High Five for Friday

Does anybody else have that annoying problem with computer keyboards that when they type 'Friday' it turns out as 'Froday'? No, just me? Okay.

This was a flyby week, one where I seemed to blink and miss hours in a day. Maybe I did...hope not.

1. I read this book over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I've struggled with not being a 'nice girl' but somebody who has always been a bit feistier and strong minded. Now I know it's okay to be. Link to my thoughts here.

2. I'm moving next Saturday so have been understandably panicking thinking about how to furnish my flat. Ikea table anyone? (Also, the food in Ikea is strangely very nice so had dinner there too.)

3. Date night with this one ended up in an ice cream parlour and I forgot my lactose-funny stomach whilst I devoured this kids-size sundae. I paid for it after but boy was it worth it! Also, I love him even more in a shirt...

4. Took my dog to the groomer and it was a dog filled screaming, biting, snapping, water filled nightmare. Here he is at work the next day...he has his sad face because he doesn't like being at work. 

5. I LOVE o2 Priority Moments. Free pizza from Domino's on Monday, free hot drink from Nero on Friday and random free stuff thrown in throughout the week from other shops too. What's not to love?

Sticky mess

No, I'm not describing my current state as I sit in a hot office although I am feeling pretty gross right now. Apparently some offices have showers, mine should have them.

Chewing gum. That's the stuff which caused this sticky mess to make my morning a little different from usual. Some clever person walking down the street thought it would be a brilliant idea to spit chewing gum into our gravelled garden. Rude. Lazy.

Out trots my dog and unfortunately he trod in the sticky gum. What happens in gravelled gardens when a dog had a sticky paw? Yup, the little stones get stuck in his paw between his pads and nails and he comes limping inside. To give him his due, he did bite a lot of the stones out of his paw.

That was when I noticed there were some stuck in there. The gum had dried fast and his paw looked a mess. I did what any thoughtful girl would do, donned some gloves and attempted to get those little buggers out. No luck.

Then came the questions: Does it cost money to go to the vet? Do I need pet insurance? Does he have insurance? Who even is his vet? ASK MUM!

Went to the vets...vet wasn't there...nobody could help...we got sent to another practice in the next town. I was supposed to be at work. Problems.

Parked up, couldn't see the clinic anywhere. Saw a lady with a dog and asked her. She picked him up and said she'd take us there. Erm...give my dog back lady. Then she asked for money to show me where it was. Conned. I gave her the flipping pound, i didn't have time to argue and she held my dog ransom.

Found vets eventually, heard this crazy lady's life story, grabbed my dog back and said goodbye loudly to get my point across. This is why I never go to that town.

Stones were removed with much screaming on behalf of my dog and me in the next room wondering if they didn't have soundproofing for occasions like that.

£35.00 and 30 minutes later I was back at my desk and mentally noting that animals are too expensive for my liking. Tuesday he had a £14.00 groom so that's £49.00 I've spent on him in the past 48 hours. Ridiculous.

Before and after shots of his groom (he wouldn't let them touch his face because he's a stubborn old man).

Are you a nice girl or a good woman?

I recently finished reading Nice Girls Don't Change The World by Lynne Hybels. I have to be honest, I only started reading it because my mum had left it in my room and I had run out of books to read. I really struggle with many Christian books and tend to avoid them. This one was a little different though.

To start with, it's not a thousand pages of a Christian superstar telling you what you should be doing with your life, It's simply another woman's true story of her discovery of a loving God. The realisation that God's love doesn't need to be earnt but is given freely to anybody who accepts it. That being a good woman, somebody whose foundations rest in God's love, knows that HER life, HER personality and HER talents are deeply valued and recognised by God even if by nobody else, and who doesn't let fear ever keep her from stepping out and living for God, is ultimately a better choice than being a nice girl.

This is an excerpt from the end of the book and it touches on what we as women need to be striving for, praying for and hoping for:

May we be dangerous women.

May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow, and be radically alive for God. 

May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs.

May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor.

May we pray deeply and teach wisely.

May we be strong and gentle leaders.

May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear. 

May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us, and righteous anger energize us. 

May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world. 

May we dismantle abusive systems and silence lies with truth.

May we shine like stars in a darkened generation. 

May we overflow with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus. And in that name, and by that power, may we change the world. 

This isn't a book which preaches, it's a book which encourages and energises us to be the best we can be. 

All excerpts taken from Nice Girls Don't Change The World, Lynne Hybels, Zondervan, 2005.Picture from www.christianaudio.com.