Tribute to Ernest Angley

I have had a seriously difficult time with religion in the south. I see the Church of Christ's on one corner, the Methodist's caddycorner, the Presbyterians across from them and by golly a good ole Southern Baptist caddycorner from that.
And their not talkin'.
As in ever.
Because Caddycorner #1 thinks that Corner #2 is going straight to you-know-where, and Caddycorner #2 thinks that Corner #3 shouldn't be baptizing backwards and Corner #4 thinks that Caddycorner #1 ought to be resting on Saturday, not Sunday and that all that hoopin' and hollerin' is way too loud and they should not be allowing drums in a church building.
This is where I, as a born and raised Southerner, get very embarrassed. I don't know why I take this so personally quite honestly, I mean to each his own right? Live and let live. But it just doggone gets under my skin.
My hairdresser says the injustices of the world drive me crazy. Yeah, somethin' like that.
The injustices of our religious system make me even crazier.
My husband was raised Church of the Brethren, which is basically MENNONITE.
You come down here to the south askin' for the local Church of the Brethren and they're like, um..the brethra' who?
And then good ole' non-opinionated ME, was raised, well... I'm not quite sure but somethin' like Southern Baptist with a twist of "let's stay home and have church of the bed and watch Ernest Angley on TV."
That IS how I got "saved" you know.
Good ole Ernest.
SHOULDABOUGHTAHONDA'! SHOULDABOUGHTAHONDA'! SHOULDABOUGHTAHONDA'!
He said if I wanted to go to heaven, not hell, I needed to put my hands on the screen, right over his and say a magic prayer that would catapult me right to heaven when I died. I thought that was a pretty good idea. After all it was free, and I didn't have any money anyways I was only ten.
I tip-toed to the TV screen, stretched out my ten year old fingers, RIGHT over his so each finger matched his just perfectly. And I said it. The prayer. The big one.
Not a dang thing happened.
I'm not sure what I was expecting. Some big man to come down from the sky and sit on my head, for the house to shake, or for the Ark-Angels to sing a merry tune... but nothin'. Just plain ole nothin and the next thing I know is my hands are spread on the TV set with the Palmolive Liquid Lady.
Hmmm.
But what happened next was quite wonderful. I was introduced to a sweet youth group and was given a "tape" of Sandi Patty singing Via Dolorosa, and the rest they say is "history". I listened to that song so many times my yellow Walkman broke.
And forever I would know in my heart that the God of the Universe sent his only son to die so that I could live shame free.
Emphasis on free.
And free I am to this day. Mistakes, screw-ups and all. I'm free.
And for that my friends, I am truly thankful.
Thankful that Mr. Ernest Sweet Shouldaboughtahonda Angley got up and put his crooked little fingers on that old television screen, so that I could begin the most grace-filled adventure of my life...
Mistakes and all...

DawgDung and The Replacement Principle

Well like granny says, "If you git cold at night you just throw another dawg on the bed!"

Overwhelmed is putting it lightly. This has been a hard month for me. Man oh man alive. Where the heck fire did February go? It's March? Really?? Hmmm... Well I had a very difficult class in school that I just finished. I wanted to jump off a bridge but I ate chocolate cake instead.
I have a 4.0 in graduate school right now, which makes me feel very smart. My dad always says I'm smart. Now I'm proving him right.
My daughter and husband and son made a chicken tractor on Saturday. From a BOX SPRING. Yes sirree. That's what happens when you live in Maury County, OUTSIDE Williamson and outside the city limits. We be countrifried.
My heart seems a bit neglected. I haven't written in weeks. My hair is funky, my dog needs a bath and I need to learn how to take better care of myself. Do any of you relate? Seems like every day I wake up thinking... I need an hour or two to just spend with me. Me and the God of the Universe need an hour or two. And then email calls me and the house is a mess and my cat needs petting and my bed isn't made and what's happening on Facebook and what about those old emails and then what about the curriculum I haven't finished and.... Well you know how it goes.. before you know it the hour is up and yet again, you are left in the wind.
The wind. Gone with the wind that hour you wanted for yourself. And the God that loves you.
Wonder why we do that?
Wonder how as women we seem to put ourselves dead last?
I would love to offer you all the solutions in the world and make you think I've got it all figured out, but friends, I'm here to tell you, I'm here on this planet struggling just like the rest of the human race.
What helps me is to reframe my thoughts and use the Replacement Principle. Ever heard of that? Well my good friend Sue Ellen taught my all about it. Let's have an object lesson.
SO! How am I feeling right now? Like a piece of dog dung if you want the honest truth. Now I can either spend the rest of my day feeling like dawgdung or I can use the Replacement Principle. Now. What is the opposite of DawgDung? Go to your Opposites Dictionary and you will find that the opposite of DawgDung is GoodDank. Now that doesn't make a lick of sense does it? Nope. So you have to dig on down into your own heart dictionary and find the answer for yourself.
Today I feel like DawgDung. But I am choosing to replace this with something positive so that I won't feel like DawgDung all day and then make my kids and husband and the postman and my pets feel the same DawgDung way.
So I choose to find a word I can live with. How about Content and at Peace. Let's look at this further.
Content means...happy enough with what one has or is; not desiring something more or different; satisfied.
Peace means....A state of quiet or tranquillity; freedom from disturbance or agitation; calm; repose .
So instead of meditating on dawg, I'm meditation on the fact that right now, in this moment, I am happy enough with what I have and am, I am not desiring something more or different. I am satisfied. I am meditating on the fact that I have the great privilege to enjoy a state of quiet, tranquility, a freedom from disturbance or agitation, a calm. A "peace" that passes all understanding, that can only be found by searching within, finding the gem, finding that God gave us the ability to live in His peace anytime we want it.
I once heard a friend talk about good boundaries. How good boundaries are like a fence with remote control panels. We have the remote control and have the ability to open and close as we wish. Isn't it interesting to know that God doesn't make us open our fences? He lets us open and close as we wish. We can open our fences and let him in today, and all the good things he made for us to enjoy- or we can keep our fences closed. I think I'll open a panel or two ;)
I'm feeling better already, how about you?
It is not our circumstances that create our discontent or contentment. It is us. -Vivian Greene
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
he who can call today his own; he who,
secure within, can say, tomorrow
do thy worst, for I have lived today.
-John Dryden
May your day be filled with peace and contentment today. And always remember, when your morning gives you DawgDung, you can always throw it over the fence.
Love and Blessings,
Stacy