The one about cats eating mice...

The last four days have been soooooooo HOT! Overwhelmingly HOT. Bethany and I were just talking about how lazy we feel... coming home and wanting to do nothing more than lounge around. I just spent over an hour watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and playing on Facebook. See what I mean?

Things at Victory Home (the 6-month, Christ-centered, addiction recovery and Bible-training ministry I work for) are going well. God has been doing some pretty amazing stuff. The finances are starting to pick back up, we have a great group of guys, more are wanting to come into the program, our customer base is increasing, we have more leads for networking than ever before, and, above all, the heart of the ministry - God transforming lives - is more evident than ever!

Almost every Sunday men are identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ in believer's baptism! It is something to behold. How awesome it is to witness God's power in the lives of the men He has brought to us. It is truly a privilege. I can't imagine being anywhere else. I don't even think of it as work... as I am sure the rest of the Victory Home family would agree. Don't get me wrong. Somedays are harder than others. At certain times, the ministry is emotionally, physically and spiritually taxing and you just want to go home. All the while, however, I know it is worth it!

You know the common adage "there is a first time for everything?" Well, I had a "first time" today, and I can't say I want there to be another time. Nancy, (my good friend, sister-in-Christ, and co-worker) and her husband, are out of town for a few days visiting her mother who had emergency surgery. I have been stopping by their home and caring for their cats: Spooky, Tippy, and Miss Kitty. Nothing out of the ordinary... just feeding, watering and letting them in and out. Well, this afternoon I needed to stop by and let the two younger cars, Tippy and Spooky, in the house for the night. Before I have reached the stairs I hear a gasp, scream, gasp. "Mommy," Collin yells, "one of the cats threw up on the floor... and UGH, YUCK, there is a dead mouse right in the middle of it!" Oh, that cat. Miss Kitty is the culprit. Tippy and Spooky, if you will remember, were outside all day.

Ok. I have had an iron stomach for most of my life. No joking. I could handle kid's vomit - not just my Collin's. I could handle changing dirty diapers without a grimace. Cleaning up after pets. But for some reason, over the last few months or so, my stomach has been betraying me. I tried, let me tell ya, I tried to bring myself to clean up this mess! I grabbed a number of paper towels. I fetched a grocery bag from under the kitchen sink. I stood over the pile. "I can do this," I assured myself. I went to the couch. Sat down. Thought about calling for help. Jeremy will do (he is the men's supervisor at Victory Home... Nancy's house is right down the street). I was so distracted I called the wrong number. I called the right number, and then hung up at the first ring. "Melissa," I said, "this is ridiculous. You need to just go in there and clean up the puke with the dead mouse in it!" All this time Collin is pacing the house, and going up and down the stairs. "What are you going to do?" He asks. But everything he says is muffled... my mind is on the task at hand.

Finally, I call Jeremy and level with him. There are many things I CAN do, but this AIN'T one of 'em. I tell him I just can imagine feeling the body of this mouse drenched in cat vomit through the wad of paper towels, through the grocery bag. As we are "handling" (couldn't resist) the situation, there on a comfy chairs sits Miss Kitty. Could she be anymore removed from the commotion?

THANK GOD for good friends. Good ol' Jeremy shows up with Paul (one of our internship guys), and the deed is done! Yeah!

Tomorrow, I must return to the scene of the crime. There better be no copycats!