Read Angie's Thoughts

Each year, the month of April brings many things to my mind. It's the month I celebrate my birthday,  it's the month of my brother's birthday as well as many cousins. It marks the anniversary of a major surgery I had that impacted my life in many ways, and it's when the winter weather finally begins to feel more like spring. But more than that, the month of April always takes me back to my years in college. The month of April is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness month and teal ribbons are used to remind people of that. My first year of college, when I started the journey of working through the abuse in my past with a counselor, she encouraged me to go watch a panel discussion on the topic on campus. I asked a friend to go with me and even today, I can't remember who the speakers were or what exactly was said. I do remember, however, that I was so shook up afterwards that I just wanted to be at home and drove to Dubois for the evening. It was a Wednesday and I...

My Sunday School class is studying the book of Genesis and we are at the point where some years have passed since the flood and Noah and his family have settled and begun to put down roots. They planted a vineyard and one day, Noah drank too much wine and passed out in his tent. One brother, Ham, tried to make light of the situation and get his brothers to have a little fun at their dad's expense but the two other brothers, Shem and Japheth, were having none of that. They handled the situation with respect and love for their dad. Needless to say, when Noah woke up and learned what Ham had done, he was furious and basically laid out a curse that Ham and his people would be slaves to the people of his brothers. (Genesis 9:20-27) One of the follow-up questions in our study book was what generational sins have we seen in our own families. Almost everyone in my class are the parents of grown children and they were able to comment on the perspective of their own sins they have see...

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Plato

Let's face it: sin stinks. Big time. Ever since the garden of Eden, man has been filled with sin to the point where it should be the death of us all. Thankfully, we have a Savior that died for those sins and has given us the precious gift of living eternally with Him in spite of those sins. Hallelujah! Regardless, sin happens. I've sinned against others, causing pain and distrust in the lives of those around me. I have been on the receiving end of sins, hurtful actions and words from others that totally devastated my heart. Those sins were intentional, committed by the person even though they knew what they were doing was wrong. While I have forgiven those sins, there are repercussions that reach far beyond just my relationship, or lack thereof, with them. I posted about this awhile back, http://readangiesthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/06/forgiveness-and-consequences.html , concerning some things that happened during my childhood at the hands of my grandfather. Even though forgiv...

A few weeks ago, when the reality of having to put my cat Calli to sleep became more apparent, I began to question whether or not I should adopt another cat. When I got to thinking about all the time Lola, my other cat, would be spending alone during the days I was working, I decided I should probably get a cat to keep her company. As I began to look at the Riverton animal shelter website, I already knew I didn't want a kitten. Most people who go to the shelter for a cat want a kitten and I have a heart for all of those older cats that get overlooked. None of them really caught my eye so I decided to look elsewhere. My grandma told me the animal shelter in Dubois often has a lot of older cats so I decided to look there. They didn't have a website but my grandma saw a picture of Bo - a gray, 10 year old, declawed cat - in the newspaper, and told me I should get him. I knew I wouldn't do anything until I got home from my trip to Arizona for Christmas so I decided to ju...

During my first year at Trinity, a parent approached me on the playground and asked if I was interested in a kitten she had bought for her daughter. She told me the kitten had peed on the floor so the dad wanted to make it an outdoor cat but she thought she would ask me first. I said yes and the next afternoon she brought the kitten with her at the end of the school day. She was a cute little thing but I will be honest in saying my very first thought was, "Oh my, I hope she grows into those ears!" I had already decided to name her Calli since she was a calico and I already had a C-named cat at home - Christopher. When the mom told me her daughter had named her Picasso, I started calling her by the two names or, for short, Calli P. Calli was a handful right from the start! I had never seen a kitten with more spunk in my life, she was a riot! She and Christopher became friends and and we were a happy little family of 3. It didn't take long to notice that Calli had some bl...

This year I find myself thankful for many, many things...here are some: 1. My Jesus - His love and forgiveness keep me going every day 2. My dad - more thankful for him each passing year 3. Maggie - gosh, I just love her SO much 4. Calli - even with her mental issues, she's still my cutie patootie 5. Lola - I'll never forget a morning last spring when I had put sticks and leaves in my hair as part of camping themed day at school and she lay behind my head on the couch and groomed my hair, pulling out all my decorations 6. My best friend Amy - surprising her in Dallas this summer was so much fun! 7. My new job with Ryan - what a sweet and funny little boy 8. My grandma Judy - her strength and determination make me want to be a better person 9. Lilly - my little Jelly Bean who loves to get her nails done on a Girls Day and refers to this holiday as Indian Day 10. Peyton - I just know he's going to grow up to play professional soccer. Gooooaaaaal! 11. Lola - such a...