3: 1-5 "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, INCONTINENT, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."

I see this every day at work. For those of you out of the mainstream workforce, please realize the blessing you have been given and be thankful for it. The main thing I wanted to talk about here is the meaning of the word "incontinent" contextually. It's not talking about the medical definition of incontinence, which is the inability to control bodily functions, which typically refers to the bladder & bowels, but an incontinence of the mind. Let me explain my situation a little better to flesh out what I go through every day, nine hours a day. I work in a large & extremely rapidly growing industrial facility. It's a booming industry, but the rapid growth does not come without a price. People will make a decision without thinking the whole thing through, then when they realize their mistake, they reverse that decision, which directly affects projects others are working on, many times causing people to have to start over & totally redo them. No one, of course, will admit that they made a mistake, because that one mistake would be seen as total incompetence in the environment I work in, and that, of course, would put their job in jeopardy. This is just a little slice of the bigger picture, but of course you can see the "incontinence" I'm referring to. I am a single parent, who has worked very hard & struggled to raise my son on my own, financially & in many other ways. This job that I worked as a temp for 2 years in (w/ no benefits), before finally getting hired in permanently, is a good opportunity for me. But when people try to make me seem like I'm the one who can't handle my work load, I take exception to that, because it's ridiculous that they won't hire enough people to handle the work load effectively in the first place. I have global responsibilities, yet given the current economic situation, I have trouble keeping decent food on the table at times. The incontinence is widespread & pervasive, and it will not improve. The same things my brother sees as a Sheriff's Deputy, I see every day as well. It's a free-for-all, don't-trust-anybody, it's-all-about-me society, and I for one am going to do all that God enables me to do to stand against it.
(Thanks for taking the time to read this, please share your comments & thoughts!)

Palace of Auburn Hills - Rascal Flatts

Saturday night some of my friends from work spoiled me & took me along to the Rascal Flatts show in Detroit. In my sleep-deprived condition it was a little on the unreal side, but what a great show! Taylor Swift opened, and though I'm not a fan of her music, she is a good entertainer. I managed to get a little bit of a second wind right before Rascal Flatts went on, though, and they put on a great show! It takes 8 semi's to haul around all the equipment & pieces of stage & everything. It's great though because unless you were in the nosebleed section, you had a good seat. The only thing I wished is that Flatts would have stayed on stage a little longer, they did a medley of some songs, and if they would have done the whole songs, it would have been perfect! I think my favorite performances of the night were "Stand", "Take Me There" and of course the encore's - "Me & My Gang" & "Bob That Head". Dozed a little on the way back to Paige's house in Luna Pier, but made it back to Denise's and home OK. Got home around 1:30 - it's totally cliche, but I think I may be getting a little too old for this.... LOL! I'm sure it's just the specifics of my weekend, but I'm still tired today! I'll post all my pics (although some are pretty fuzzy), on my MySpace page.

18 years ago today...

Well, it's been 18 years since God blessed me with my beautiful son. Although they haven't been easy ones, I have been truly fortunate. Thank you God, for the miracles of life! My son is well on his way to becoming a good man. We spent the morning taking care of business, and ended up just relaxing with his one & only girl, Kelsey, most of the afternoon.
This evening he's spending with old friends in Sylvania, and tomorrow we will spend part of the afternoon with his Aunt & cousins. Unfortunately, Uncle Rob's got to work, & I know Brodie will miss him.
Keep him in your prayers, he's still got a little way to go!

Sober Jamz

Last Sunday, August 24th, we went to Sober Jamz, a benefit for Rusty's House, a local drug & alcohol intervention center. It is truly a testament to the power of God how He has taken a tragedy no one ever wants to live through and brought so much good to the lives of others from it. Please take a moment to check out Rusty's House's website, and consider contributing to their mission!

Brodie, Kelsey and I headed out to Centennial Terrace and met my friend from work, Denise there. The first band on the line up was 30 Days to Live, a very gifted group of teenagers that includes my old friend Johnny Cappelletty's son, J.P. Next up was All But One, another group of talented guys who perform classic rock tunes. (My sister missed the Doors hit "Riders On the Storm"). I really enjoyed their set, although Brodie & Kelsey got a little bored.

Next up was Pawn, and these guys rock! This was the first opportunity I had to see them play or hear any of their material, and I was impressed, to say the least. They blend rock & hip-hop, and have a unique sound I really enjoyed. My sister and nephew arrived during this set & we thoroughly enjoyed the time we shared with them.

4th on the line up was Keys 2 Eden, my friend Johnny's band. Watching Johnny on drums brought back a lot of good memories, but it was awesome to see how God's been working in his life. I had heard some of their new CD before the concert, but thoroughly enjoyed hearing more of them and am looking forward to picking up their CD soon. Their sound is a lot like the 80's bands, but with a positive message.

Last on the ticket was Seventh Day Slumber, a band that I've enjoyed listening to on the radio immensely. Joseph has a mind-blowing testimony and God seems to have been using this band mightily. God definitely showed up during this set. Many people responded to the alter call and Brodie felt some stirrings at his heart strings too. He has a huge burden for people and to try to help them. Please pray that God will lead him in the direction He wants him to go...

We're back!

Well, now that we've got a computer at home and I have more flexibility for my blogging, we're here again! Brodie's working tonite & tomorrow, plus he has Senior Lock-In tonite. I'll be running the errands, hanging out getting housework done, and on Sunday we'll head out to SoberJamz at Centennial Terrace! Have been visiting Kelsey's church, but don't quite know if it's the right fit for us. Really miss Timberlake, but with gas prices still so high it's hard to make the extra trip to Holland & back every week. Will probably end up back that way once Brodie's done with school. Finally hired in as a permanent employee at my two-year temp job. Is a blessing to finally have health insurance again, it's been probably 5 years for myself, and about 2 years for Brodie. Will post again before too long.