1st Post
Joining the Blogging World
Hi Everyone,
How do you like my title "Garbage Lady Brings You Trash Tidbits". For those of you who know me, you know that the title is fitting for the job that I do. Sometimes I sit at my desk trying to solve all the Tribe's trash problems in one day. Other days I'll be throwing trash bags in the garbage trucks or weighing trucks in & out at the transfer station. I'm amazed at how much trash can be in one garbage truck (8-9 tons or 16,000-18,000 pounds). I'm even more amazed at how much we can compact (20-25 tons or 40,000 - 50,000 pounds) in a 53-foot trailer to ship out from the transfer station.
Will I always talk about trash on my blog? Probably not since I'll have more interesting events to share about my life. Come back to visit often to see what is going on my world other than trash.
2nd Post
Energy Monitor Lets Me Know What Is Going On Inside
I've had my Toyota Prius for about a month now. I have put on 2700 miles in that time and have averaged 46-48 mpg. The best I've done so far is 51 mpg on a trip to Syracuse and back. I'm really enjoying it and I only have to fill it up once per week now. This is a huge difference than my Jeep, which I would need 3 tanks of gas per week.
The Prius has an energy monitor; see my photo album. The monitor is on when I drive and lets me know what part of the engine is providing power to the wheels. The monitor also tells me how I'm doing with respect to my current mpg. I'm changing the way that I drive in order to get the maximum amount of mpg. I take my foot off the accelerator any time that I go down hill and when I know that I need to stop. This automatically turns the gas engine off and runs completely on the electric. During these times, I get 99.9 mpg. This is great!! What about power? It is there when I need it. I've been on the highway driving behind someone doing 40 mph. I get right out, step on the gas, and pass with no problem. Of course, the energy monitor tells me that my mpg decreases with the quick burst of power.
I like the energy monitor and how it lets me know what is going on inside my engine. I sometimes find myself asking "wouldn't it be neat if I could have an energy monitor to let me know what is going on inside?" As I ponder this, I realize that God provides an energy monitor to let me know what is going on: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is available to guide me and make adjustments to my life. The key is for me to listen and yield to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do. The Holy Spirit will let me know when to slow down, speed up, or give me power and strength when I need it. The Holy Spirit wants to guide me in all areas of my life, but will only do so if I yield to His work in my life.
3rd Post
God Cares About the Trash that I Manage
My church started a new set of Sunday school classes today. I am taking the class entitled "Godly Wisdom for Managing Money." The class is intended for me to learn about Biblical principles with respect to my finances and applying these principles to my everyday Christian walk.
Two principles I learned today is that: (1) God owns everything in this world (Psalm 50:10, 12), and (2) I am steward of God's property while I'm here on earth. These are not new principles to me, but I began to think about how these principles relate to my job of managing trash.
God owns the trash that people throw out and I get to figure out ways to manage it in a manner that honors God and keeps the earth free from contamination. Wow!! I was blown away at this realization. I have a new appreciation for my job and a deeper sense of what I'm really doing when I manage the Tribe's trash. I encourage you all to be good stewards with whatever God's property that He has given you to manage, and not just think of it as trash.
4th Post
Golf and My Walk with the Lord
The past few days have been warm. Warm weather means getting those last few games of golf in before the white stuff starts flying. My golfing buddy, Nancy, and I played on Sunday and Monday. Visit the photo album to have a glimbse of our perfect tee shots.
A few years ago God showed me that my walk with the Lord is like playing a game a golf. This may sound strange, but think about it: what is the objective for each hole played? I think any golfer will tell you that the objective is to get to the green (the green is the perfect part of the course) in as few shots as possible. How do golfers do this? We get information about the hole we are playing; i.e. how far is the hole from the tee box, what are the obstacles preventing us from reaching the hole etc. etc. Once we have all this information, we then have to select the proper club and address the ball in a manner that will maximize our shot to the green. Ok, thats sounds like a lot, but we aren't finished yet. Golfers also need to have the proper backswing and follow through to hit the ball correctly. If it isn't hit properly, then our balls could end up in the woods or better yet, in a water hole.
You may be asking yourself "how does all this relate to my walk with the Lord?" As a Christian, I desire to become like Jesus with respect to His character, attitudes, thought life, and behavior. Jesus is the only perfect person that I know in this world. In a sense, I desire to reach that perfect place in Jesus just as a golfer wants to reach that perfect place on the golf course. In order for me reach this place in Jesus, I need to get information about Jesus by reading God's word, learning about Christ and who I am in Christ. I also need to be aware of the obstacles that stand in my way of reaching my destiny in Christ and either go around them or through them. My choices determine whether or not I'll end up in the woods or a water hole, or reach my destiny with the fewest strokes. Even if I do end up in the woods or water hole, Jesus is always with me to bring me back on course. Praise God!!
I hope you enjoyed my sharing about golf and my walk with the Lord. May we all become like Jesus with the fewest strokes possible. Until next time.
5th Post
Holding Hands and Walking the Healing Path
About 10 years ago, the Lord led me on an amazing healing journey and brought me to a place where my life was transformed from darkness into light. I didn't walk this journey alone; God was with me and He provided other people to walk the journey with me.
I wrote a poem for one of the people that walked this journey with me. The poem is titled "Holding Hands & Walking the Healing Path". I'm sharing this poem to encourage all of you to walk out your healing journey with God and know that God places people in your life to walk with you.
Holding Hands & Walking the Healing Path
A year ago our paths crossed and we entered on a journey together.
I entered the journey not knowing where it would lead to.
I only hoped that it would take me away from the pain and misery that was consuming me.
Little did I know, I encountered more pain and misery as walked the path.
This is when the healing began.
As we walked along the healing path, you held my hand along the way never letting go.
For letting go, would sure have led me astray.
There were many times that I wanted to let go, but you held on tight and at times cradling me along the way.
The pain and misery are over now.
It is time for me to let go of your hand as I continue on this path myself.
I will continue walking with courage, confidence, and strength which was gained as you held my hand.
Our paths are meant to separate as we walk our separate ways.
What we've shared as you held my hand is special; creating a unique bond between us.
It is hard of letting go and leaving you behind as I move on.
I'm not really leaving you behind, as we will always have that unique bond,
your hand holding mine
6th Post
About 10 years ago, the Lord led me on an amazing healing journey and brought me to a place where my life was transformed from darkness into light. I didn't walk this journey alone; God was with me and He provided other people to walk the journey with me.
I wrote a poem for one of the people that walked this journey with me. The poem is titled "Holding Hands & Walking the Healing Path". I'm sharing this poem to encourage all of you to walk out your healing journey with God and know that God places people in your life to walk with you.
Holding Hands & Walking the Healing Path
A year ago our paths crossed and we entered on a journey together.
I entered the journey not knowing where it would lead to.
I only hoped that it would take me away from the pain and misery that was consuming me.
Little did I know, I encountered more pain and misery as walked the path.
This is when the healing began.
As we walked along the healing path, you held my hand along the way never letting go.
For letting go, would sure have led me astray.
There were many times that I wanted to let go, but you held on tight and at times cradling me along the way.
The pain and misery are over now.
It is time for me to let go of your hand as I continue on this path myself.
I will continue walking with courage, confidence, and strength which was gained as you held my hand.
Our paths are meant to separate as we walk our separate ways.
What we've shared as you held my hand is special; creating a unique bond between us.
It is hard of letting go and leaving you behind as I move on.
I'm not really leaving you behind, as we will always have that unique bond,
your hand holding mine
6th Post
A Mouse Runs Across the Road...Did He Know That I was Near
I got in my car Tuesday morning at 5:45 am and began my journey to work. I had only traveled a few miles when a field mouse suddenly appeared in front of my car. The mouse came out of the grass on the passenger side and without any hestiation ran in front me and to the other side of the road. I could literally see the mouse's little feet moving as fast as they could to get him to the other side of the road. It was almost like the mouse was unaware that I was near and within just a few seconds of hitting him.
I first chuckled at the little guy and thought "I wonder where he is off to so early and what the big rush was to get to the other side of the road?" I guess he was so focused on his mission that he never realized that I was near. As I continued to ponder all this, I heard the Holy Spirit say "Laura, are you like that mouse?" Ouch, I thought. How many times does God look down on me "running across the road" and ask Himself "does she know that I am near?"
The lesson learned is that I need to slow down and take notice of God's presence in my life; to think that God used a little mouse running across the road to show me this. Truly amazing!!
7th Post
I got in my car Tuesday morning at 5:45 am and began my journey to work. I had only traveled a few miles when a field mouse suddenly appeared in front of my car. The mouse came out of the grass on the passenger side and without any hestiation ran in front me and to the other side of the road. I could literally see the mouse's little feet moving as fast as they could to get him to the other side of the road. It was almost like the mouse was unaware that I was near and within just a few seconds of hitting him.
I first chuckled at the little guy and thought "I wonder where he is off to so early and what the big rush was to get to the other side of the road?" I guess he was so focused on his mission that he never realized that I was near. As I continued to ponder all this, I heard the Holy Spirit say "Laura, are you like that mouse?" Ouch, I thought. How many times does God look down on me "running across the road" and ask Himself "does she know that I am near?"
The lesson learned is that I need to slow down and take notice of God's presence in my life; to think that God used a little mouse running across the road to show me this. Truly amazing!!
7th Post
Breaking In & Entering
I went to work on Wednesday with the realization that we had much to accomplish. A day before a holiday weekend is always busy in the trash business. We had three collection routes to complete before the end of the day; we normally do one per day, but we had two extra routes since Thursday and Friday were holidays for us. I have a favorite saying "Trash knows no holidays".
As I drove closer to the transfer station, I noticed that there was a car parked at the main gate. I soon realized that it was a Tribal police department car. Oh, no I thought!! As I got out of my car, I began to surmise why the police were there.
Someone had illegally entered the transfer station overnight. The person used thier vehicle to ram through the main gate, knocked down other parts of the fence, and attempted to knock down the other gate, but was unsuccessful. The person also smashed a window in a pickup truck that was located outside our building. Fortunately, the person didn't make an attempt to get in our building where the rest of our trucks and equipment were located.
Throughout the day, I found myself thinking about the person, or persons, who would do such an act. They went through an enormous amount of effort to wreck our fence and pick up truck. They breached our main level of defense, the fence, and once inside began their destructive acts. The people who broke into our transfer station obviously were influenced by the devil to carry out his mission to steal, kill, and destroy.
I also found myself asking God "Why did this happen?" A lot of times when I ask the why question there is usually no answer and it is fruitless going down this road. Nevertheless, I find myself asking the why question a lot when things like this happen.
One thing that I have found as I travel down the "why road" is that God will not interfere in a person's free will. Yes God could have stopped these people from breaking in and entering our transfer station, but He didn't because these people were making choices based on influences from the devil. Isn't this how Adam & Eve sinned in the garden: they chose to eat the fruit based on false information received from the devil.
If God was ever going to stop people from making bad choices, don't you think He would have done it in the garden? Think about it; this means that we wouldn't have sin in the world. On the surface this sounds good, but more reflection reveals that people can't freely choose to have a personal relationship with God if God interfers with a person's free will about sinning. Have you ever thought what it would be like having a relationship with a robot? This is what our relationship with the Lord would be like if God interferred with our free will. God desires to have a personal initimate relationship with us and He can't do this if we are all like robots programmed to love Him. God wants us to have the freedom to choose that realationship with Him and this is why God doesn't interfer with a person's free will to sin.
8th Post
I went to work on Wednesday with the realization that we had much to accomplish. A day before a holiday weekend is always busy in the trash business. We had three collection routes to complete before the end of the day; we normally do one per day, but we had two extra routes since Thursday and Friday were holidays for us. I have a favorite saying "Trash knows no holidays".
As I drove closer to the transfer station, I noticed that there was a car parked at the main gate. I soon realized that it was a Tribal police department car. Oh, no I thought!! As I got out of my car, I began to surmise why the police were there.
Someone had illegally entered the transfer station overnight. The person used thier vehicle to ram through the main gate, knocked down other parts of the fence, and attempted to knock down the other gate, but was unsuccessful. The person also smashed a window in a pickup truck that was located outside our building. Fortunately, the person didn't make an attempt to get in our building where the rest of our trucks and equipment were located.
Throughout the day, I found myself thinking about the person, or persons, who would do such an act. They went through an enormous amount of effort to wreck our fence and pick up truck. They breached our main level of defense, the fence, and once inside began their destructive acts. The people who broke into our transfer station obviously were influenced by the devil to carry out his mission to steal, kill, and destroy.
I also found myself asking God "Why did this happen?" A lot of times when I ask the why question there is usually no answer and it is fruitless going down this road. Nevertheless, I find myself asking the why question a lot when things like this happen.
One thing that I have found as I travel down the "why road" is that God will not interfere in a person's free will. Yes God could have stopped these people from breaking in and entering our transfer station, but He didn't because these people were making choices based on influences from the devil. Isn't this how Adam & Eve sinned in the garden: they chose to eat the fruit based on false information received from the devil.
If God was ever going to stop people from making bad choices, don't you think He would have done it in the garden? Think about it; this means that we wouldn't have sin in the world. On the surface this sounds good, but more reflection reveals that people can't freely choose to have a personal relationship with God if God interfers with a person's free will about sinning. Have you ever thought what it would be like having a relationship with a robot? This is what our relationship with the Lord would be like if God interferred with our free will. God desires to have a personal initimate relationship with us and He can't do this if we are all like robots programmed to love Him. God wants us to have the freedom to choose that realationship with Him and this is why God doesn't interfer with a person's free will to sin.
8th Post
What is the Greatest Gift to Give?
As a small child, I would always run out to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning with excitement. I was truly amazed at how many presents that were under the tree for me. Over time, I lost the true meaning of Christmas and thought that it was about the number of presents that I would get.
God brought back the true meaning of Christmas to me a few years ago. I was in San Diego at a training seminar and visiting my brother, Wayne, during the month of December. I tagged along with Wayne one day when he had to go to his office. It was a long car ride to his office and I had to make a visit to the ladies room when we arrived. As I was washing my hands, I noticed a Red Cross poster that was on the back of the ladies' room door. The poster had the following words printed on it: "What to Give? Give the gift of Life. Give Blood." I stood there motionless as I read the words. The Lord began to speak to me about the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas is time for giving. It is nice to receive material gifts, but Jesus gave more than material things. Jesus gave His blood so that I may have the gift of life and life more abundantly here on earth and in heaven. He did this out of His abundant love for me. This is the greatest Christmas present that I could have ever received!!
I somtimes ask myself "What to give?" My response is "Give the gift of life. Give love." This is the greatest gift that I can give anyone during the Christmas season.
I pray that you all receive the gift of love during this Christmas season as you spend time with family and friends.
9th Post
As a small child, I would always run out to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning with excitement. I was truly amazed at how many presents that were under the tree for me. Over time, I lost the true meaning of Christmas and thought that it was about the number of presents that I would get.
God brought back the true meaning of Christmas to me a few years ago. I was in San Diego at a training seminar and visiting my brother, Wayne, during the month of December. I tagged along with Wayne one day when he had to go to his office. It was a long car ride to his office and I had to make a visit to the ladies room when we arrived. As I was washing my hands, I noticed a Red Cross poster that was on the back of the ladies' room door. The poster had the following words printed on it: "What to Give? Give the gift of Life. Give Blood." I stood there motionless as I read the words. The Lord began to speak to me about the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas is time for giving. It is nice to receive material gifts, but Jesus gave more than material things. Jesus gave His blood so that I may have the gift of life and life more abundantly here on earth and in heaven. He did this out of His abundant love for me. This is the greatest Christmas present that I could have ever received!!
I somtimes ask myself "What to give?" My response is "Give the gift of life. Give love." This is the greatest gift that I can give anyone during the Christmas season.
I pray that you all receive the gift of love during this Christmas season as you spend time with family and friends.
9th Post
Doctor Confirms that God Still Performs Miracles Today
Scriptures clearly show that Jesus performed healing miracles when He walked this earth. Some would wonder if Jesus still performs miracles today; the answer is a resounding yes!!
I recently went to an orthopedic doctor for a check up on my left hip. This doctor measured my two legs and confirmed that they are the same length. This is a miracle since I was born with a congential dislocated hip, which caused my left leg to be about an inch shorter than my right leg. I used to wear a 0.5 inch lift on my left shoe to make up the difference.
How did my left leg get to be the same length as my right leg? Answer: a miracle performed by God when I believed for it.
When I first gave my life to the Lord in 1996, God began to speak to me about His healing power to cause my left leg to be the same length as my right leg. When it came to healing, I always had faith for everyone else, but never had faith for myself. I would always find myself saying things "God does that for everyone else, but He wouldn't do it for me."
I attended a special service at my church during the fall of 1999. During the worship time, the preacher shared that he felt God wanted people to come to the altar to repent. I sat in my chair, head between my hands, and tears flowing down my cheeks. God was tugging at my heart to go to the altar to repent. I wasn't sure what I needed to repent for, but God knew. I got up from chair, went to the altar, and knelt down. I began asking God to show me what areas of my life I needed to repent for. God showed me that I needed to repent for my unbelief with respect to His healing power. I realized then that my unbelief was a sin that offended God. I broke and asked God to forgive me. After a few more puddles of tears, I arose to my feet when the preacher shared that he felt like God wanted to heal people tonight. He instructed people to move to the right front of the altar if they needed healing. I walked over to this area with the expectation that God was going to heal me. One of the other pastors came over to me, anointed my head with oil, laid hands on me, and prayed the following prayer "God, Your Word says that we shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. I lay hands on Laura and claim that all sickness be gone in the Name of Jesus and that every area of her body would be healed in the Name of Jesus." The pastor then left to go pray with other people.
I felt the power of God come over me. I had to have a friend help me back to my seat and eventually drive me home. My leg starting shaking in ways that are physically impossible to do. I could literally feel my muscles and bones being streched out. This went on for about 30 minutes and then abruptly stopped. My friends helped in the house and placed me in a reclining chair. They took my shoes and socks off and told me to stretch out my legs. They were the same length. Praise God!!
Whatever you are facing today, believe God for a miracle. God still performs miracles and He wants to perform one in your life today. The key is to believe God for it.
Scriptures clearly show that Jesus performed healing miracles when He walked this earth. Some would wonder if Jesus still performs miracles today; the answer is a resounding yes!!
I recently went to an orthopedic doctor for a check up on my left hip. This doctor measured my two legs and confirmed that they are the same length. This is a miracle since I was born with a congential dislocated hip, which caused my left leg to be about an inch shorter than my right leg. I used to wear a 0.5 inch lift on my left shoe to make up the difference.
How did my left leg get to be the same length as my right leg? Answer: a miracle performed by God when I believed for it.
When I first gave my life to the Lord in 1996, God began to speak to me about His healing power to cause my left leg to be the same length as my right leg. When it came to healing, I always had faith for everyone else, but never had faith for myself. I would always find myself saying things "God does that for everyone else, but He wouldn't do it for me."
I attended a special service at my church during the fall of 1999. During the worship time, the preacher shared that he felt God wanted people to come to the altar to repent. I sat in my chair, head between my hands, and tears flowing down my cheeks. God was tugging at my heart to go to the altar to repent. I wasn't sure what I needed to repent for, but God knew. I got up from chair, went to the altar, and knelt down. I began asking God to show me what areas of my life I needed to repent for. God showed me that I needed to repent for my unbelief with respect to His healing power. I realized then that my unbelief was a sin that offended God. I broke and asked God to forgive me. After a few more puddles of tears, I arose to my feet when the preacher shared that he felt like God wanted to heal people tonight. He instructed people to move to the right front of the altar if they needed healing. I walked over to this area with the expectation that God was going to heal me. One of the other pastors came over to me, anointed my head with oil, laid hands on me, and prayed the following prayer "God, Your Word says that we shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed. I lay hands on Laura and claim that all sickness be gone in the Name of Jesus and that every area of her body would be healed in the Name of Jesus." The pastor then left to go pray with other people.
I felt the power of God come over me. I had to have a friend help me back to my seat and eventually drive me home. My leg starting shaking in ways that are physically impossible to do. I could literally feel my muscles and bones being streched out. This went on for about 30 minutes and then abruptly stopped. My friends helped in the house and placed me in a reclining chair. They took my shoes and socks off and told me to stretch out my legs. They were the same length. Praise God!!
Whatever you are facing today, believe God for a miracle. God still performs miracles and He wants to perform one in your life today. The key is to believe God for it.
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