heatherfawn-blog-blog

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

Ate dinner yesterday

with lovely people

at a place we regret choosing.

(All will live.)

So today I am not at work.

Truly enjoy my work!

It is a privilege, an honor

and routinely humbling.

Even though *not* going today

was the only wise choice,

I miss being there.

And that’s where this morning’s

thoughts and prayers began.

I began thanking God for

the people He placed in my life

that appeared to enjoy being there.

The people that enjoyed being with me,

especially when doing so

was likely a difficult task.

(I am a human after all.)

One of the first people

to come to my mind was

a very kind woman I met

while in elementary school.

Though an avid reader,

with parents who dedicated

almost unlimited time to

my educational development,

I was having immense difficulty

with the basics of spelling.

It was frustrating issue and,

was quickly becoming

a point of humiliation.

It was during this time

that my parents

formulated a new plan.

A plan that would

help me think new thoughts.

I began to “practice my spelling list”

in a new location and

with a new person.

My memory doesn’t hold the details

of those “lessons”

nor the specifics of the methodology.

Rather, I remember sunlight

filtering through a window,

while dishes were being washed

and laughter hit the walls.

I remember the smile of Ms. Linton.

I messed up.

I spelled words incorrectly.

Repeatedly.

Yet, she smiled.

She appeared to be happy to be there.

The weariness began to seep from the task.

It took years

for my mind to find the path

to correct spelling.

Yet, the turning point,

the moment my confidence began to grow,

was when Ms. Linton smiled.

This morning,

I am once again thanking God for her.

I thank God for her willingness

to conspire with my parents,

and to patiently encourage me to

try again.

Wherever you find yourself working today,

attempt to be like Ms. Linton,

give an encouraging smile to those struggling with their tasks;

be someone they can

thank God for adding to their lives.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

There are days when

cute adorable

babies

are rather gross.

This morning I encountered

such a transformation

from adorable to ick.

I survived.

No temper lost.

No affection avoided.

Lots of tissues were used,

but the events

of the morning

did not cause me to

question my life choices

or

rethink my purpose.

I am an adult;

I took the ick in stride.

Baby will return to cuteness

eventually.

By the way,

if every little bump

in the road of life

causes you to

question your commitment,

you aren’t truly committed.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

A few things that happened Friday:

At 6pm: called for a last minute job that was to start at 6:45.

It went great.

11:50: driving home

Cow literally in the center of the road.

Had to stop, put on flashers and call police.

Police and Fire Department came and moved the cow, then proceeded to direct traffic - “traffic” being me and the three cars behind me.

12:40 and a mile away:

A white guy in a black hoodie with a black stroller was standing in the center of my lane (far right).

I started to move over and slow down, only to discover a black person in a black hoodie with a black stroller standing in the left lane (same direction).

(As cars accumulated & began to honk their horns, neither individual moved themselves from the road or acknowledged the reality of their precarious location.)

Again, I stopped.

Emergency lights.

911.

Police and Fire Dept arrive.

Take people away & begin directing traffic - “traffic” being me and two of the cars from the cow stop.

Arrive home at 01:20.

01:51 awake to banging on my front door.

Someone I don’t recognize through the peephole is yelling at me to “answer you 🤬phone” cause they “know you’re in there”.

So I call 911 again.

Police arrive and haul the person off my welcome mat - where they were PEEING!

02:25 - Call from police officers with an update started “Well, Miss, you’ve had quite the night. . .” He was not wrong.

02:30 - sleep

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

Last Week:

Sunday night - Dog howled for the first time ever and seemed to find doing so super embarrassing.

Monday night - Squirrel got its tiny bite-y head stuck in the tiny hole in the top corner of my porch screen. I grabbed a stool and pushed it back out. It was funny.

Tuesday morning - Box truck blocked me into my apartment parking place (there were empty spots on each side of the van).

Found out that you can’t just have an unmanned box truck towed. The fire department, police and tv news come to take a look cause the “truck was abandoned near a residential structure”. Nothing blew up. I was late to work and apparently on the news.

Wednesday late afternoon - Dog and I were bitten by some random medium sized scruffy dog that pepper sprayed away.

Shots and stitches for all!

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

We change.

We grow.

We don’t always do it either the easy way.

Guilt can grab us in the night.

Guilt can torment us in the day light hours.

One of the hardest things

to wrap our heads around

and allow to penetrate

our emotional responses,

is that, when we come to Christ Jesus,

He washes away not only our mistakes

but He eliminates His own memory of them.

He ‘remembers it no more’.

He makes us new.

When we allow God to forgive us,

the proverbial hammer over our heads

is removed.

There is no impending doom.

We become free from our past errors.

No matter how grievous or trifle,

The Almighty God does not associate

us with those errors, mistakes or sins.

It is as if we are brand new clean people.

New people.

No guilt.

No past - grand or slanderous.

No reason for ridicule, ostracizing

or punitive action.

When God forgives us,

we become truly free.

The difficulty is in believing

such a great gift is ours and

training our emotions to respond

from this base truth

rather the habit of our experience.

The difficulty is not in the forgiveness.

The difficulty is not with Jesus.

The difficulty is simply in believing.

Let’s work on believing that this gift

of being made new

is truly ours.

Hope.

Life is getting better.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

This is #TibbyLou.

She is one year old, basically a #mutt

and all sorts of #adorable fun.

She cuddles when she’s #cold,

but would rather play #fetch than

just about anything else.

This Summer she has started

conning into her own.

Playing hard, making dog #friends,

learning more #manners and

trying new foods

seem to be her top priorities.

As I write this,

the old #clock flips to 20:40.

TibbyLou has found her bed

(she likes to move it around),

and curled up atop it.

Occasionally, I catch her eye half open.

She’s #waiting for me to relieve her

and call it a night.

After the lights go out,

and begin to #read,

she will fall fast asleep

#snuggled under her blanket

on the bed that lays

at the end of mine.

Not till 05:00 will she move.

Then she’ll quietly

ask for a #hug, and a little #pet

before going back to sleep.

I’ll wake and ready for the day.

She’ll #sleep.

As I tie my #shoes,

she comes alive.

#Dancing and #racing around,

she announces her desire

to go and do.

She is a dog that likes move

but only if her people are near

to share in the #activity.

This dog, I never intended to have,

adds so much #spark to daily life.

I’m glad she is here.

I’m glad she is #happy.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

11 Things I learned very early this morning:

1. On the one day the emergency change of clothes is *not* in the car, they will inevitably be needed.

2. Ketchup smells even more disgusting warm and intertwined with the fake lemon smell found in household cleaners.

3. If you jump while being attacked by a liquid it will land both on your socks and the pant legs that generally cover them.

4. Ketchup can not be removed from hair without a thorough washing & the smell does not dissipate quickly.

5. On a day when emergency relief is wanted, said relief will be out of town.

6. People with children under five should not have white suede sofas.

7. Every home should have at least one hard, water-proof place for a human to sit.

8. If covered in red tomato ketchup from head to shoestrings, the baby will instantaneously poo - profusely.

9. We rarely know how to remove stains made by foods we do not regularly eat.

10. I still hate ketchup.

11. I will live.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

This morning I woke early.

The storm of the night,

the happy puppy,

the days work that lay ahead

had no entrance to my thoughts.

I woke with thoughts of

receiving His gifts.

Psalm 127 rolled through

my heart in the night.

Children are treasures derived from God

that are given as a reward

to their mothers

and become a reason

others speak well of their fathers.

Before waking,

I dreamt of how

my dad receive people.

A variety of languages,

nationalities,

ethnicities,

skin tones,

socioeconomic levels,

education levels,

and social acumen

walked through our

front door.

Some spent hours while

others stayed months.

No matter the case,

my folks received all

into our home as

treasured gifts from God.

They reminded me

of the gift

that the Almighty saw

whenever my developing enthusiasm waned.

As an adult,

a dear friend named Jim,

spoke to us about how

the Bible instructs us

to receive the gifts

God has placed in the people

around us.

He elaborated on how

one can not receive the gift

without warmly receiving

the individual and

how this separates us

from the mass of users

populating the planet.

This morning as I woke,

these memories

all swirled together

to create a great mass

of gratitude for those

our Lord God

has placed along my path.

We are the Creator God’s

most treasured artwork.

He has placed gifts

in each of us.

We are a beautiful creation

containing miraculous gifts.

The people we encounter

this weekend

may have forgotten

their value.

They may have abandoned

their gifts.

We may have the joy

of interacting with

the flourishing.

No matter the case,

let us endeavor to

receive them all as the

treasure God sees

and

allow our conduct to

speak well of our Father God.

The storm is over.

The puppy has relaxed into sleep,

the work day is half over,

yet my gratitude

in knowing you

has not altered.

You truly are

a gift from God.

Know it.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

My little brother has always been a great gift to celebrate. From the birthday pictured here to the one that occurred over the weekend, he’s been years of fun, poetry, music, strength, insight, adventure and witty comments. I’m very glad God put him in my life and kinda forced him to be my friend. 😉 Happy birthday, Bro! 🥳 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpfj6J4LhMcMUkbG7NdMUJAgZVFDw6NUX0x_640/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

This verse has been stuck in my mind for the past three days. Yes, I’m amazed at how much of an impact it has had on how I think about the choices currently in my lap. Am very glad the Holy Spirit is faithful to bring verses to mind at just the right moment. He isn’t pushy but He is very consistent. Now you know what has had my attention this weekend. What’s had yours? https://www.instagram.com/p/Co3uYLhrGsoK9EoVm2Wa9VvSjJeUbBRDzWO1mc0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

In the last two weeks:

I was unintentionally hit in the right knee with a small metal #bat - hard hit.

Had an intense #allergic reaction to a store.

Was intentionally #lassoed by a child, which resulted in my public #fall down several steps and twisted left ankle.

My heater malfunctioned and attempted to burn my apartment down from the ductwork out.

The #apartment people did not believe me.

Met some very nice #firemen.

Rescued a small confused dog from #hailstones the size of shooters (that’s a marble term).

Saw #snow fall sideways and turn into rain as it touched the ground.

Made a new friend.

Drove in light snow that was blowing in circles & sticking to everything in its path.

Had my nose #cauterized on my way to work.

Baked #bread.

Learned about electric “breakers”.

Canceled breakfast with my wonderful cousin/friend.

Was given a fancy #chicken.

Threw said chicken over my cousin’s #fence.

Tried to figure out the fate of said chicken.

Started a #job with a new client.

Momentary lost my cool with a #storage unit thief.

Talk to and at my #dad - a lot.

Reconnected with an old #friend.

Bought three leashes for the same dog.

Watched a #baby roll over for the first time.

Listened to a #kindergarten boy talk himself out of “being in love”.

Now you know what

I mean when I say,

“I’m enjoying taking a moment to drink my #coffee at home.”

Oh an yes, I’m almost all better now.

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

What is the God-inspired thought that is focusing your plans for 2023? https://www.instagram.com/p/CmqWc05uyoi7lS4jZHcwgshZMwchALN9JitlCE0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

Sweet gifts from little friends are the best! #Christmas2022 #Christmasornaments #gifts #teachgiving https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmhd5rNJOyUZbyY_CnDBWCZznaHbg41Z_V573E0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

#TibbyLou is not a fan of today’s #weather. #winter2022 #snow #toocold #coldpuppy #puppycoat #northtexas https://www.instagram.com/p/CmersNSr2o3OmswxkHkstG0o584RDZPeIAVcI40/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

🌲 Sleepy 🌲Christmas puppy. 💤🐾 https://www.instagram.com/p/CmFwEoMrkVn4lSjVeoUMjaGoTE8afBdg7rvUZ00/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

Is a puppy ever happier than when they’ve de-squeaked their favorite toy? #kongdog https://www.instagram.com/p/ClfGvCCrc5wI6MsoQpbtEUt5OjOAAKRqZTyQVg0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heatherfawn-blog-blog]

Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃 #thanksgiving #thanksgiving2022 #grateful #happythanksgivng #turkey https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWX86aroNaVzK9Ab2Q0C19maF4vXzFNaK8skY0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=