Thankful for my friends

This post will be super short and sweet because it's way past my bedtime, but I just had to say that I feel incredibly thankful for the friends that GOD has crossed my path with. There are a bunch of you out there and you know who you are!

Tonight I got to hang out with my friends Crazy Amy and Brianna. Actually we helped Amy get settled into her new place tonight and it was such a great time. She had a lot of boxes and the moving company that packed up her belongings from LA sure did kill a couple trees (well maybe a small forrest) in the process. I've never seen so much packing paper in my life :) I think we made great progress and got through close to 20 boxes of stuff. Brianna brought us dinner around 7 pm and I of course brought some delicious chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

But the moving/unpacking part is a workout in and of it self so it's bedtime now. And I know that I am going to sleep good tonight!

Encouragement...

This quote and verse was in my dayplanner for the day and I hope it encourages you like it encouraged me!

The "good thing" that you desire will become the "Best Thing" when you allow God to give it you in His time.

Psalms 20:4 "May HE give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."

Da Blues...

To say this week started off on the wrong foot would be a slight understatement. There was some workplace "drama" as we like to call it in our office and I'm feeling a little beat down by it to tell you the truth. Most people that truly know me, know that I have a strong work ethic so you can understand the shock and sadness that I felt when that was called into question. And it's not in my character to retaliate against false accusations by being malicious in return...for two reasons...it's simply not who I am and it's not how GOD calls me to respond. I am instructed to "turn the other cheek" and so that is what I am going to do. AND as my best friend Caron often says, "Build a bridge and get over it" :)

So on to some positive news... I started a new study this past Friday night with a group of people from our Thirties Singles Sunday School class and I am pretty excited about it. We are going to be working through a video/workbook called "When Worldviews Collide". Here is the synopsis of the material:

Perhaps more than ever before, our culture is being influenced by non-Christian belief systems. Here's a new small-group study written by a former Muslim designed to develop a Christian's theology and doctrine for the purpose of building confidence in personal evangelism and engaging their culture with absolute biblical truth. In addition, it helps adults identify ways false teachings make an impact on our society and to take actions that promote a biblical worldview. Other faiths covered include Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist

Jon and Becky (my Sunday School teachers) are leading us through this study and Jon asked us all to share either about someone of another religion we have had an experience with or to share why we wanted to do this study. For me, I have a firm foundation in my own faith but I struggle when it comes to sharing with others and truly understanding the differences among other religions and how they relate to Christianity. I hope to gain some insight into these other worldviews and to also strengthen my own relationship with God. AND I am sure you'll read more to come about this study in the days ahead...

(Side Note: I had previously posted a blog about this study but in my attempts to change some settings I accidentally deleted this post and temporarily blocked out others from reading my blog. SORRY! but everything should be back to normal)

A Case of Writer's Block

So I am struggling...struggling to find the words to talk about the things I want to talk about. Or maybe it's the things that I am struggling with making it hard to find the words to talk. Who knows? Maybe it's because I feel that there are life changing things on the horizon (positive things) but until there is real, solid proof of movement, I choose to be silent. Some would say that "silence is golden" while others would say that it's over-rated....just talk already (and trust me, I usually never have to be told to "speak up"). Maybe in my silence, I am enjoying a place of solitude.

Psalms 46:10a says "Be still, and know that I am God; " and sometimes I think that is exactly where GOD wants us to be..."still".

Service with a Smile

Tonight myself along with 7 others from our 30's Sunday School Group went to the Ronald McDonald House to provide and serve dinner to the families staying there. Myself and Brianna met up to pick up the food we had catered for the families and got there about 30 minutes early so I enjoyed getting to talk to her. I had planned the food portion and was a little nervous that we wouldn't have enough but as always, everything came together. We served about 15-20 people and had some opportunities to talk with them. It's hard to see these families in their struggles and suffering. I've always heard people say that the worse thing a parent can go through is watching their child suffer. I can't even imagine what those families or parents go through on a daily basis. The only thing I feel led to do is pray...pray for an extra measure of strength and peace for those parents, pray for healing for those children and also give thanks to GOD for all that HE will do. I am thankful that the God I serve is a BIG GOD!

It's About Time...

Dare I even say it but I think I might actually be getting over this lingering cold. I did go back to the doctor on Tuesday since I'd been feeling blah for over a week. They did blood work (which is normal, PRAISE GOD) and the doctor thinks I just have your good ole' common cold. The "cold" that can drag on for a week or longer and of course you just have to let it ride it's course. There are no wonder drugs or antibiotics to be given out so I will admit that I was a little disappointed that all I got was a lousy nasal spray BUT I think it's actually working :) At this point, I had already resolved to just get better regardless but I really think I am going to kick this stubborn cold.

Just in time too! Because the holiday travels and my laziness from being sick is O-V-E-R. It's time to lace up those running shoes and hit the road. I am doing the Nashville Predators Fangtastic 5k again this year with my dad and it's only 2 weeks away. Mind you it's only 3 miles and I ran that a week ago before I got sick but nevertheless. I REALLY want to do the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon especially since last year I had to sit the sidelines due to whatever illness my body was battling. That means training and discipline need to happen immediately, if not sooner. I'm ready to run...

Still Struggling...

One would think that a cold would come and go but this one has seem to found a home with me, much to my dismay. Tomorrow will mark a week that I have been feeling under the weather so I guess I am going to have to go back to the doctor even though I feel like there is not much they can really do. I have been taking prescription decongestants but they totally knock me out and I feel worse from taking them. My energy level feels depleted and over all I am frustrated. I just want to feel better already.

Obviously, my weekend was pretty quiet and uneventful. Anything that I had planned was cancelled so I could rest. I did manage to get some much needed cleaning done at home but that's about it. I even mustered up enough strength to get to church yesterday but that took about everything out of me. The rest of the day was spent lounging on the couch watching football, talking to my family, taking a 2 hour nap and watching a movie in the evening.

Sick...Again?

Yep and I have to say that this is getting rather old. I was sick back in December for a week or so and now two weeks later it's back. I am sure that this consistent roller coaster of the temperature/weather change doesn't help or my crazy weekends of traveling but still...I thought my immune system was stronger that this? I don't like feeling sick...feeling incapable to do the simple day to day activities. We live in a world and society that goes and goes and goes so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that it's hard and frustrating to have to slow down or come to a complete stop. I really don't have much of a choice but to "slow" down and get well but at least I can pray that I get well FAST!

Birthday Party Fun

This past weekend I headed back to Evansville to celebrate my niece, Elaysha's 7th birthday party. It was so much fun. Here are a couple pictures from the celebration:

Elaysha at the finish of the Obstacle Course

I am a big kid at heart !

Elaysha with all her friends at Pump It Up

Blowing out the candles...

Elaysha and I at her birthday dinner

Baby, it's COLD outside

I only have one thing to say....BRRRR! I woke up this morning to a frigid 11 degree temperatures and if you factor in the wind chill it was like 6 degrees. Long gone are the days that I relished such freezing temperatures and bitter bite of the cold wind. I have become accustomed to the warmer ways of living in the south so when the thermometer dips below 50 degrees, things like "It's cold outside" comes out of my mouth.

So our networks are down this morning at work but we still have access to the Internet so I thought what better way to kill some down time than to blog. The past month has been filled with lots of travels...Kentucky, Indiana and Florida...and I still have another trip to Indiana this weekend. I would not be going for any other reason than it being my niece's birthday party and it's not just any birthday party. She is having her party at this cool place called Pump It Up. We celebrated her 5th birthday party there and it was a blast. I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post after this weekend. And of course, it's always good to be with family. After this trip, my calendar is clear and I look forward to being home for awhile. And as much as I enjoy quality "me" time, I am sure I won't stay still for long.

A New Year

On the eve of this New Year, Amy and I enjoyed a relaxing morning sleeping in but ventured out to Pensacola Beach in the late afternoon. She took me to Peg Leg Pete's Oyster Bar for a late lunch/early dinner and I was able to enjoy the most delicious and fresh Grouper sandwich ever. We then headed down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine, walk on the beach, take pictures and watch the last sunset of 2007. Here are a couple pictures from our time at the beach:

After the sunset and the temperatures fell, we headed back to the house to get ready for our evening o' fun. I was actually able to get in a disco nap too which comes in handy when you are up till 4 am. Alabama Jen came over and we all got ready together. We headed to see Hundredfold play at a church in Pace, FL. It was definitely a good time and a fun way to ring in the New Year. And of course I'd like to give a big shout out to AL Jen for bringing her "Box of Americana" so we could all be adorned with festive hats, noisemakers, etc.

Happy New Year!

Me, Jen and Amy with a special appearance by Derrick

Robert and James embracing the party favors.
With friends on New Years

Well the party didn't end when the clock struck midnight. Some of us ventured on to the Waffle House for our first meal of 2008. Good food and great conversation...a great way to start this new year.

This by far exceeded my typical New Years ritual of staying home, watching a movie and journaling into the New Year. I feel incredibly blessed with the friends God has brought into my life in the past year and I cannot wait to see what HE has in store for 2008!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Bowling on Sunday

Sunday was another fun day. Church in the a.m., lunch at a fun diner on Scenic Hwy 90, a relaxing afternoon watching "Pride & Prejudice" and taking a nap, church again in the p.m. and then a group of us went bowling. Here are some fun pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Jen, Erin, Amy and Me

Amy and Charity bowling

Yummy Cheese Fries

Terah and Jen

The bowling gang