I am blessed

Ever need one of those rejuvenating weekends? I had the best one. It's amazing how just having some good quality time with God and with friends or family can bring you such joy. I had the most fabulous weekend.

I studied on Friday then took Dassah to the kennel and went to Greenville for the weekend. I got to go to the singles bible study again. A better experience this time. Heindrick challenged us regarding our purpose in life during the bible study and something that struck me was his challenging statement. "When we don't recognize God's purpose in someone, is when we tend to abuse or neglect them". That can be in respect to ourself or in regards to someone else. It was a challenging statement to live by. And I had fun chatting with Tyra and Jazmine.(Good luck at school girls!)

Saturday was a fun filled girl's day out with my sister. I went with her to the hair salon and while she got her hair done, I got my nails done. (The first time I have had a parifin wax treatment on my hands-- fabulous :)- I recomend it to everyone as long as they have clean procedures. It helped soften my chapped, cracking cuticles and hands) Then we made some freezer meals at Supper Thyme. A place that pre slices/dices and cuts meat to appropriate proportions and you just measure things out for preselected meals. These are then frozen in packages so that you can pull them out to crockpot or bake at your convience. (A healthier alternative to fast food for those of us who work long hours). Yeah!!! I need all the help I can get there. I enjoyed it and in two hours the two of us each had 9 meals to take home with us. I can't wait to try them out.

Then we were off to shop since my wardrobe needed some help as did Janelle's. We found we are the same size right now which made it fun to grab similiar things and just switch them back and forth in the dressing room. It helped so much to have someone else's opinion too. Then we headed back to the house to allow Janelle & Josie to get ready for a date on the town while I got the evening with Jayden. He is so interactive with his laughing and cooing and such a happy baby. He is such a joy. And I find it such a blessing to be a part of his life and get his smiles of recognition when he sees me.

Sunday we went to church, grabbed lunch, took Jayden to JCPennies for pictures, then back to church for his baby dedication. The service was great and Apostle Ron did an excellent object lesson. He pulled out an umbrella and said that when we are under God's vision and protection "It doesn't mean it stops the raining" "It just keeps the rain off of us". What an exciting and vivid picture of God's protection. Thank's God for revelations and teachers to share them with us. I am so thankful for His ever loving protection in my life.

Then I came back to Hendersonville. Since my evening plans changed secondary to the rain and dropping temperatures I grabbed some wine (found my favorite year and winery!!) I had time to chat with family. Started a warm fire and enjoyed listening to the popping logs while watching a movie and drinking my wine. Ahh so relaxing.

I am so blessed. So if you get nothing else out of my rambling. I pray that God' bless you with His protection and love in your week.

A break in the woods

Yesterday, I took a break from trying to study. (Notice I said trying, I am struggling to buckle down and study for my PA boards I have to take next month) But after putting in a good 3 hours of reading I decided an outdoor excursion was needed.
I put Dassah, my trusty hiking partner in the Xterra and off we headed in search of some water falls. I had learned last summer that there were several hiking trails to waterfalls up in the Dupont Forest - about 45 mins away, so off I went. We enjoyed ambling along the stone roads and short forest trails to the falls. And I enjoyed wandering alongside the one fall. You could walk up the rock and observe striation and mineral deposits from where water had flowed over it in the past but was dry now. Moments like that make you realize how short my own lifespan truly is. To see how water had carved the rock into a smooth surface reminded me of the scripture of how we as believers sharpen each other. And I am more in awe of My Creator. I also enjoy watching water falls and the sheer power and force that water has. Not because of its own abilities, but because of its movement and location. If God can do that with water, -- What can He do with me if I am in the right location and moving in the proper direction?
I also have been enjoying watching the sun rise on my way to the gym the last few mornings. The other day I took a few pics. There are a few of the sunrise s well as several from the falls.

Have you laughed today

So the New Year... 2007.
Eleven days into my fast from chocolate. Attempting a 37 day fast from chocolate. Pray for the will power. So far I've been blessed with enough :) (Go God! Cause if you know me, you know I love chocolate.) Josie challenged me to 37 instead of a month because its one tenth of a year. A good tithe to God as well as a good way to be learn self control as I try to get back into shape. It's nice to have people who can challenge you physically as well as spiritually. If you can remember pray for continued perserverence and for me to get my butt into the gym more often during this time.
God has already blessed this with more awareness of His presence and challenging me to spend some time in the word. Something I have been struggling to do over the last few months. I hope He will start revealing more of His plans for my future because I need His guidance more than ever right now...
After recovering from the flu over the last day and a half I made my way to Asheville. I bought a hood and some gloves for my scuba trip and priced out some further equipment. Ahh why do some of the fun things cost so much?
I got to explore Asheville after checking out the scuba shop. It really is eclectic. A art exhibit with pictures costing about 2 grand is within a block of Mass General. It is within a few blocks of a store that sells odds and ends including the belt with bells used for belly dancing, followed by a store that sells paper star lights.... Truly an interesting bizzare place. At least I found some interesting resturants and after wandering aimlessly exploring was able to relocate my car twice. And arrived home to study for an hour and watch Grays Anatomy. I know its a hopeless medical soap opera but when you make a heroine snore so loud her boyfriend can't stand it--- it makes me laugh. Have a good laugh today with me.

And check out my nephew laughing with me. He's such a charmer.

Suddenly its 2007

Happy New Year to all.
As I started the New Year sleeping in, I enjoyed the fact that I have a warm bed to sleep in despite the barking of Dassah (my dog)who insisted in going out this morning on her regular schedule. I spent the day doing some small things around the house including taking down my outdoor Christmas lights (tonight I glanced around the still lit up neighborhood to realize I must not be trying hard to fit in) I will update you regarding when their lights disappear (hopefully before Valentine's day) I also lit my first fire in the fireplace tonight. (I will need to practice further cause mine wasn't nearly as nice as Janelle & Josie's but it did warm up the living room and it was fun to hear the wood popping and crackling.

Lindsay and Tim came down for a day this weekend. It was fun to see them and hang out with Kendra and Trevor and get my butt wipped yet again in Trivial pursuit. (this years personal flub duh... Intel Inside is the logo for Pentium -- at least I can still remember Hyper tech markup language is what HTML stands for from last year)

But on another note I thought about what I had heard on Sunday. They challenged us to praise God for what He has already done for us in 2007. Since God has this impossible to understand talent, of existing outside of time, He already knows what will happen this next year and has already prepared things for us to do and blessings for us to have. I considered the fact that as I praise for these now, I have to have Faith that he knows the difficult things as well as the blessings He has for us. I have to trust that He will do what is best for me in the best timing as long as I am obedient to him. ( On that note of obediance and faith, God help me to be more like Daniel than Jonah or the Isrealites in the desert.)
Starting off the year with a great big worship party and a teaching on Elisha and the well to do lady who served him. She was blessed with a son, his miraculous resurection, the Godly warning to leave the land prior to the famine, and the return of her land plus the income from the land while she had been gone was a great lesson full of challenges to act out in faith/service and to pursue God for those things we desperately need.

May you all have time to recognize what God has done for you and praise Him for what He is going to do.

A special prayer goes out to Ryan and Jen. May God surround you with His peace, his wisdom, His presence, and His balm of Gilead... Here's a link to their blog for updates. Please keep them in your prayers.