Going gray gracefully....

Am I ready to go gray? NO. I colored my hair again last night. Someone was teasing me several years ago about not being ready to go gray. They thought I was afraid to get older.But they were wrong. I love to color my hair. It is one of the perks I do when I pamper myself. I've earned every gray hair I have and I have no problem at times letting them show. However, I have had a close, personal relationship with Lady Clairol since I was 18 and colored my hair walnut brown when Waylon Jennings came to town. (Why I remember that, I'll never know.) I was naive and had never done this before. So I bought a bottle of brown because it said on brown hair it would lighten and provide highlights. WRONG! It made my hair the color of a overripe walnut. It was almost black. But I survived. The next time I tried it, someone recommend I use a golden blonde because it would simply put light highlights in brown hair. WRONG AGAIN! Since my family has the "red" gene, it simply turned it a strange shade of auburn. So I thought a few months down the road, since I had auburn genes anyway, why not use auburn coloring. It should just be a beautiful shade of brown with reddish/golden highlights. Third times a charm? WRONG! It was so orange, I could have passed for a pumpkin on Halloween. So after many aborted attempts and not willing to spend the money at a salon to do it right, I did some checking. It turns out that if you have red or auburn genes, and you are wanting to lighten brown hair, you simply use a Ash Blonde. The ash tones down the red/auburn and you end up with a variety of golds, browns and blondes that make it look like you've had some streaks placed in your hair. Now that I have the gray, when I use my ash blonde, I get variegated shades and the gray looks much better covered with browns and blonde highlights. So I can grow old gracefully. I have no problem with that. But I will fight my grays as long as I can. Not because I am ashamed or embarrassed by them, but simply because I love changing my hair color. It gives me a lift, boosts my spirits and makes me feel younger. Vanity? No, just one of my little quirks that I like to do.

To God be the glory.

How many times have you heard that phrase? Songs are written about it. Preachers do sermons on it. Sunday School lessons are prepared to teach it. If you Google that phrase, there are 32,500,000 results for those few precious words. Yet, how many times do we actually GIVE him the glory. Without him, we are nothing. Our goals are not reached; our dreams are not acheived. Our happiness and existence depend on Him and Him alone. I've always heard life is what you make it. No, life is what you make OF it with what God provides for you. Do you glorify God when He blesses you? Do you give him the praise when things are going great in your life? Or do you simply cry out to Him in the bad times? Do you just need Him when the going gets tough? There is a song that says it best: For The God On The Mountain Is Still God In The Valley when Things Go Wrong He'll Make Them Right and The God Of The Good Times, Is Still God Of The Bad Times and The God Of The Day Is Still God Of The Night So, don't wait for the dark times to call on Him. Praise His name daily for what He does for you. Look for the good and you will find it. I glorify His holy name. He has poured blessing after blessing down on me this week and I am so thankful that I am His and He is mine! My favorite prayer that I pray is so simple. I just simply close my eyes, turn my heart toward heaven and say "Dear Lord, it's me again. Help. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen." It is basic and simple, but He knows my needs before I even pray. When life gets overwhelming or I'm facing challenges, I turn to Him with that simple prayer. And He always, always, always come through for me. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. - Romans 11:36