WHEN YOU FALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET LEAVING CHURCH BECAUSE YOU WALK UP YOUR FLOWY PANTS LEG... A SAD, TRUE STORY, Construction Birthday Party AND Pinterest Stuff (Candy and Ice Experiment Object Lesson)

Good Tuesday evening!

RANDOMNESS #1 - WHEN YOU FALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET LEAVING CHURCH BECAUSE YOU WALK UP INTO YOUR FLOWY PANTS LEG... A SAD, TRUE STORY - Yeah. So this happened Sunday.

You've heard the Bible verse, "Pride goeth before a fall," haven't you?

Well, if you were one of about a hundred or more people in the parking lot of Gardendale's First Baptist Church between the first and second service, I kinda supplied the visual for the verse...

If you know what I mean...

And I think you do.

Something you may or may not know about me... I am not necessarily a vain person. I mean, I have my good hair days and my bad hair days. I have outfits that look better on me than others. I try to look presentable and wear lipstick on more days than not.

I am, after all, a Southern girl born and raised, but all in all, I don't over-obsess when it comes to appearance.

In other words, I didn't think I was very prideful about my looks.

Until Sunday...

Because Sunday I wore my navy blue patterned flowy pants, my off-white silk flowy top and my big ol' navy blue and rhinestone studded necklace.

Also, my hair was exceptionally big and coiffed.

Remember when Justin Timberlake said he was "bringing sexy back?"

Well, I am single-handedly "bringing big hair back."

I am not ashamed to admit I liked the 80s. I thrived in the 80s. I miss the 80s.

When big hair comes back, I am going to start bringing back the enormous shoulder pads...

And I'm starting a petition to get Designing Women on Netflix for the next generation of Southern women to watch and learn.

All of the above being said and recorded for posterity, I may or may not have looked at myself in the full-length bathroom mirror of Gardendale's First Baptist Church second floor bathroom after Sunday School and thought to myself, "Looking good, Enchanting! Looking good!" before meeting Mikie in the hallway and heading to our seats for the first service.

Yes. I know. Very, very prideful.

Not only was it a good service, but The Chick arrived home Saturday afternoon and was sitting with us, so I was feeling especially happy and bouncy.

In hindsight, I now know I was feeling much too bouncy, because in the parking lot of the church, crossing the street to get to my car, my right toe/shoe caught in the leg of my flowy pants.

I lurched forward, but caught myself. Mistakenly thinking I had gotten my toe/shoe OUT of the flowy pants, I took another little hop/step to make up for the slight trip/stumble.

The only thing worse than tripping/stumbling in the middle of the street in the church parking lot AND catching yourself, would have to be tripping/stumbling in the middle of the street in the church parking lot AND realizing you didn't catch yourself, but instead walked up your flowy pants leg two more steps...

And then falling in front of the cars coming to and leaving church (completely stopping traffic in two lanes) on your hands and knees.

And if that wasn't enough of a humiliation (and I'm assuming it wasn't enough because it just gets worse from here), I rolled over onto my back with my hands and legs up in the air...

And I rocked back and forth very turtle-like until Mikie put his hands under my arms and HOISTED me to my feet.

There was nothing left to do except dust myself off and do the princess wave to all of the cars who were patiently waiting to park and/or leave the parking lot.

I did not limp to the car. I needed to limp, but I refused. When I see that in writing, I immediately start thinking to myself, "That was pretty prideful, too, wasn't it? Why not just admit one toe, two knees, my right wrist and elbow and the top of my left wrist were all scraped and bleeding? Not profusely bleeding you understand, but bleeding just the same."

Hmmm.

That's a question for the therapist if I've ever heard one. I'll need to write that down in my handy-dandy notebook.

There isn't much left to say except if and when I wear flowy pants again, I will probably hold them up in front (not unlike a wedding dress) while walking to and from church or up and down steps.

Also, I seriously doubt if I will ever look in the full-length bathroom mirror of Gardendale's First Baptist Church second floor bathroom ever again.

Nor will I utter, "Looking good, Enchanting! Looking good!"

Mentally or verbally.

Heavy, heavy sigh.

I will end this little tale with two final words...

LESSON LEARNED!

RANDOMNESS #2 - My great-nephew, Sawyer turned ONE today, and we attended his birthday party this past Saturday.

Talk about a cute party...








These are just a small smattering of the wonderful decorations at the party.


Watermelon and pizza.

I ask you, is there a better birthday lunch?

I think not.


This was RT's first official time to attend a kid party. It just took a few minutes until he got the hang of it.










The battery-operated Thomas the Train ride was a big hit with the two and under crowd.








Turns out, Sawyer was a pro when it came to annihilating the Smash Cake.

I think it's in his genes.


Aunt Katie, Sawyer and Uncle T.J.


Josh, Sawyer, Judith and Courtney.


Sawyer didn't take his eyes off Josh. I think he sensed the remainder of his Smash Cake was in danger.

I think he was right.

Pinterest Stuff

Candy and Ice Experiment (Object Lesson)

You will need the following:

Candy of your choice
Ice cubes

Ask everyone to eat a piece of candy.

How does it taste?

Ask everyone to put an ice cube in their mouths and leave it in for as long as possible.

Immediately after removing the ice, replace it with a piece of candy.

Now how does the candy taste? (Because the ice has numbed the tongue, they should not taste the candy.)

Why did the candy taste different the second time? What caused the change?

When we only think about ourselves, our heart (tongue) is numbed toward others. When we are unable to taste the sweet candy (we are unaware when others need help), we are not able to taste the sweet reward for giving service to others.

There are many acts of service we are able to give each day. Service, big or small, is equally important. Learning to recognize when service is needed is a learned skill. Small acts of service are often easier to perform because they can be done immediately. What are some small acts of service you saw/did/could have performed today?

The next time you are with your family, or at school or in a group, ask yourself if there is something you can do for someone else? When you begin tasting the sweetness of service, you will crave it and want to do it more and more. The more service you perform, the more you will be able to recognize where service is needed. You might need to work at reminding yourself by asking the question, “Is there something I can do for someone else?” Soon it will become part of your life.

Have a great week. I'll be back in a few days with a couple of back-to-school traditions.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda