Facebook Fool

Well, it happened.  Regardless of how cautious I try to be – checking and re-checking what I say, how I say it, on whose wall I post it – I’ve made a fool of myself on Facebook today.   

One of my friends was asking for some items – window frames, a brick, etc.  And when I read her request, I thought, “Gee, I wonder what in the world is she building?”  (The list read like one of those very creative, country crafts – you know, the kind with the old antique window used as a picture frame or something?)

So I asked the question – right there on her wall – for the whole world to see!  “What in the world are you making?” 

Another friend of hers commented after my question that she had a window.  And yet another friend offered a brick.  “It is all coming together,” I thought.  “Can’t wait to hear back from them what new craft they are working on.  Such great teamwork!”

And finally came the reply to my question -

“Cindy – I’m working on building a house in Farmville.”  I was so embarrassed.  (Obviously, I don’t play Farmville – otherwise I would have known, and I most certainly would have spared my dignity and Facebook reputation!) 

But I knew the risks when I signed up for my account.  I knew the inevitable would one day happen.  I knew there would be a day when I would have to face the embarrassing truth.  And today was the day.  Today, I became a “Facebook Fool!” 

So here’s what I have to say about that - WHATEVER!  (You can’t see me now, but I’m holding up 3 fingers like a big “W” – you know, the “whatever” sign?

I hope you enjoyed the laugh at my expense in this blog update.  (I can take it!)  But you better enjoy it while you can because I will work very hard to NOT let it happen again – at least any time soon.  Because I’m supposed to be very, very ”cool,” not a big “fool!” 

“Happiness makes you smile….”  Prov. 15:13 CEV

Thanks for the visit.

In His amazing love,

Cindy

www.cindyfoor.com

Crying Over Spilled Milk?

Hello friends!  

Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories because, for some reason, I feel strongly that someone out there needs to be reminded of just how faithful and capable our God is.  If you could use this reminder today, please read on.  I pray you will be encouraged. 

As I think back over my life, I can’t help but realize that I have been greatly blessed and that God has always provided for all my needs and for the needs of my family.  His track record of faithfulness is truly amazing.  But amidst His wonderful demonstrations of faithfulness, there were many times that we were really struggling.  Struggles are the perfect backdrop for God’s miracles, don’t you think?  So it should be no surprise that it was during the times of our worst financial struggles that Steve and I learned the most about God’s ability to provide everything we needed – regardless of how big or small.  

One time that comes to mind is when Steve was working out of town during the week and the kids and I held down the fort at home until he came home on weekends.   Brittany was about 6 years old and Brandon was 3.   To help make financial ends meet, I was working six part-time jobs around the kids’ schedules. (Yes, you heard me correctly - six jobs.  I can fill you in about those another time.)   I was crazy busy during that time – taking care of those jobs, the house, and the kids.   Suffice to say, those years were very difficult and very lean.

One night, Brittany tried to pour herself a glass of milk before bedtime and she accidently dropped the milk container onto the kitchen floor.  We lost the rest of our milk supply for that week.  And Brittany was so upset because she knew that was the only milk we had and that I didn’t have any more money until payday.  So when we said our bedtime prayers that night, we addressed her concerns directly with God.  As we prayed together, we told God we knew He saw what happened and we would trust Him to take care of us.  We said, “Amen,” and she went to sleep.  To be honest, I had no idea how God would answer the prayer of that sweet little child, but I knew He was faithful to His promises and to His Word.  I had to trust Him.

I went back downstairs to tidy up a bit, and entering through our back door into the kitchen was my Aunt Lorraine with her dog, JoSai.  (I had forgotten that I promised to dog-sit while Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Terry went out of town for several days.)  I received the puppy-care instructions and kissed Aunt Lorraine goodbye.  Right before she went out the door, Aunt Lorraine told me that she put the rest of their unused milk in our refrigerator for us to finish because she was worried it wouldn’t stay fresh until their return.  “I hope you can use it,” she said. 

I opened the door of the refrigerator and there it was – God’s answer to sweet Brittany’s prayer of just moments earlier.  His faithful provision – in a container of milk, no less!  

The next morning, Brittany got up and as I was preparing her breakfast, she opened the door of the refrigerator to get some juice and saw the milk.  She jumped up and down, yelling, “Mommy!  Jesus came here last night!  Jesus came here last night!”  What an amazing God we have!   (And it was such fun explaining to Brittany how God answered her prayer through Aunt Lorraine.) 

Please hear this vital truth, dear one - God cares about every single detail of the lives of His children.  He doesn’t miss a trick.  Don’t you think for one minute that He doesn’t see your tears, that He is ignoring your cries for help, that He doesn’t know what you’re going through, or that He missed it when your milk was spilled out all over the floor.  If He can deliver a fresh supply directly to my refrigerator within minutes of when we asked for it, He can do anything!  In what might seem like the simplest, most mundane of things, God is right there – ready, willing, and able to bless.  Ask Him – trust Him – and watch Him be faithful.

Spilled some milk lately?  Don’t cry over it – PRAY over it.  God is so capable of delivering!  

“If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.”

2 Timothy 2:13

Thanks for spending some time with me.

In His amazing love,

Cindy

www.cindyfoor.com

(Story excerpted from “God Can Walk on His Eyeballs: The 1o Most Amazing Things He Taught Me“)

Messin’ with the Recipe

Well, it’s Monday. 

I must confess that Monday is not my favorite day of the week.  But it’s not my least favorite either.  Monday definitely moved up on my list when my husband, Steve, changed his work schedule to a later time slot so we can actually sleep in a bit on Mondays.  I really appreciate the time alone with him to sort of gear up together for the work week ahead. 

Like most of you, I’m sure, we have busy weekends.  We run here and there – church, errands, family stuff.  And by the end of the weekend, we are often exhausted.  That’s not good. 

This weekend we enjoyed a time of fun with family, friends, and food.  (Doesn’t get much better than that combination, does it?)   Many of us volunteered to contribute to the food list which always makes it easier and the collective array of food is always more interesting and appealing – different styles, different tastes. 

I offered to make a few old stand-by recipes, one of which has been passed down through my family for as many years as I can remember.  Now, our children make it and it just keeps on going.  I think the reason it’s such a favorite is not just because it’s so yummy and satisfies the sweet tooth perfectly, but also because it’s so easy and inexpensive to make.  It’s the perfect combination, too, I think!  (Note:  The caloric content?   No one ever talks about that. Shhhh…) 

Because I’ve made this recipe more times than I could ever track, I know the recipe by heart.  But over the years, I’ve “fluffed” it up a bit – you know, adding a little more of this, a little less of that?  Sort of making it my own when I didn’t have the exact ingredients or if I wanted to use up the rest of the peanut butter in the jar? 

Well, the result of all of this messin’ with the recipe over the years is this – I honestly can’t remember what the original recipe calls for anymore!  I think I know it; but I certainly wouldn’t stake my life on it!  I actually had to go back to my Mom’s original recipe and look it up this time to be sure. 

I had to wonder – How many times had I messed with the recipe which resulted in my forgetting the original standard?  How often in my life have I done that?  Compromised the standard for what I wanted to do?  Or what I wanted to get rid of?  Or what I thought I could do without?  And of course, this leads to the big question – how many times have I missed the standard because I was willing to compromise it? 

Oh, my fervent prayer is that I don’t compromise God’s standards – ever.  His Word is truth and it cannot be watered down nor can I make it fit my selfish purposes.  It is what it is.  “All scripture is God-breathed….” (2 Tim. 3:16).   And God’s thoughts and ways are not my thoughts and ways (Isa. 55:8-9). 

As I made that favorite family recipe to share with others this weekend, I decided to make sure that I got back to the standards it calls for – the standards that make the dessert so wonderful and special in the first place.  And I purposed to stay in alignment with God’s standards and resolved to keep doing things His way and not mine.   Because when I mess with the recipe, I risk ruining the whole enchilada…

Thanks for your time today.  Pray for me, will you please?  I will be praying for you, as well.  

In His amazing love,

Cindy

www.cindyfoor.com

God Really CAN Walk on His Eyeballs!

Hello again!  Thanks for coming back…. 

I’ve had questions about the tagline of my blog.  (You’re looking for it now, aren’t you?)  It’s right there – under the headline of “cindy foor.”  (Don’t you just love lower case headings, by the way?  I do!)  The tagline reads ”God Really Can Walk on His Eyeballs.”  

Now, although you may have already heard this story, those asking the question deserve an explanation, don’t you think?  After all, the future of my blog’s readability is at stake here.  This one may very well cement our relationship – or it can totally destroy it, I’m not sure.  Let’s see, shall we?   

Ok – where was I?  The explanation of the tagline….

My husband, Steve, and I have two wonderful, beautiful children – Brittany and Brandon.  They’re grown adults now – both married and living in their own homes.  Our kids have always been and will always be such important parts of our lives, but they have always served as wonderful sources of writing material, as well.   Brandon is the inspiration of this one.  (Brittany stories will emerge in future blogs!) 

It happened when Brandon was young.  You know the age when kids ask lots of questions – so many that they can drive their parents crazy?  Around the ages of 2-4?  Well, Brandon was no exception, except that when he had a question – or even just a statement to make – he always said, “I have two questions.”  (I believe he secretly hoped to keep our attention for longer than just what one question required.)

Brandon and I were riding down the country road to my parents’ home one day, just the two of us.  Brandon was a thumb-sucker then and when he wasn’t talking or busy playing, he was most likely sucking his thumb.  He always had really good suction, too, because when he pulled his thumb out of his mouth, you could hear a “pop” from the release of suction.  This was the case today.

Quietly, we drove down the road, when I heard it. “Pop!” And out came the thumb, followed by “Mommy, I have two questions.” 

“Yes, son, what are they?”  I replied.

“Do you know who Batman is?” he asked.

“Yes, I know who Batman is.  Why?” 

“Is God better than Batman?”

“Oh, my yes!  God is WAY better than Batman,” I enthusiastically replied.

“Wow!”  he said.  (I could see that he was quite impressed with God.)  And back into his mouth went his thumb.

Then silence for the next mile or so, and then, “pop!”  “Mommy, I have two questions again.”

“Yes, son, what are your questions now?”

“Do you know who Superman is?”

“Yes, I know him, too.”

“Is God stronger than Superman?”

“Oh, yes, Brandon.  God is much stronger than Superman.”

“Wow!”  he exclaimed with even more enthusiasm than before as he returned his thumb to its favorite location.

At this point, I began to pray for wisdom.  I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going and I was a bit nervous about what might be asked of me next, I must confess.  As I looked over at him, I could see the wheels turning in Brandon’s head and I knew this conversation wasn’t over.  I knew there was more to come.  I wasn’t disappointed. 

Soon, I heard it again.  “Pop!”  “Mommy?”

Before he had a chance to say the “two questions” line, I replied, “Yes, Brandon?  Now what questions do you have?” 

In his sweet little voice, he hesitatingly asked, “Can God walk on His eyeballs?” 

I just looked at him a few times.  His big bluish-green eyes eagerly awaiting my wise reply.  But now, the wheels in MY head were turning!  I tried to process this question, and prayed fervently for the right answer.  Thankfully, I quickly came to the only one possible…..

“Yes, Brandon, if He wanted to, God COULD walk on His eyeballs!”

“WOW!”  He was so excited!  He popped his thumb back in his mouth, smiling, completely satisfied with that answer.  I could only smile and shake my head in amazement. 

It was one of the most precious moments of my life as a mother.  Our God is so very amazing.  He can teach the heart of  this young boy in a manner that even one that young can understand how truly amazing He is.  And to top it all off, God allowed me the privilege of watching Him personally teach my son.  I was so thankful.  Brandon and I just sat there, riding along in the car, smiling and contemplating the awesome nature of God Almighty! 

It is from this premise, this foundation, that I wrote my first book – same title.  I simply compiled my own “Top 10″ list of amazing things God personally taught me.  And it is from this premise, this foundation, I write my blog entries to you - to share with you some things that God taught me about how amazing He truly is. 

The stories are endless, by the way – all we have to do is ask and observe!

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” 

Jeremiah 33:3

Hope to connect with you again…..God bless!

Cindy

www.cindyfoor.com

 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  

Everyone has been telling me that I need to do this, so here I am – blogging away.  Who would’ve thunk it – Cindy Foor “blogging?”   Hilarious!

It really is amazing, though, to think about  the multitude of communication methods that are available to us these days.  And yet, somehow, it’s also amazing that we still seem to fall terribly shy of truly connecting with one another.  We have email, blogs, websites, twitter, text messaging, cell phones, internet, and even land lines and good ol’ snail mail.  But our attempts to communicate seem to fall short of what a compassionate voice, a kind smile, an intercessory prayer, or a warm hug can offer – don’t they? 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love being able to reach people in ways I could never have reached them before.  But I just don’t want to fall prey to the technology and submit to using only these modern and sophisticated venues to reach others. 

Why not?  Because humans need humans.  We were created that way, you know?  To need person to person interaction – to need other people.  Consider the truth in I John 3:18 – “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”  More than just words is a necessity for each of us.  We need to hear each other’s voices, to see each other’s faces, and to feel each other’s embraces. 

Here’s the thing – as I attempt to fulfill my commitment to the Lord to reach out to encourage people in as many venues as I am able, I hope that God’s love for you will become evident through my words – despite the technology.   Even if you don’t know Him, He loves you.  He loves you right where you are – just as you are.   I will attempt to prove that to you in every blog I write, by the way.  So if you decide to read my posts, look for HIM and for evidence of HIS great love for you.  Deal? 

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me.  I will end my first blog with this – here’s a techie hug for you!    When we see each other face to face, please cash this in for the real thing! 

In His amazing love,

Cindy

www.cindyfoor.com