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Here are pictures of my two cats. Their personalities are every bit as different as their looks are.

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Gray Kitty

Gray Kitty is sweet and loving. She is my best friend - and has been for years now.

She used to live down the street when I was still living with my parents, but she decided that she liked our house better, and moved herself right in!

The cat who "wouldn't let anyone touch her" when she was living at that other house now demands to be able to sit in my lap for hours at a time! She is definitely my girl!

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Sunny

One day, I decided I would go to the pet store and get some treats for Gray Kitty. Little did I know, the humane society was having a special adopt-a-thon that day.

Out of curiosity, I went over to the section with all the cats and dogs in cages. And there he was. He took one look at me, lifted a paw, and said, "Rowr!"

Then the humane society lady said, "You can take him out, if you want to."

So I did, and he went home with me.


 

Someone read my story "Love Is Enough"

ID: 1287518   (Rated: E) Love Is Enough  This is a story about love, loss, and hope for the future. by Mishael Austin Witty

Here is the first clue/response that was ever read alloud on the T.V. game show:

Clue: These rodents first got to America by stowing on ships.

Response: What are rats?



(Excerpted from: Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! by Bob Harris)



 

I've really needed to hear this message the past few days. I thought I would post it here, in case someone else needed to hear it, too.

I watch you looking out
Across the raging water
So sure your only hope
Lies on the other side
You hear the enemy
That's closing in around you
And I know
That you don't have the strength to fight
But do you have the faith to stand and

Believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now
Believe me now

I am the one who waved my hand
And split the ocean
I am the One
Who spoke the words and raised the dead
And I've loved you long before
I set the world in motion
I know all the fears you're feeling now
But do you remember who I am?

Will you believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now

Believe it's true
I never have I never will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe me now

I am God
Who never wastes a single hurt
That you endure
My words are true
And all My promises are sure
So believe me now
Oh believe me now

So believe me now
Believe me here
Remember all the times I told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe me now
Believe it's true
I never have I never will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe me now
Believe me now
Believe me now
 

I heard a version of this at church last night. I'd heard this a few times, but it actually made me cry last night. Maybe the truth of it was finally setting in?

A well-known speaker began his seminar by holding up a twenty dollar bill. He asked everyone at the conference, "Who would like this new twenty dollar bill?" Hands went up all over the room.
He said, "I’m going to give this twenty dollar bill to one of you, but first I need to crumple it." He wadded up the bill and asked, "Who still wants it?"
Hands were quickly raised. The speaker dropped the bill and ground it into the floor with his shoe. He picked up the crumpled, dirty bill.
"Now who wants it?" Everyone still lifted their hands.
"Friends, you have all learned a valuable lesson” the speaker concluded. “No matter what I did to the money, you still want it because its value hasn’t changed. Even though the bill is crumpled and dirty, it’s still worth twenty dollars.” Although someone may have been misused and abused, he or she still has infinite worth. Every person is precious in God’s sight.
Do you see others—and yourself—as priceless?
(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 152-153)

That's an amazing thing to consider. God loves us - no matter what we've done. I've always "known" this, I think - at least on a conscious level. But it seems like sometimes I forget. I get sucked into thinking I'm not worthy of His love. Maybe that's because that's the way my parents have always treated me. If I don't do everything "just right," then I'm not their daughter. Heck. If ANYONE does ANYTHING they disagree with, they're not worthy to be in my parents' presence anymore. Lovely "Christian" people!

 

In a comment to my blog post yesterday, someone said - in all caps, mind you - I CANNOT GROK THIS.

Admittedly, "grok" was a completely new word for me, so I looked it up and found this Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

So, I guess, basically, this person was saying that he could not identify with my thoughts - which isn't really all that surprising. I mean, we're all individuals with different ways of feeling and thinking about things.

I'm just kind of jazzed that I couldn't "grok" his comment, so it sent me researching a new word which I can now add to my own vocabulary. : )



 

The quote I'm meditating on today is from a poem by Margaret E. Stanger: "It's not the things you do, dear. It's the things you leave undone; that give you a bit o' heartache at the setting of the sun."

Since I am a notoriously good (bad?) procrastinator, this is an awesome reminder for me to get everything done that I need to do. In fact, I've got two or three story ideas kicking around in my head right now, and I really should work on them - at least a little - before the "setting of the sun" creeps up on me. At least it's summer, so the sun stays up a little longer!