My, You Have Some "Splendid Koi"!!!!!

What makes one Koi more valuable than another? I have wondered this for a while...ever since I got my first Koi for my little 100-gallon pond 6 years ago. She was a beautiful yellow, with long flowing fins. I thought she was the prettiest thing I had ever seen...fish wise that is. I was told because she was a Butterfly Koi, she had no value. Huh? Why? She is beautiful, isn't she? Oh well, I still loved her.

I have added many Koi to my pond in the recent years, thinking that I needed to find one of value. I stopped buying those butterfly koi, since the standard Koi are the valuable ones. I own and have owned some beauties. Some were eaten by Herons, but that is another story.

Last October I rescued two Koi from an elaborate pond on an estate that was being forclosed on. They were big and beautiful and I thought for sure they were valuable. Even the guy who helped us rescue them said they were valuable. Cool! Free Koi and they were valuable!!!! I love these fish. They are so pristine and majestic as they flow through the water. They have brought me much joy.

Today I took the kids to a pond store that specializes in Koi. We had never been there, but according to their website they have a fish worth $13,000! Holy Cow! They claimed to have several between the value of $3,000 to $10,000. I thought that these are the people to give me the heads up on my fish. Their fish were beautiful! SO beautiful! I was amazed at them and they let my kids hand feed them and pet them. Some even swam onto a shelf on the edge of the pond to be petted. Very cool!

So I told the lady about my Koi and asked her what their value might be. My smalled peach colored male...."He is nothing," she said with a Spanish accent! What? OK...what about the big, beautiful white female? "She is nothing...probably born in the pond she came from...no good. She is not like mine." OK, there was an over exaggeration if I ever heard one! Is this where the term "pond scum" came from, because I think that is what she was calling my Koi?! Hhhmmmm....I saw ones just like mine in their ponds. I also know that ALL Koi carry value, at least a few hundred dollars. Apparently, it is all about the pedigree. Hers came straight from Japan. Mine came from Woodstock, though they weren't born in the pond they came from. She was a little proud of her Koi, I guess much like an owner at a dog show thinks their dog is better than the one I got from the pound. Oh well! But here is where she has the value of my fish wrong:

When God gave me those fish, He had a plan for them. I was due to give a teaching in January for a Women's League, Inc event and I didn't have any idea what I was teaching on. The week before I rescued my two Koi from the elaborate estate, I came across three goldfish at another foreclosed home who had been abandoned in their pond when the owners moved out. Here were two sets of fish, one set from a dinky, dirty pond and another set from an elaborate pond. 25 cent fish verses $500 fish. The fact was both sets were abandoned, both sets desperately needed to be rescued...both sets needed a Savior, just like us!

As Christians, God calls us to seek out the lost. It doesn't matter what our pedigree is, we are all orphans or "pond scum," and we are in need of a rescue. Christ died to bring us into his royal family, to clothe us in royal garments, to rewrite our stories. Now that we are saved and in that royal family, we can direct the other orphans of the world to the most incredible family tree they will ever be part of, the one that made the cross.

I'll take my "pond scum" Koi any day, after all, they are just like me! SAVED!!!!!!

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people for His possession,

so that you may proclaim the praises

of the One who called you out of darkness

into his marvelous light."

1 Peter 2:9

If the Son has set you free, you are free INDEED!

PS The $13,000 fish is the one in the left hand corner swimming toward Kelsey in this pic! Hmmm, REALLY?

Wyatt, Rosie...and the caterpillar

Could it really be that my son is 5 years old and has never gone to the Zoo before? What kind of a parent am I? Chad and I sat in amazement at our lack of parenting skills that this boy hadn't seen an elephant or a zebra before, even though they are right here in Atlanta.


So on Thursday night, I told Wyatt that we were going to the Zoo the next day with his favorite person, Rosie and her family. Jen (Rosie's mom and one of my BF F's) has a Season pass to the zoo and invited us along. When I told Wyatt we were going to the zoo, he asked "What is the zoo?" OK, now I officially felt like a loser parent. I explained it was a place where all the animals lived and we could see most any animal he ever wanted to see.

"Like squirrels?"he asked. So I broadened his scope of imagination with the thought of seeing lions and tigers and panda bears! Oh my! He went to bed with a head full of imagination.

When he woke up in the morning, he was beaming. He said, "I can't believe that I am going to see an elephant...I wonder if they have caterpillars?" Ah, caterpillars! Wyatt's favorite spring past time is collecting the massive amounts of caterpillars that hatch every year. Last week he had a box full of at least 100 caterpillars. I like caterpillars, but I box of 100 was just a little creepy. I will write another blog about that experience.

So off to the zoo we went! Giggles and squeals of excitement followed us the whole way. The elephants amazed him. The birds astounded him. The snake creeped him out a little. THEN IT HAPPENED! He found a caterpillar! No panda or lion or tiger compared to that caterpillar. As Jen put it, Rosie and Wyatt became like a divorced couple fighting over parental visitation of the caterpillar who became known as Twitchy. Every 20 feet we heard, "Can I hold him now? It is my turn. I haven't held him in forever."

I thought we may have ditched Twitchy for good when I told them that he couldn't go in the Parakeet exhibit because they might eat him. So they took him to the bamboo jungle and said their goodbyes. When we were done with the parakeets, they bolted from the exhibit and headed to the bamboo jungle. I heard Rosie yell, "We found Twitchy!" Great!

"Wyatt look at this amazing bird, " I would say.

"Yup! I love my Twitchy! Can I take him home?" Wyatt responded.

"Wyatt, look at the lion," I said.

"Aaahhh! I can't find Twitchy!" he screamed. It was hanging on his shirt. At that point I became sick of Twitchy. He was interfering in the incredible zoo trip and he was coming between two friends who both thought they had parental rights to him.

Then at last peace came to the expedition when Rosie found her own caterpillar. Her name was Lady and she was in love.

Rosie and Lady

OK, so I wasn't thrilled with the idea that Wyatt was paying no attention to the animals anymore, but in the end, Wyatt LOVED his zoo visit. He loved his Twitchy time and his Rosie time. They left Lady and Rosie at the zoo, because I told them that their mom would miss them...a tactic my own mom used on me throughout my childhood. Then it hit me, I would have done the same thing as a child. He is just like me. He loves to hold creatures and love on them. It meant the world to him to carry a friend with him through the zoo.

I won't ever forget Wyatt's first trip to the zoo...or Twitchy! Oh, and he did see a squirrel!

Wyatt and Twitchy!

Putting “IT” Back in the Box

PUTTING IT BACK IN THE BOX

Nothing frustrates me more than trying to put something that I have purchased back into the box it came in the same way so that I can return it. The box never closes.

Putting it back in the box the same way proves to be an exhausting and ultimately a defeating task. Part of the reason I have this outcome is because I fail to pay attention to the way it came out of the box in the first place. I am too concerned with opening it, playing with it, and using it that I may have never considered that I might need to take it back.

I started to think about how this return issue is much like our own mouths and the words we have in them. Once we open our mouths and say what we choose to say, we cannot put them back. Good or bad, they are out of the box and they will not go back in, voiding any return policy. So many times I have wished that I could return the words that I have said because I didn't pay attention when I opened my mouth.

James 1:26 tells us that, "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless." I don't know about you, but I don't want my words to be worthless.

James 2:9 says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness."

As Bible Study facilitators, we would be wise to heed the counsel of James. Our participants should feel that Bible Study is a place of safety and we should set the example of examining our words carefully before we let them out of the box. Remember, we are charged with the care of "those who have been made in God's likeness." Ultimately our words will either praise God or curse Him.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be pleasing to you, my God." That is my desire.

( Many of you know that I am heading up a new leg of ministry for The Women's League, Inc. which will be podcasts from the website. This was my first attempt at writing one...actually God woke me up on Thursday with this whole idea for this specific one. Any comments?)

Tellus more! Ha!

ROCK 'N ROLL...HOME SCHOOL STYLE!

The 3rd Thursday of the month is a great day for my kids and myself. Kelsey, Levi, Wyatt and I join our friends the Wilson's and attend the home school day at the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville, GA. It is always a great day. I finally remembered my camera.

Today's learning extravaganza was called "Rock and Rock"....yup we learned about rocks and minerals. Science is not my strong suit in homeschooling, so I count this museum as a great blessing from God to teach my kids about science.

The Cain's came also, so Wyatt was thrilled to spend this learning time with his buddy Sam. I hope you get to visit someday.

I love this place! My kids love this place!

18 years and counting!

Yesterday was my anniversary! Chad and I have been married 18 years. Compared to my parents 54 years, 18 is nothing. But in this day when celebrity marriages sometimes don't last through the honeymoon, I'd say it's something. I love that guy.

Our anniversary date was simple...a quick trip to Home Depot, burgers at Chili's with our favorite margarita's, nothing worth seeing at the movies so we rented "Bedtime Stories," watched it with the kids and we both fell asleep during it. Ah yes, it's the simple things that we live for!

So let me brag for a moment on my guy and what he does for me:

1. He kisses me good-bye every morning even if I am asleep and won't remember it.

2. He calls me everyday to remind me that he loves me!

3. He doesn't get upset if I decide I am not cooking dinner and he has to do it when he gets home.

4. He doesn't get mad (to my face atleast) when he doesn't have clean underwear for the next day because I spent the day trying to perfect my blog.

5. He lives to surprise me, like yesterday when he bought me a special tree for my anniversary. The one I just loved, but thought I wouldn't get because it was too expensive. I walked outside and there it was!

6. He'll buy me tampons if I need them.

7. He makes me laugh...boy does he make me laugh.

8. He has let me get every animal that I have wanted...except a parakeet and a ferret...not sure why.

9. He tells me the truth even when it hurts.

10. He supports me and the ministry God has called me to.

11. He loves me!

Yes, God has blessed me.

Two years ago, it snowed on April 7th. "What a fluke!", I thought. It hardly snows in Georgia to begin with, let alone in April...let alone on my anniversary. Guess what it did all day here yesterday? Yup, it snowed! God lives to surprise us. He makes all things new and beautiful. As I stared in amazement at the snow falling again on my anniversary, God reminded me that He likes to surprise us and lavish his love on us, too. You may not have been thrilled at the weather this week, but I was! I LOVE snow and my God knows that! That was my anniversary gift from my Heavenly Father and a reminder that He is Lord of this home and this marriage.