L.B.Y.

Up until this past fall, I had never done a Bible study. Looking back, I truly feel God was giving me a huge shove to do one. Beth Moore's Believing God was the study I chose to do. She had me at the first week. It was awesome and faith changing. After it ended, I knew immediately I wanted to do another one, but procrastinated about it. In fact, I've been thinking about starting another one for the past 2 months or so. I don't know what was stopping me.

That brings me to today. I signed up to do another Beth Moore Bible study (she is the best!), Living Beyond Yourself. I realized that I haven't really felt "on track" since I stopped the last one. Maybe it's because I haven't been reading the Bible everyday, or not closely paying attention to what the Bible is telling me or applying it to my life. But I am ready to go back to that. I need a change in my life. I need to feel back on track with my spiritual growth because I have been feeling like an emotional and spiritual mess for a while now.

I am thrilled that I am going to spend the next 10 weeks learning more about this: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

TGIF

Thank Goodness It's Friday! I have to work tonight but then it's 2 days of freedom for me. I can't wait, especially since the weather forecast says it's going to be near 80 on Saturday. That means I am breaking out the bathing suit and plopping my behind in a lawn chair. I need some color other than pasty white!

Another week of work is almost done, and I feel so grateful that it almost is. This week has been a hectic one, as I have said goodbye to a much loved assistant store manager and have had way too many things to do without the time to do them. Hmmm.. that is the story of my work life. I often feel like I have a million tasks and even though I keep a list of what needs to be done, there is always something that seems to slip through the cracks. And the one thing that slips through the cracks is usually what I get called out on. I am hoping and praying that I don't have a lovely little email about it when I get to work today.

I have to mention one thing that really made me smile last night. So, I am getting ready for bed, washing my face when something happens to catch my eye in the shower. Of course I had to get a better look and this is what I saw!

Maybe not that unusual, but in my house, it is! Mike has always been a bar soap kind of guy, so I started laughing at the thought of my sweet husband walking the aisles at the grocery store, trying to decide on just the "right kind" of body wash. Not to mention that he even chose a sponge that's blue. Awww....

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!



Update: I have added a link (Finding Hope in Calcutta) on the side of my blog. Several bloggers that I read regularly are going to India to do some amazing work, and Pete from Without Wax is going to be blogging from there! You can click on the picture and it will take you directly to Pete's blog.

Hope Now

I am sure that I have mentioned before how awesome I think Pete Wilson is (Pete's a pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville). He is currently doing a series on hope, and when I saw this on his blog, I knew I was going to have to tune into his podcasts. This is what I need in my life at the moment!


Hope Now Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

We've Come a Long Way

I knew the minute I saw him that we were going to be together. I didn't know how or when, but one thing was certain. He was going to be mine. It was a crazy feeling--I haven't been so sure of anything in my life before that or since then.


He was a total flirt. I think he had charmed his way into the hearts of every female working in that department store, and of course, I didn't mind one bit that I had to walk through his department to get to mine. If it meant that I had to look at his gorgeous face, it was worth it! He made me laugh and gave me a reason to love going to work. I think he knew immediately that I was crazy about him. How could he not with the HUGE grin I had on my face every time we talked? His friend Jason convinced me to tell him how I felt, and after that, he avoided me like the plague. When he finally came back around, I was pretty sure that he didn't feel the same way (or so I thought).

Fast forward to almost a year later. He was on college spring break in Cancun. I get a phone call at 2:30 in the morning. Guess who? Yup..it was him. By this time we were good friends and talked on the phone all the time, so it wasn't too big of a shock that he was calling. Well, except for the time and considering he was out of the country! He was calling to confess that while he was having a good time in Mexico, he was missing me. Because he was in love with me. I distinctly remember smiling from ear to ear after hearing that. I had visions of what things would be like when he came home. That should have been my first clue that things don't always happen the way we plan!

When he got back, he was weird. Strange. He acted like he had no idea what in the world he had said to me over the phone. I was bummed. How could he not remember THAT conversation? We were back to square one--just friends. Until the night a few weeks later when I kissed him in my friend Jaime's hot tub. I couldn't resist. He was such a flirt, and was so darn cute that I had to make the first move (again). This time, there was no opposition. The rest is history as they say....

That was 12 years ago today. My mom laughs that Mike and I still "celebrate" this. She says that you only count the years you have been married. I think it's important to not forget where you started, and to think about what came before marriage. It's what got us to where we are today. So Mike and I have 2 anniversaries, and while we don't really do anything special to commemorate the day we started dating, we still think it's cause for celebration.

Happy 12 years, Mike! I love you more than I can ever say....

Something's in the water

There is an epidemic breaking out at work. It's a pregnancy epidemic! The latest addition to the pregnancy club told the other managers this week that she is expecting. That makes 4 pregnant women at work. Everyone is joking that it must be something in the water! Can I have a gallon of that water please?

It seems everywhere I look there are pregnant women. You should have seen Panera today. I think every mom in GR was there with their drooling babies and screaming toddlers. I had to practically hurdle a stroller just to get in line, and of course, I had to get behind 2 very pregnant women. Thanks. I felt like the odd person out, and it made me bitter. And I don't want to be. Right now I would so much rather be part of the moms club, sitting with the group of moms than in a seat just for two sipping my vanilla latte and reading a book. Oh, I know there is going to come a time when I would beg to have a quiet lunch alone. Not today though. Today I ache to have a baby in my arms.

Good Friday

Nails didn't hold God to the cross.

LOVE DID.

-Max Lucado

Maundy Thursday

On the Eve of the Cross, Jesus made his decision.

He would rather go to hell for you

than go to Heaven without you.

-Max Lucado

Let the sun shine in

The sunshine was peeking around the edge of the shades in my otherwise dark bedroom this morning, and sadly, I did not welcome it. I was hoping for a dark and gloomy day. I really wanted a day that would reflect my mood. For the last two days, I have been feeling somber and well, reflective. And that darn sunshine was going to ruin my perfectly down mood!

Normally I would dispise the fact that I wasn't bouncing off the walls with happiness, but today was different. It sounds so crazy, but I wanted to spend the day being solemn and in prayer over the Passion of Jesus. I planned on watching the Passion of the Christ, and didn't want any kind of sunshine and light creeping in on my thoughts and prayers. I wanted to cry, I wanted to feel sad over the death of Jesus. I wanted to let the weight of it all cover me, because honestly, I don't often think about the sacrifice that was made for this world. For me. God's love can be a heavy and powerful thing when you actually stop to think about it. It's life changing.

Needless to say, the sunshine wouldn't let up. It's been a perfect and cloudless day. While I've kept my solemn mood, I know that the sun is going to keep on shining because God knows that I need to see the light even when I'm in the midst of darkness.

I've been in a quandry about what to do with my hair. I have had the same style a looooong time now, and have been in the mood for something different, but I don't feel up to cutting it any shorter. Don't get me wrong. I love short hair! I think having shorter hair fits my personality, but I am ready for a change. And that change means I am growing my hair out! I may soon regret this decision, especially as I get into the in between stage, but for now, I am feeling good about it. I went to see my stylist today and she thinned it out since it tends to get super thick. What a difference it made (well, at least to me!). She styled it differently today--it was like she was reading my mind!

I may also need to hit the tanning booth...I am looking a little pasty!!

Preach it!

"I’m also prone to mental defeat when the enemy has pitched me a great opportunity to obsess about something or to give way to fear and stress. Each of these represents perfect moments to turn to my Scripture memory. There are tons of things we COULD think about today but we have the power in Jesus’ Name to choose the things that edify our spirits and renew our minds. Remember, every defeat and every victory takes place on the battlefield of the mind before it erupts in the exterior life. Listen, Darling Things, we don’t have to let every mental struggle turn into a stronghold. We can successfully cut things off at the pass. And this is one huge way we do it."--BETH MOORE

I needed to hear this today. I can SO relate! Now, I just have to decide what my new Scripture verse is going to be for April1-14. Hmmm.......