Psalm 91 - We Are Safe In His Arms

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]

2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

BE BLESSED!!!!!

Psalm 51 - just wanted to pass it on...

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Random Words formed into a Poem...I suppose...

when did i stop trying
when did i stop caring
when did i give up
oh my Lord have mercy on me!

the less i come before you
the less i feel i know you
the more i drift away from you
Lord please, i really don't mean it

my soul it longs for you
thinking back on how it used to be
my soul it longs for you
i'm so far beyond my second chance

my life is in disarray
why am i being so stubborn
i'm lost without you
forever clinging to the memories
of when you were so close

but like they say - it's not you that has moved,
it's me

Heat Don't Live Here...PRAISE UPDATE!

Thanks to those who were praying with us. No, the heat has not been restored yet, but we are seeing some progress. Maintenance was out here today and they agreed that the temperatures were low. (DUH!!!) They will be coming out tomorrow to bleed the radiators. In the meantime, we have to clear the radiators of anything that's blocking the heat. I am hopeful that everything should be up and running by tomorrow. Just in case, I have a lawyer who's ready to serve some papers - he said that it is definitely a breech of the agreement. I did submit a complaint to Action News today (that was earlier this morning before the men came out). We shouldn't have to go there.

I don't know if the other tenants will want to jump on the bandwagon and do what we did, but I had a feeling that we'd be pretty much alone in our fight. It didn't seem like anyone else really wanted to make waves. We should have some heat up in here by tomorrow.

Praise the Lord!

Dear Mr. L ...

This is the actual letter that was faxed over to the main office:

Mr. F.L.,
My family currently occupies unit A4, since June 2006. As of this day, we have not had heat in our apartment. We have given our Property Manager, K.T. ample opportunities to resolve the matter and we have not gotten the proper attention and results that we deserve. We feel like we are being brushed off.

We have been told that the heat would come on once the temperature drops below 50 degrees, but this has not been the case. There is no heat coming from the radiators. We are disgusted at the fact that the commitment of heat is not being honored. We have three children; one of whom has Asthma (2 year-old) and our oldest child (9) has Sickle Cell Disease. Subjecting them to these undesirable conditions has caused us to take matters into our own hands, unless you intervene.

We are asking for the following: immediate restoration of the heating to our apartment and a reasonable credit from rent payments made from October and November (months that heat was not available in our apartment).

If we do not receive heating in our apartment, the rent payment for the month of December (and following months if necessary) will be held in escrow. Also, Action News will be contacted mainly due to the fact that there are others in our building that are affected.

Please understand that we did not originally intend to resort to these measures, but we were left with no other options. This is the result of negligence and poor management decisions. We pay our rent consistently as we should, and we ought to have heat in our apartment as indicated in our lease agreement.

I hope that this matter is resolved promptly. You may follow up with my husband, Mister (that's M-I-S-T-E-R PERIOD!)

Thank you.

Since this letter has been faxed, hubby has gotten a call from our property manager saying that they want to put in a recorder to record the temperature around the clock. I pray that they get true readings from this thing. I have contacted a lawyer to get legal advice. Please keep us in your prayers. We just want heat!

Congratulations, Mr. President

I just want to say congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama. Thank you for running a classy and mature campaign. Thank you for bringing back hope for change. We know that true change lies in the Lord, but what you can accomplish with the help of the Lord could be amazing! It blows my mind when I see clips from people in Africa cheering and crying (even harder than us at times)at the fact that our newest president is of African descent. What a mighty God we serve!

A lady at my job, who I think is in her 50's or 60's said that she never thought that she'd see the day when we'd have a Black President. Though I am almost 20 or 30 years younger than her, I would have to say that I too, never imagined that I'd see this day. It was crazy when she said it. She whispered as if she couldn't show but so much emotion in regards to what was taking place.

Congratulations!

Heat Don't Live Here Anymore...

I have just about had enough with our apartment and the people that run it. We were told that everyone had heat since October 15th or 16th. They had installed digital thermostats in each unit over the summer. But now I've come to find that those new thermostats were just decoration - just a front. I might as well take it down and let my two year old daughter use it as a toy! My husband has contacted the property manager, who also lives in our complex in another building. She has stated that the heat will automatically kick on when the temperature drops below 50 degrees...please tell me why at this very moment(it's 3 am and it's 37 degrees outside) our digital thermostat reads that it's 73 degrees in the apartment, yet there is no heat coming from the vents/radiator (whatever you want to call it). I'm pissed. The only time we had heat was when one of the guys from maintenance put the heat on "bypass". Which was actually something that he wasn't supposed to be doing for people. But it was the only way we could get heat. He told me that he'd come by to show my husband what to do next time. So I called back and asked for the same guy to come out, and when I called and the property manager answered. I dislike her very much. She told me that the person that I wanted was at another apartment complex. I said, but he said that he'd show my husband how to do something...and she said, you mean he was going to show him how to bypass the system? I said, no he didn't say that - he said he was just going to show him something. I'm like, shoot, now he's going to get in trouble. But that's frickin' ridiculous! So she goes back into the same explanation of, yes, I know that 70 degrees doesn't feel that warm and I know that when I'm in the apartment, I have to put an extra sweater on my daughter...WHAT THE HELL!!! Why are we paying what we pay every month, just to be inconvenienced like this? Heat and hot water are included.

I am ready to call Action News on these people! I have a child with Sickle Cell Anemia - he could easily go into a bout of crisis pain just by taking a bath, then stepping out into a much colder bathroom - the shock of the temperatures alone could cause pain. My other child has cold-induced asthma - so should I send them the bill if I have to take my kids to the ER - thank God we haven't had to make any trips.

Why am I sitting at this computer, fully clothed, and yet, still cold. THERE IS NO HEAT COMING OUT OF THE DAMN RADIATOR!!! They keep standing by their same explanations and repeating them over and over - I'm not stupid, I know when the heat is on and when it's NOT!!

How about we stop paying rent until this whole matter is resolved. We don't make a lot of fuss over here - we always pay on time (by the grace of God). If this is your stance, knock off a couple hundred dollars off of the rent payment.

I don't even know why she would have the audacity to talk about how she puts an extra sweater on her damn daughter when she works for the company and doesn't have to pay nearly as much as what we pay - thanks to her damn employee frickin' discount! PUH-LEASE WOMAN! SHE PROBABLY HAS HER SYSTEM ON BYPASS!!!!!

Oh, if I only had an idea of what kind of car she drove, I'd SO go to the un-surveillanced parking lot and slit her tires. I'd take a baseball bat with me, just like they used to do in my old neighborhood, but I figure I wouldn't want to make too much noise.

Please share your thoughts with me. What would you do in this situation? Please excuse the colorful words used - but I am obviously fed up.

Gon' Mek Me Lose Ma 'Ligin...Part One

This lil' boy, wow. I've never met someone so little yet, so full of the devil. My children aren't perfect. BUT they have some sense of what it means to respect adults. They have some sense of how to get along with their peers. But this lil boy here, takes the cake. I'm waiting to see when he's going to make his head spin around. I know it's awful of me to say, but in any case...the truth shall set me free.

My first realization that this dude was a ticking time-bomb was when my boys were playing with him. My oldest was showing him how to "roof" a tennis ball. Now, Jah (my oldest)did this all the time at school, so he knew how to do it where the ball would come back down. However, one of the balls that the boy threw didn't come back down and it got stuck on something. Needless to say, no one could get it down. So, I'm in my house with the windows up so I could hear what was going on outside. All of a sudden, I hears sounds of wrestling and fussing. I look outside and this (whoa, THANK YA JESUS!) little boy was on top of Jah, Jah was trying his hardest to get up. I ran out the house with the baby as fast as I could. By the time I got over there (let's give him a name) Damien had run away. I yelled his name, "Damien!" I couldn't run cause I had the baby in my arms - but I was marching just like Sophia was in the Color Purple!

I'll have to make this a part one...but please feel free to comment on what I have so far!

Praise Him For the Little Things - Part Two

So pretty much, I wanted to nip this thing in the bud once and for all. This account was in collections and I felt that I hadn't done anything wrong. I'm like, where was this $450 coming from??? So I'm calling this person and being transferred to that person, but they can't help me so I need to be transferred to a logistical problematic analyst who can resolve my issue. I was running out of patience. But finally, I told my story, for the umpteenth time to this lady. And so, come to find out they were charging me for the early termination fees, plus they were charging me for this phone that I had never received! I was like, what the crap! How are you guys charging me for a phone that I had never activated, never made a call from or anything! So the lady had me hang on for a while as she was trying to track down this phone that they had attempted to send out to me several times. The Verizon reps would always ask me, what's the verizon cell phone number that you are calling about today? and I'd give them my current number because I was planning to keep my old number from AT&T and they could never find my account. The lady finally came back to the phone and told me that she tracked down the phone - someone else was using it and had activated it. I WAS SO RELIEVED. She assured me that I would not have to pay any early termination fees and they would not report anything to the credit bureau. I was clear and free! So that's why I wanted to take a moment to praise Him! I'm thankful that she was able to locate the phone that they were saying I received. I'm thankful that that's one less thing I have to worry about being on my credit report. Plus, I didn't have to fax over any supporting documentation proving that I already had service through AT&T!

AMEN!

Will I Ever Get Over This Fear???

God has not given us a spirit of fear...I've heard this many, many times. But I can assure you that that phrase is no where close to being on my mind when it comes to B.U.G.S. (Back Up, Get Spray!) I hate them and can't stand them. Early this morning I went into the bathroom to start my daily routine. I prefer to walk around barefooted. About 3 minutes in there, I see my dreaded enemy:

Uuuuuuuggggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!! I didn't take this picture! No time for a photo op. I ran out and got the closest spray I could find. Spray and Starch. I'm trying to hit the thing with whatever I could get my hands on. I'm thinking that if I don't get him, he'll get me (I know, complete and utter nonsense!) You should have seen him. He was quick as lightning - he was full grown - he was taunting me! The nerve! And to think, this past Monday Jamil did a family devotion (geared towards the kids) about God's creation, bugs in particular. He challenged them to not be afraid of them and allow them to live (Jamil is anti-squash and I'm pro-squash). Here I am a few days later, screaming at a bug saying, "You gotta die! You gotta die!" I'm getting itchy just thinking about that thing. I think the technical name of the bug is ooglious buglious - my spelling may be off a tad. Does loving God's creation get THAT deep??? Seriously, that's going to be one of my top 5 questions for God when I get to the other side - What up with the bugs God?

My kids have inherited my fear of bugs. I hope they outgrow it. My name is Jen and I'm afraid of bugs. I was talking to someone a couple of days ago and she said that she quit smoking by using a mind over matter technique. She would look in the mirror and repeat, "My name is Sally and I'm a non-smoker." Can I do that??? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...

Praise Him for the Little Things - Part One

You wanna talk about being relieved!!!!!!?????

Well, last December, some sales reps from Verizon Wireless were at my job trying to get people signed up. Mind you, I have AT&T and at that time, my contract was up and I could switch service providers at any time. So, I figured I could save a couple dollars since they were giving employee discounts [we can't get a company car, so I guess a discount is the next best thing]. So I signed up and a few days, then weeks passed and I still hadn't received my new phone from Verizon. But they were sending bills. I'm like what??? So I called them to let them know that I didn't get a phone yet, they verified my address and said they were going to try to ship the phone out again. About a week later, still no phone. And then a couple weeks later, I received another bill. HOLD UP! What's going on here. I called to let them know that I no longer wanted to get my service through Verizon. But something came up and while they had me on hold, I had to hang up to do something. Well, some months had passed since the last time I had spoken with them. And I received some more bills. Each one was getting bigger than the last. Then finally I got the early termination bill for like $175.00 - I was like how are they going to charge me for something that I never had??? By this time it was APRIL!!! I know, I know. I'm terrible with deadlines and stuff [don't trip, God ain't through with me yet!!!] So I call and I speak with a rep. I'm giving him the run down about how I NEVER received my phone and how I'm NOT paying for something that I didn't even receive. So he says that he has to let me speak with his supervisor. I'm telling her the same thing, plus I told her that I have a land line and DSL service through Verizon and this whole experience was making me want to seek out other service options. Her argument was my service began when I signed the paperwork. I wasn't trying to hear that. I brought up their 30-day guarantee promise, that if I wasn't pleased that I could end the service agreement. She agreed with that and said that if I faxed her documentation that I had service with AT&T during that time frame, she'd waive the early termination fees. I said cool. Now ya'll know I didn't do it right away and most of the time, if you don't do something right away while it's fresh, you won't do it at all! So I didn't do it. I put the PRO in PROCRASTINATION!!!! Lord help me! SOOOOOOO, fast forward to August. I receive a collections notice on the Verizon account in the estimated amount of $450.00! Plus, I've been receiving friendly calls from Miracle Financial, asking me to settle up this debt that has been placed in collections. This is getting long, so I'll make this part one.

I Know Patience is a Virtue But...

Yesterday, I'm in Giant picking up a few items before going home. I also had to stop by customer service to get a roll of quarters. So I'm waiting in line behind an older lady who obviously knew the young man behind the counter. Clearly he was done with her transaction and I thought she was getting ready to move on, but she stood there in front of him and continued the conversation. "Oh yeah, you're still at Montco [community college]..." Meanwhile, I'm looking back and forth at both of them thinking to myself, "I've gotta make moves, I have to take my son to the doctor in 45 minutes, don't they see the urgency in my eyes!!!" Dang nab it!!!! "MOVE!!!" I wanted to say. Oh the colorful words one says [people always excuse themselves when they use curse words around me...NEWSFLASH! I'm a sinner saved by grace!] Sure, I could have interrupted them mid-sentence and said, "I'm really in a hurry, I have to take my son to the doctor he has Sickle Cell Anemia." But I don't like the awkward silence that follows. Some are seemingly immune to that awkward silence or don't see it as awkwardness at all. I don't like to be perceived as a "pushy" person. I never want to be that person. Yet at the same time, I admire a person who can hold their own without having to "go there". How would you have handled the situation??? Furthermore, how do you think Jesus would have handled this same situation???? I'd REALLY love to hear your thoughts on this.

2008 Guyana Missions Trip - Part Four

You can't judge a worshipper by their praise...

Isaiah 55:1-13 Today's Morning Devotion:
We talked about how we should not be so quick to judge one's heart based on their outward appearance. We truly can't see what's going on in someones heart. Just because people may not be dancing around and shouting and clapping along with us doesn't mean that they aren't being impacted. Cause the Lord is showing us that people are coming to Him. Each concert that we do we have seen people come forward to accept the Lord. The bible says that His word won't return void - we may not see someone accept the Lord that same night, but God may deal with that individual later down the road. People in ministry need to learn this early.

On another note, I am learning or being challenged about my complaining spirit. Hopefully I will yield myself over to the Holy Spirit so that He can allow change to take place in my heart and in my life. I see the same things playing out in my kids... I know, I know, I've got to stop - drop - and PRAY!!!!!

THE WRAP UP
Going to Guyana made me constantly reflect on my life and the things surrounding my life. My home, my family, my job, my church - everything. I am so blessed right now. Yes, I may have made bad financial decisions, but God in His grace has given me a job that I may be reluctant to go to at times, but I praise Him for that job. Yes, I may be renting out an apartment and would much rather be in a position to kick my shoes off in a place I could call my own, but I praise God that I have a solid roof over my head. And my God is so good that He's never allowed us to struggle to make a rent payment. Rent has ALWAYS been on time. When we were in the different churches we sometimes struggled because some of the congregations didn't get up and outwardly praise God with us while we sang, but that helped us to learn how to praise God even when it seemed that no one else felt what we were feeling. You have to get to a place where you can say, "It's just me and You Lord, and I've made up my mind to praise You in my own way, regardless of who else is around and regardless of what people may think of me. I will praise You for You are worthy!" Souls were saved, people's lives were touched. Members of the choir grew in their faith. I felt so close to the Father.

2008 Guyana Missions Trip - Part Three

Sunday Morning Service at Elim Timehri Pentecostal Church. This church that we went to was beyond anything that I have ever experienced. When we got there, the place was packed with the exception of some chairs for us to sit. Their praise team / choir was off the hook! The congregation offered up to God the most heartfelt, unrestrained praise that I had ever heard. Collectively, they shouted out the name of JESUS! It was like a thunderous roar! There would be no rocks crying out on this day! It was truly amazing to hear people speaking in a different accent than my own lifting up the name of Jesus - it made the tears flow. Their praise was so rich and true.

Their choir was comprised of younger people who were not ashamed to lift up their voices, who were not ashamed to lend their bodies to exalting the Lord. We in America have so much, yet we don't have a thing because we've missed it (hope you follow me). We suffer and lack in the area of experiencing true fellowship, true worship, and true love towards one another because we've missed the fact that it ALWAYS will be and ALWAYS has been about Him. The Lord was exalted, He was in our midst.

We sang a song led by Dawn Hairston called "I Bless Your Name". The tears flowed again. I found myself throwing up my hand and saying, "Thank You Jesus!" When we sang "He's God", the electricity went out during the first verse and I opened my eyes for a split second, then just kept on singing God's praises. It really sweetened the praise! The pastor there, Pastor Sammy said that true praise really begins when all of life's "things" are taken away. We kinda scrambled after the song was over because we didn't really know which song we would sing without having sound/music and solo microphones. But just then, Ms. Carol (the choir director) had us sing "Sweet Aroma of Praise". We were just singing and praising God to the best of our ability and towards the end of song the electricity just came back on! It was unreal. It was crazy because Pastor Sammy had said that it could take a while for the electricity to come back on and less than one song later --- BAM! We were up and running as if it was just part of the program. It was like the Lord was testing us to see if we would truly praise Him anyhow/anyway.

We have had good food, transportation - from people who didn't complain about the task or anything. They were willing workers for the Lord. Altaf was our main driver. He is a Christian who had converted from Islam. He told us that the day he had gotten baptised was the day he was kicked out of his parents home and shunned.

Later than night we had another concert at Bethel. After the concert was over, a lady named Beverly had greeted me. She said that the Lord told her to tell me that I was a special person and also, whatever was burdening me, that I should roll it over onto Him. What an amazing thing - the Lord sent someone to give me a message of hope, of peace, of comfort. Yet another reminder from God that He's more than able to bring me through my trials! Do I really trust my Lord and Savior with the stuff that is weighing me down? The Lord met me over in Guyana to remind me that He cares for me and that I am special to Him.

Cast all my cares upon Him for He cares for me.

Quotes from Pastor Sammy: "It's nice to know that we are related!" and "Make haste, slowly!"

All pictures by Sister S. King

2008 Guyana Missions Trip - Part Two

Saturday. We went to the Joshua House Orphanage to minister through song and signing. Also, some of the choir members bought toiletries and candy for the kids. It was a very blessed time. It was raining really hard by the time we started singing. The kids were attentive. It was amazing how they were seemingly content though they were without their natural parents. Sister King have her testimony about how she grew up in a family that didn't express or display love towards one another. She was a natural at talking to them, they seemed to hang on her every word. She let them know that she found love in Jesus and that Jesus loves them too. Some of the kids came to the Lord! It was awesome.

(pictures shot by Sisters S. King and D. King)

Homegirl on a Budget - Commercial Break!

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SPECIAL NOTE: A word to the wise, don't spray while the kids are home (unless it's some crazy form of punishment -- ONLY KIDDING), don't spray too much (like I did! I was like, "Jamil can you taste the bleach in your throat??"), try to use a mask that covers your nose and mouth. This stuff is strong! You'll be better off, spraying the stuff, then just go out to a movie or something. But the stuff really works wonders. AND it only costs $2.88 at Home Depot.

If anyone can find a different stain remover that doesn't make you have to temporarily relocate due to the fumes...Holla at me.

2008 Guyana Missions Trip - Part One

(pictures provided by Sister S. King)

Wednesday June 25th. My husband, 3 kids, mother, sister, and nephew came up to the church (Montco Bible Fellowship) to see me off to Guyana. I'm really going to miss them all. Pastor Sam, Pastor Darryl, and Pastor Dru drove us to JFK airport. It was a rollercoaster, riding with Pastor Sam, but God is good! We got there in time, everything went smoothly. Checked our bags, went through security, but as I got onto the plane it started to get very real. I was on my way to Guyana to do the work of the Lord! I was going on a missions trip. I am thankful for this awesome experience.

We took off from JFK and safely landed in Trinidad & Tobago's airport. We couldn't get off of the plane as I had originally thought. So we waited for more people to board and then we were headed for Guyana. We hit some turbulence - it was like, how did we do that four-hour flight from NYC to Trinidad without anything going on - then fly from Trinidad to Guyana, which was a shorter distance and have such a bumpy ride? I just broke out into praise. We have to praise Him in the midst of our storms. He's always worthy of our praise, through the good and bad times.

Guyana has it's picturesque places...

and then there are places where you can see the desolation...

Driving is crazy! Everyone passes everyone (if that make sense?). Barely any stop lights or stop signs. Dogs and cows are on the sides of the roads or walking across the street.

Our first concert was met with some obstacles. The sound wasn't the best. The mics were not good, but inspite of it all, the Lord still came through. Hands of Praise ministered and really moved the audience and brought glory and honor to the Lord!

I'll be back with Part Two soon.

Nu 2 Dis

I'm not quite sure where I'll go with this or when I'll find the time to get some of this stuff outta my head, but nonetheless I will make an attempt. Seems like a nice way to invite others into your thoughts. I guess I'll share what happened to me at Wal-Mart, like Trish (another blogger) did a day or so ago. I went into Wal-Mart with just TWO items on my shopping list, but you know how that turned out. Come on, it's Wal-Mart for crying out loud. Not even the most disciplined shoppers can enter without purchasing an extra item that's not on their list. So, I set out to pick up a money order and an iron. I remembered that I put some film in a while ago and was anxious to see what I took pictures of - yes, I am guilty of holding onto film for 1 - 2 years, then forgetting what event(s) were captured. So I picked up the pictures and paid for them and continued to pick up the other items (plus the other extra thing that wasn't on my list...the pictures didn't count). So I finish up and pay for my items SIDE BAR: ALWAYS BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR RECEIPT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE STORE! I almost walked out of there with some type of decorative net thingy and some gaudy hair clips that were definitely for someone 40+ from way back in the late 60's.

So, I get into the car, start pulling out my pictures only to find that the first set didn't belong to me!!!! HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!! I frantically opened up the second set and was relieved that those definitely belonged to me (wasn't thrilled with the pictures, but they were mine). So my husband pulls over so that I can take them back to the Photo department. I calmly explain to the lady that the pictures weren't mine. I did the 2-day turn-over time frame instead of the 1-hour deal. Apparently when you do the 2-day, they send your film to Fuji, and they send them back to the store. As the lady was filling out my paperwork, I thought to myself, I'm sure they get a lot of customers that cuss them (the Wal-Mart employees) out over not receiving the correct pictures, without even finding out who is truly at fault. I said to the lady, "I bet you get a lot of customers that are upset with you about their missing pictures. Where my pictures at? or I'm not leaving here unless you get my pictures" She said, "You have no idea." She was very nice. She walked me to customer service so that I could get my money back, we even chit-chatted down the aisle. You know, a lot of frustration and aggravation could be avoided if people would be willing to listen to one another. If I had gone back into the Wal-Mart with an attitude, that 4-minute transaction could have easily turned into a 30-minute argument, which probably could have resulted in some type of altercation. Basically, like it says in the good book -- a gentle answer turns away wrath (Proverbs...not Confucius).