I'm not even going to comment on this one.

Emotional Stress

So - emotional stress. Mother in critical illness mode...nursing homes...Father dealing with it...heart issues for him....brothers (enough said)...church...married to a pastor...church issues...self-employed issues...backed up drains...BAAH!!!! I know. No one wants to hear it. So, I'm just posting here because it's the one place I "might" can post without repercussions. But, because I'm online and "people know people" - that means that there most probably will be repercussions. So, because I'm who I am, here's my thoughts on it:

John 7:24 (NIV) Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

Proverbs 26:20 (NLT) Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

I know - I sound harsh. Maybe it's the tiredness. Maybe it's the talk. Maybe, just maybe, God needs to enter the equation.

Until you have lived what we're living through right now, then any opinions at all are in peril of being wrong. This family is tired. Confidences that are broken hurt and cause dissension. So, pastor, friend, or anonymous reader, maybe it's time for you to show a bit of mercy and grace because we're in dire need of it here.

Oh dear. This calls for a very special blend of psychology ... and EXTREME VIOLENCE.

~Vyvian, The Young Ones

• Drinking my first cup of coffee at 8:15 AM
• Call my brother to check on my mom who is in the hospital
• Checking email & GoogleReader in order to "wake up"
• Phone rings from a Louisiana number- no one there
• Work on a Bible study for tonight
• Phone rings - principal of local school with volunteer opportunity
• Dave gets email from his brother regarding legal issues with his dad's estate
• Talk with woman at church regarding tonight's Bible study
• Email her a copy of the study so she'll be familiar with it. The study has at least 12 different scripture references.
• Get an email back from her saying it sounds good, but do I need some Scriptures to go with it? (oops! she missed the attachment the first time around) Got that worked out
  
• Got music for tonight's praise team from David
• Did ppt for tonight
• Got music together for tonight
• Emailed ppt to our media guru and David
• Emailed list of music to musicians
  
• Another phone call from piano student's mom
• Another phone call about tonight
• Another phone call about tonight and general friend stuff
  
• Update PDA
• Field 2 more phone calls
• Get music, cd, Bible study stuff, Bible, PDA, & cell together
  

It's now nearly 2 o'clock and I have to get dressed and put my makeup on (so I don't scare small children). Believe it or not, this is a typical Wednesday for us. Does this schedule look familiar to anyone else? I just know that other people in ministry must have Wednesdays like we do.

It's rained off and on for 3 days now. Couple that with my reading "1 Dead in the Attic" by Chris Rose (story of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina), oh, and let's not forget my mother being in the hospital...well, the next sound you hear may be loud screaming and gnashing of teeth.