– Great morning at church! I had a good sized group in Sunday school, and we made golden calves. Not to worship but to remind us of the story in the Bible. I put my calf’s two-dimensional tail on its head, thinking it was a set of horns. I was quickly corrected and shown how to properly do the craft. Great, smart kids — even smarter than their teacher! I love teaching children’s Sunday school.

– Ana sat through the service again this morning. She had to be taken out at one point before the sermon, and rather than take her to the nursery (which is what she was trying to get me to do), I told her that we were going to go back in and listen to the sermon. She started to cry. I told her that if she cried in the sanctuary, then she would be getting a spanking after church. She stopped crying. (Clearly my sweet bear has learned the art of manipulation.) We went back in, where everything was fine and dandy, until about two-thirds of the way through the service when Ana started whimpering again. I whispered in her ear, reminding her of what I had told her earlier, and she yelled, in the peaceful and serene silence of the sanctuary, “NO PANKINGS, MOMMY!” Oh, my. The mere thought of a “panking” seemed to be enough motivation to listen quietly and attentively, though, and my sweet bear was an angel for the rest of the service.

– I surprised Wes with some Spurs tickets today. Well, technically, they’re OKC Thunder tickets, but they’re playing the Spurs, which is the only reason Wes would want to go to the game. It was going to be a Valentine’s Day gift, but after the long week he’s had, I figured he could use the excitement today. So, Happy Valentine’s Day… a little early. I spent a little more on the tickets so that we could have really good seats, and I’m excited that Wes has this to look forward to. The game isn’t until March, so he has a long time to anticipate it. Ha!

– I recently read a great quote on a friend’s Facebook site. (Yeah, I know. Facebook as the source of great wisdom — what a world!) “The key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Did you need to hear that today? Because I sure needed to hear that. I’m learning on this road of life that not everyone is going to be happy with how I do things, not everyone is going to love my family as much as I do, and that… well, that’s okay. I have to be accountable and answerable to God, trusting that when I’m following Him honestly and without selfish motives, I’ll be in His will and that He’ll be glorified through my life. I’ve been on the other side of that fence, wishing ill on others who have been seeking Christ and serving Him, and I know that there was no good in my heart as I was doing it and that the will of God was not a priority/concern to me. So, as I stay right with God and right in my relationships, I don’t need to bear the burden of trying to please anyone, especially when some people just CANNOT be pleased. Pleasing God is enough. I will be counted as having made a difference in this life if my purpose is pleasing God. If I spend my life just trying to please people, I will have made their fickle hearts my idol. They should have covered this in seminary, y’all. Remind me of this from time to time!

– My marathon-running friend… remember me mentioning her? Yeah, the marathon that she ran today was her THIRTEENTH marathon! I’m in awe. Makes me want to get out there and run a little farther today than I did yesterday, a little farther tomorrow than I did today…

And, for your viewing pleasure, two adorable Muppets…