Last night at Small Group at the Smith house was definitely a lot of fun last night. Even though the Simpson/Smith groups are breaking off, we will all still have the memory of a fun filled last night of everyone together. We of course had our fellowship time, but afterwards there was lots of sharing stories and laughter together. Some shared a little bit too much information about past injuries for the squemish ones...LOL. It was a great time and if you were not there then you definitely missed out. It was definitely good for everyone to be laughing and bonding like everyone was. Some shared stories about loved ones and that definitely meant a lot. I learned things about each and every person that was there last night.
I am definitely going to miss the size of the Simpson/Smith "small group" but I definitely feel that it is a blessing that the group grew large enough to get the opportunity to break into 2 groups.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Are thieves that don't take anything really thieves? YES!
Okay so it has been a very strange week so far. On Wednesday I was getting in my car leaving work, when I realized there were strange dents above my door seal like something had tried to break into my car. I was freaked out and showed the marks to some guy that I work with and he confirmed my suspisions that someone had tried to break into my car. It was obvious that they did not actually get into my car because nothing was missing. I determined that this did not happen at work, because I always leave my doors unlocked at work because there are so many people around that it would be impossible for someone to successfully steal anything. It had to have happened the night before at my apartment complex. That freaks me out because I live in a nice area in Milford and you wouldnt think that too much crime goes on there. I went home and there was a couple of packages that I had been waiting on outside of my apartment door. Someone had opened one of the packages to take a peak. Nothing was stolen, but the point is that they messed with my mail and invaded my privacy. The funny thing is that this is the 3rd time in the year that we have lived there that someone has opened a package that I received and left it there without taking anything. I guess they are seeing if it is good enough to steal, and when they decide it is not they leave it at my door. How nice of the thieves, right? I get a long with all of the neighbors that I talk to so I'm not sure who could be doing this. I talked to my apartment manager and she told me to file a police report. The police officer came to my apartment to make the report. He said that someone definitely tried to get into my car. I joked that they obviously were not professionals since they put 6 little dents above the driver door and 1 on the passenger side. I also talked to him about someone opening my packages, and told him to resolve that that I would tell the Post Office not to deliver packages that I would pick any packages up at the post office. Our neighbor Bob who lives 2 floors above us and happens to work at the post office was outside at the time the cop was there and he told me that he would have them give any packages of ours to him and he would bring them to us when he came home from work. That was very nice of him. Oh and Bob has a really nice car and he said that someone tried to take his wheels before and he now has wheel locks on them. Apparently thieves target my apartment complex to steal cars because the parking lot is dimly lit.
So to answer the question in my blog title....Are thieves that don't take anything really thieves? The answer is definitely yes. Whoever they are invaded my privacy and made me not feel secure in the place that should feel like home. I don't want to move because of these issues, because things like this could happen anywhere. I also had one question that I cannot figure out the answer to. What would they want with my old car that had nothing of value in it? Someone told me that they were probably trying to steal the car and were looking for one without an alarm. If that was the case it is not like the car is worth much.
Oh and I was telling my boss Lyn about someone trying to break into my car and that the car is not worth much, and she told me to put a sign on it that reads...."Attention car thieves....the keys are in the ignition for you this time."
So to answer the question in my blog title....Are thieves that don't take anything really thieves? The answer is definitely yes. Whoever they are invaded my privacy and made me not feel secure in the place that should feel like home. I don't want to move because of these issues, because things like this could happen anywhere. I also had one question that I cannot figure out the answer to. What would they want with my old car that had nothing of value in it? Someone told me that they were probably trying to steal the car and were looking for one without an alarm. If that was the case it is not like the car is worth much.
Oh and I was telling my boss Lyn about someone trying to break into my car and that the car is not worth much, and she told me to put a sign on it that reads...."Attention car thieves....the keys are in the ignition for you this time."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
It has been a strange few days....
The past few days have definitely been strange. On Sunday when me and Trish were on our way to Church I got pulled over my a Cop. I'm freaking out because by the time I pulled the car to the side of the road I couldn't remember if I was going over the speed limit at all. I didn't think that I was but being pulled over definitely puts doubt into ones head. The Cop got out and was looking at the back of the passenger side of the car, meanwhile I am fumbling trying to find my insurance card and driver's license. I was even more freaked out that the Cop was looking at my car. The Cop came to my window, and the first thing I said was, "What's wrong?" The Cop said, "Sorry, wrong car" and I preceded the to tell the Cop that he about gave me a heart attack. I assume that they were looking for a car that matched my car's description but maybe with damage on the passenger side.
After church on Sunday me and Trish went to the grocery store. (Thank God that we only got a few things to last us for the week) We about got blown away by the wind going into Kroger's. When we got home the wind was even worse. One of our neighbors told us that she heard a loud crack coming from the wooded area, and I could see the trees swaying in the wind so I didn't park close to the swaying trees. We get inside our apartment with the groceries only to find out that we have no power. At that point I had no idea about the damage that these strong winds had caused. We opened a window on 1 side of the apartment and then 1 on the other, but the wind was blowing things around in our apartment so we had to close 1 of the windows. Our psycho cat stood up in the window until a huge gust of wind came by and then she would run for cover. She was scared to death. It is crazy how much we come to rely on power and technology. Since there was nothing else to do I actually took a nap, and managed to get over an hour of sleep with the Cat running over me everytime a huge gust of windows came by the window. I kept waking up too because I was sure that the tree was going to fall, and I even saw it snap. (it still has not fallen though)
Me and Trish still went to Small group at Dan and Sarah's house. Trish was supposed to bring pop, but we arrived with only Mountain Dew because she already had that and all of the stores were closed so we couldnt get anything else. There was enough light coming through the window, but Dan needed a candle to be able to read his bible. We all enjoyed cake for Dave's birthday.
I heard from a friend that over 600,000 people are without power and that it will be 3-5 days before it came back on. Me and Trish drove around looking for food after Small Group. We managed to find a Larosa's with power, but the wait was over an hour. They were out of sausage, and fountain Coke, but the food we ate was still delicious. On the way home we looked for an open gas station to get ice so that we could salvage some of the food in the fridge. The gas station that we found said that they have only had power for an hour and they were already almost out of ice. We bought 2 bags, and there were only 2 bags left after that. We came back home to still no power of course.
At this point I heard that 90% of Duke Energy's customers were without power. I woke up to still get ready for work, because I was not sure if they had power. I live in an apartment, but thankfully we have our own water heater and there was enough hot water for me and Trish to both get a shower. Trish came back home while I was getting ready for work because her work didn't have any power so she didn't have to work yesterday. But when I got into work they had power so I had to work all day.
When I got home from work on Monday I had power. I was so thankful, because I know that there is still over 500,000 people without power. They are saying on the news that gas stations are selling out of gas, ice, and batteries.
I talked to my friend Melissa in Sharonville Monday night who was still without power. She heard from someone that there is somewhere on the internet that you can go to find out when Duke's estimates that power will be on in certain areas. How do they expect people with no power to look that information up? I tried to find it for her but could not find it.
I am so thankful that I have power, and I hope and pray that everyone else's is restored real soon.
After church on Sunday me and Trish went to the grocery store. (Thank God that we only got a few things to last us for the week) We about got blown away by the wind going into Kroger's. When we got home the wind was even worse. One of our neighbors told us that she heard a loud crack coming from the wooded area, and I could see the trees swaying in the wind so I didn't park close to the swaying trees. We get inside our apartment with the groceries only to find out that we have no power. At that point I had no idea about the damage that these strong winds had caused. We opened a window on 1 side of the apartment and then 1 on the other, but the wind was blowing things around in our apartment so we had to close 1 of the windows. Our psycho cat stood up in the window until a huge gust of wind came by and then she would run for cover. She was scared to death. It is crazy how much we come to rely on power and technology. Since there was nothing else to do I actually took a nap, and managed to get over an hour of sleep with the Cat running over me everytime a huge gust of windows came by the window. I kept waking up too because I was sure that the tree was going to fall, and I even saw it snap. (it still has not fallen though)
Me and Trish still went to Small group at Dan and Sarah's house. Trish was supposed to bring pop, but we arrived with only Mountain Dew because she already had that and all of the stores were closed so we couldnt get anything else. There was enough light coming through the window, but Dan needed a candle to be able to read his bible. We all enjoyed cake for Dave's birthday.
I heard from a friend that over 600,000 people are without power and that it will be 3-5 days before it came back on. Me and Trish drove around looking for food after Small Group. We managed to find a Larosa's with power, but the wait was over an hour. They were out of sausage, and fountain Coke, but the food we ate was still delicious. On the way home we looked for an open gas station to get ice so that we could salvage some of the food in the fridge. The gas station that we found said that they have only had power for an hour and they were already almost out of ice. We bought 2 bags, and there were only 2 bags left after that. We came back home to still no power of course.
At this point I heard that 90% of Duke Energy's customers were without power. I woke up to still get ready for work, because I was not sure if they had power. I live in an apartment, but thankfully we have our own water heater and there was enough hot water for me and Trish to both get a shower. Trish came back home while I was getting ready for work because her work didn't have any power so she didn't have to work yesterday. But when I got into work they had power so I had to work all day.
When I got home from work on Monday I had power. I was so thankful, because I know that there is still over 500,000 people without power. They are saying on the news that gas stations are selling out of gas, ice, and batteries.
I talked to my friend Melissa in Sharonville Monday night who was still without power. She heard from someone that there is somewhere on the internet that you can go to find out when Duke's estimates that power will be on in certain areas. How do they expect people with no power to look that information up? I tried to find it for her but could not find it.
I am so thankful that I have power, and I hope and pray that everyone else's is restored real soon.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Trish #2's Blog
Hey all I just wanted to post a note here for anyone that reads my blog. Trish #2 has now created a blog as well so please go check it out.
http://www.trishnumbertwo.blogspot.com/
http://www.trishnumbertwo.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 8, 2008
My Mom
I am going to start this story way back a long time ago...LOL....when I was about 12 years old. Well let me start off first by saying that my Mom was raised Catholic, but after she married my father in a Catholic church she never stepped foot in a Catholic church again. Growing up I always went to a Baptist church, and I remember my Mom going some times too. I remember getting on the church bus and going to church every Sunday.
When I was about 12 years old me and My Mom were members of a Baptist church and were going every Sunday and Wednesday. Me and my Mom got Baptized around the same time at the church that we were going to. I remember one Sunday before Church on a day that I was wearing pants to church the preacher came up to my Mom who was standing beside me and said quietly to My Mom that now that we both are baptized that we might want to think about wearing a dress or skirt to Church. Let me add that I grew up poor and not having a lot of nice things; therefore it was not often that I got new clothes. I think I owned 1 maybe 2 skirts at that age. I was very upset by the Preacher's remarks, and my first thought was that God didn't care what I wore to church as long as I came to worship him. I also questioned what the Preacher said and thought, "Would God really want me to not go to Church because I don't have a nice dress or skirt to wear?" I know that the answer is no, but those are words that I will always remember and I think they have had a lasting impact on my Mother.
My Mom has not gone to Church in a really long time, and now that I have found an awesome Church I have been inviting her every chance that I get. Everytime she gives me some excuse like how she needs her hair cut, or she needs a nice dress to wear. I told my Mom over and over that God doesn't care what she wears, and even told her that there are more people at Center Pointe wearing pants, and shorts then there are wearing a skirt or dress. So then my Mom told me that she would like to get a new pair of pants and she hasn't had new shoes in a long time so she would like to get a new pair of shoes because she wanted to look nice to come to church with me. Last Weekend I invited her to Church once again and she rattled off her list of excuses, and I got kind of snippy with her and told her that there is always going to be an excuse if she keeps making excuses, and I reminded her once again that God doesn't care how new the pair of shoes she has on her feet are or if her hair was just cut.
My Mom did tell me that she would come to Church with me on high attendance Sunday this Sunday the 14th, and I certainly hope that she does.
After Church yesterday I picked my Mom up and me, My Mom, and Trish met Scott and Diana and their kids at Cici's Pizza for lunch. The first words out of Diana's mouth when she met my Mom was to me telling me that I should invite my Mom to Church next Sunday, and I told her that I already did. As we were leaving Cici's Pizza the last words out of Diana's mouth was to my Mom, and Diana said to her, "So we will see you next Sunday?" And my Mom said yes. We all know how Diana's....well we wont call it nagging...lets call it God persistantly working through Diana. So if My Mom doesn't come to Church Sunday then I am giving Diana her phone number and address...LOL.
I would appreciate it if everyone can add my Mom to their prayer list.
When I was about 12 years old me and My Mom were members of a Baptist church and were going every Sunday and Wednesday. Me and my Mom got Baptized around the same time at the church that we were going to. I remember one Sunday before Church on a day that I was wearing pants to church the preacher came up to my Mom who was standing beside me and said quietly to My Mom that now that we both are baptized that we might want to think about wearing a dress or skirt to Church. Let me add that I grew up poor and not having a lot of nice things; therefore it was not often that I got new clothes. I think I owned 1 maybe 2 skirts at that age. I was very upset by the Preacher's remarks, and my first thought was that God didn't care what I wore to church as long as I came to worship him. I also questioned what the Preacher said and thought, "Would God really want me to not go to Church because I don't have a nice dress or skirt to wear?" I know that the answer is no, but those are words that I will always remember and I think they have had a lasting impact on my Mother.
My Mom has not gone to Church in a really long time, and now that I have found an awesome Church I have been inviting her every chance that I get. Everytime she gives me some excuse like how she needs her hair cut, or she needs a nice dress to wear. I told my Mom over and over that God doesn't care what she wears, and even told her that there are more people at Center Pointe wearing pants, and shorts then there are wearing a skirt or dress. So then my Mom told me that she would like to get a new pair of pants and she hasn't had new shoes in a long time so she would like to get a new pair of shoes because she wanted to look nice to come to church with me. Last Weekend I invited her to Church once again and she rattled off her list of excuses, and I got kind of snippy with her and told her that there is always going to be an excuse if she keeps making excuses, and I reminded her once again that God doesn't care how new the pair of shoes she has on her feet are or if her hair was just cut.
My Mom did tell me that she would come to Church with me on high attendance Sunday this Sunday the 14th, and I certainly hope that she does.
After Church yesterday I picked my Mom up and me, My Mom, and Trish met Scott and Diana and their kids at Cici's Pizza for lunch. The first words out of Diana's mouth when she met my Mom was to me telling me that I should invite my Mom to Church next Sunday, and I told her that I already did. As we were leaving Cici's Pizza the last words out of Diana's mouth was to my Mom, and Diana said to her, "So we will see you next Sunday?" And my Mom said yes. We all know how Diana's....well we wont call it nagging...lets call it God persistantly working through Diana. So if My Mom doesn't come to Church Sunday then I am giving Diana her phone number and address...LOL.
I would appreciate it if everyone can add my Mom to their prayer list.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My Path
Over the past few years I have been "looking" for a Church home. I put the word looking in quotation marks because I really wasn't doing much looking but when asked about Church or someone asking me about what Church I was going to I would always respond with the fact that I need to find a Church home, but I really didn't do anything about finding a Church home. Trish invited me to church with her once and I went and liked the church, but there were so many people there and it just didn't feel like home. Melissa invited me to church with her before too, and I always intended to go but never got around to it.
God has always been a part of life, but I have been guilty about forgetting about his presence at times. I have let certain people take me away from God, and I don't want to be the kind of person that turns to God only when things are going bad in my life. I want God to be a part of my life through the good times and the bad.
So about a year ago things seemed to be going pretty well in my life. I moved into a new apartment, I had a great job with a couple of promotions already, but I was still missing God in my life. Those that are reading this know Diana Smith I am sure. Well in March of 2007 I assisted in getting Diana hired at the company that I work for. Diana and I had a little falling out from an incident that occurred during work hours, and we came to the determination that she just wasn't able to work for me. Well I moved on to another department within the same company and gradually me and Diana began talking again and I can say that we are definitely friends. I have no idea why I felt the need to include all of that I did in this paragraph to get to the point that I was trying to make. Diana knew that I wasn't going to Church and every chance she got she would invite me to Church with her. At the time that she started asking me to go with her I believe that she was still going to Dove. I never ended up going to Dove with Diana. Diana then started going to Center Pointe Church in Goshen, OH, and every chance she got she would tell me about it. I know Diana loved going to Dove, but when she started going to Center Pointe she just seemed extra excited about it. I think it was literally every time that I would talk to Diana that she would invite me to Center Pointe. I'm not sure if it was God speaking to me or me trying to shut Diana up so she wouldn't ask me to go anymore, but I finally visited Center Pointe Church with Diana. I invited my roommate and best friend Trish to join me. I absolutely loved it. The people were amazing and so inviting, and the music was awesome, and the message was perfect. Me and Trish were always always busy people always had something going on every day, and minute of the weekend including Sunday. After my first visit to Center Pointe I felt myself looking forward to my next visit. Diana called me up after we left Church and asked me how I liked it and asked me if I would be coming the next Sunday, and I told her that I would.
I still do not know every one's names at Center Pointe, but I am learning. I find myself becoming very disappointed when I have to miss Church because of some other obligation. I went to Church this past Sunday and had somewhere to be right after Church therefore I rushed right out, and from what I read in Pastor Ray's blog I missed God's presence after the service.
Pastor Ray's message has a way of speaking just to me every Sunday, and I'm sure that other's feel the same way. I feel myself at times so in tuned to his message that I feel like I should be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for what he will say next.
I am definitely thankful that God worked through Diana to get me to visit Center Pointe.
God has always been a part of life, but I have been guilty about forgetting about his presence at times. I have let certain people take me away from God, and I don't want to be the kind of person that turns to God only when things are going bad in my life. I want God to be a part of my life through the good times and the bad.
So about a year ago things seemed to be going pretty well in my life. I moved into a new apartment, I had a great job with a couple of promotions already, but I was still missing God in my life. Those that are reading this know Diana Smith I am sure. Well in March of 2007 I assisted in getting Diana hired at the company that I work for. Diana and I had a little falling out from an incident that occurred during work hours, and we came to the determination that she just wasn't able to work for me. Well I moved on to another department within the same company and gradually me and Diana began talking again and I can say that we are definitely friends. I have no idea why I felt the need to include all of that I did in this paragraph to get to the point that I was trying to make. Diana knew that I wasn't going to Church and every chance she got she would invite me to Church with her. At the time that she started asking me to go with her I believe that she was still going to Dove. I never ended up going to Dove with Diana. Diana then started going to Center Pointe Church in Goshen, OH, and every chance she got she would tell me about it. I know Diana loved going to Dove, but when she started going to Center Pointe she just seemed extra excited about it. I think it was literally every time that I would talk to Diana that she would invite me to Center Pointe. I'm not sure if it was God speaking to me or me trying to shut Diana up so she wouldn't ask me to go anymore, but I finally visited Center Pointe Church with Diana. I invited my roommate and best friend Trish to join me. I absolutely loved it. The people were amazing and so inviting, and the music was awesome, and the message was perfect. Me and Trish were always always busy people always had something going on every day, and minute of the weekend including Sunday. After my first visit to Center Pointe I felt myself looking forward to my next visit. Diana called me up after we left Church and asked me how I liked it and asked me if I would be coming the next Sunday, and I told her that I would.
I still do not know every one's names at Center Pointe, but I am learning. I find myself becoming very disappointed when I have to miss Church because of some other obligation. I went to Church this past Sunday and had somewhere to be right after Church therefore I rushed right out, and from what I read in Pastor Ray's blog I missed God's presence after the service.
Pastor Ray's message has a way of speaking just to me every Sunday, and I'm sure that other's feel the same way. I feel myself at times so in tuned to his message that I feel like I should be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for what he will say next.
I am definitely thankful that God worked through Diana to get me to visit Center Pointe.
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