Here's a few::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Breathe.....

Thanks mom2bee. I definitely don't know what I am doing, and had no idea what was involved in owning dogs when we took these two on. We got them for free at a garage sale. I have no idea what might be wrong, and am keeping an eye out. Thanks for the advice. That is exactly what I was looking for.

So, we have these two chichuhuas that we got after we were robbed. Not house trained, annoying barkers, but the kids are attached. The divorce downsize now has us in an apartment, whereas the dogs used to be able to go out in the yard at will to run around. Of course we take them out, but they don't have to freedom to run around that they used to. I am starting to think it might be better not to have them. And this morning one of them pooped inside and it was a definite bloody stool.....So, how does one get rid of dogs? I would be hard pressed to give them away because they are untrained and, I believe, untrainable. Do we just take them to the animal shelter and say, please take these cute, but obnoxious, dogs off our hands? And what if one of them dies under our watch? What do we do with the body? Living in an apartment is tricksy....help? I never had pets growing up, so excuse my ignorance. I am not cold hearted, just extremely practical.

Right there with you, Kathleen! I sure hope these things don't become necessary. I loathe the day when I need a machine to tell me where to go to get somewhere. And a smartphone would be nice, but, for me, only to be able to go online at the drop of a hat. But I am not gonna pay for home and mobile internet at the same time! No how, no way. I know that in many ways I am an old fogey....I still look at airplanes and think about how amazing it is that there are people inside of them flying through the air. I have a ninety year old friend who tells me she still sees airplanes as things that cause people to become minature in order for them to fly through the air, then they get big when they land. We are a blessed(and, in many ways, spoiled) people!

Me too. Which is why I started this thread. But I was not surprised, nor did I think that we would see our own little war here in the middle of the thread. never mind.

Hilarious. Apart from Free Will, I doubt there would be much procrastination!

So, is this a yes or a no answer?

God only knows.

I admit I have not been paying too much attention to the news lately. I just can't take it all in, and have been busy doing other things. Tonight I read that we, with allies, have bombed Libyan air forces(or something like that, forgive my ignorance) Just what we need, another involvement with a country far, far away. Here is what Obama said about it: "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy," he said in Brasilia I read this, and I think, why can we not? What good does our involvement do in terms of our job as Americans? We can't afford this! Sad here, and don't know how you military guys put up with this stuff. I am not pitching a fight at all here, just sharing my sadness about the whole, bloody, situation.

Both my young teens cuddle with me, not dad, all the time, tv or none.

I read one, and skimmed several, and I could not stomach them, nor recommend them to my kids. In my opinion, what they teach is that if one is good, things go well, and if one is naughty, things do not. This is not what I believe to be true about providence, nor grace. The friends I borrowed the books from definitely believe in the importance of being good as a way to have God's approval, and I simply don't believe that is how the gospel works. I am speaking in a simplistic way here, but that is all I can do right now.

Well, I have a hard time feeling sorry for you girls.....:glare: (sorry, couldn't resist!)

I guess I sort of missed the whole old house, new house slant on this thread. Sorry. I live in the Las Vegas Valley. There are dozens of neighborhoods here full of empty, brand new homes. I wouldn't live in one of those neighborhoods even if I could afford it. It is not where one lives, but how that matters.

Interesting thoughts from everyone. I have several to share also. First, I am so thankful to have spent a year living in the woods with no utilities as a hippie. It was thirty years ago, but the lessons learned then have stuck hard. Mostly they revolve around the value of loving, honest relationships with people. These take time and effort, but it is time well spent. And it is not always comfortable. In contrast to the focus of building and maintaining relationships, I have found that the more stuff one has, the more one spends time relating to the stuff....obtaining it, maintaining it, enjoying it. And this builds the relationship to stuff, not necessarily people. Stop a minute. I am not judging anyone. Really. Just sharing a perspective I have enjoyed that may not be common. I am a bit tongue tied here, but mostly want to encourage the op that, yes, living with less and focusing not so much on comfort, but rather on the people who matter in our lives may be contrary to popular culture, but it is worth doing. If others are upset when we make decisions to let go of things, so be it. Do not put their grandchildren in harm's way, if at all possible, but let them see that you have more time and energy to spend in loving them since you don't have to spend so awful much time maintaining your stuff. I have just come through a divorce after fifteen years of marriage. It was fifteen rough years, although I had the comfort of health insurance and a husband who provided financially. Now I have no health insurance, and am working pretty hard to pay the bills. But my kids are happy, and I am at peace. We were living in a hostile home, but now we are not. We left a four bedroom suburban home and are now in a two bedroom apartment. There is no comparison between the two in terms of creature comforts. But we have each other, and our commitment to one another. And it is good. I want my kids to know that it is not what we have physically that determines the quality of our lives, but what we have in terms of loving relationships. This is very disjointed. Sorry. Just want others to know that stuff aint it. Love is. Jesus said that. Hopefully John Piper echoes it.

Comfortable ones. With everything.

From there, I go with the non-negotiables. I require sound doctrine. Period. Usually church websites have a statement of faith. Read it and consider it. If it is part of a denomination, I would also read the denomination's beliefs. I also require worship music that is both truthful and God Focused. I don't want to sing about us, I want to sing about HIM. Style doesn't matter so much to me as the content. It must be Biblical. I avoid mega-churches. I can't get behind churches that spend lots of money on 'marketing," that is, slick printed materials that get sent out. It is just the hippie in me. Don't waste money on stuff that gets thrown away... Right now I am at a church with sound doctrine and great, God focused worship. We are not a mega-church. Unfortunately, there is a lack of warmth among the congregation; that is to say, LOVE is not obvious and evident. I wish to God it were. I have visited several other churches in order to find a more loving place, but cannot find a place with sound doctrine and God focused worship. So I stay where I am at, but pray for changes(while also working at being loving and warm myself). Unfortunately, this side of Eternity, there will be no church body that completely satisfies. God speed you on your search. I hate church shopping!

I'm currently stuck on procrastinating the getting it together of the apartment. Downsizing from four bedroom two story house to two bedroom apt. is tricksy, and I can't seem to get it together. It is driving me crazy, but, so far, not so crazy that I am willing to get things all squared away. Ugh! Hopefully tomorrow....see what I mean?

me too.:001_smile:

This entire CD by Puta Mayo: Celtic Tides http://www.putumayo.com/en/catalog_item.php?album_id=54

Thanks. I am looking more closely at community theaters now. He wants to act, and, although it will be a pain in terms of time spent driving and such, I think I need to give him a shot at what he really wants to do to see if he has what it takes.

I have done a bit more research, talked with more people and believe I have decided that him going into cheer could be dangerous. The gym that asked him to join the competitive team is small, and one of the girls that worked there has grown up in gyms her mother owned. She was a cheerleader, but became permanently injured. She said this gym does not have the proper floor, and cautioned me that cheerleading is a highly injury prone sport. It is obvious to me that the people running the gym are trying to make a name for themself, but I don't trust they have my boys best interest at heart. I had to sign several liability forms with them, and am just not secure that the coach doing the cheer training takes enough care with these kids to see that they do not get hurt. I mentioned my concerns to the director, and she became defensive. Now the coach is not very friendly toward me. Sorry guys....my boys health and future is way more important than him helping your gym to look good...even if you practically promise he will get a cheerleading scholarship under your coaching!

Love this!

:iagree:

sorry your plans were foiled! I can't help but see it all as some sort of turning forty metaphor, though. At least for me, forty was when I began to finally accept disappoint as a normal part of life, and it didn't mess me up so badly then. Cheers!

A bit controversial? That is a huge understatement, in my opinion. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish in you desire for more to read? How has your faith changed? Are you hoping to solidify or clarify your new understanding? Also, not so sure PCUSA churches fall under the category of reformed. PCA, most definitely.