Life is crazy!!!! Is it possible to wear your brain out? That is what I feel like I've done this week.
I thought work would slow down over the summer, but it hasn't. It is probably for the best, but I've pulled some long hours this week. Thankfully, it rained a few mornings this week, so I didn't have to get up every day at 6:00am to run/walk. :) I have to get back into the rhythm of that again though!
I had a great conversation with a friend last night. I was reminded how much God has done for me in the last year. We compared notes, God is so good! Sometimes I forget that my life is not that bad. God has done more things for me than I can ever imagine, but instead, I get caught up in the little things that get under my skin. Things that aren't really worth getting worked up about. When will I ever learn?
I did something humorous this week. I was sitting at lunch with some co-workers and one of them was talking about someone they knew. Because of some things that have happened/decisions that have been made, this person has realize that maybe they should have done some things differently from the beginning. I was listening and had a thought, along this line, go through my head. "I hope I never have something happen in my life that will have to shake me/change my life, etc." I then realized what I just thought and burst out laughing. Wow. It made me think about how my "tragedy" must not consume my thoughts as much any more. I think that is a good thing. God has brought me so far in a year. He goes before me, I don't have to be afraid, because He will never fail or forsake me.
Deut. 31:6 " Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the One who goes with you He will not fail you or forsake you."
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
2nd one!
Well, after I finished my 9 year quilt project, I decided to do another, albeit a lot smaller! It's a for a baby girl! I know I'm bragging on myself a little, but can't help by show how cute this is! Thanks to my friend who has a great eye for coordinating colors. It isn't done yet, but it shouldn't take too much longer....at least I hope not.....but my track record so far isn't very good! :)
This is quite off the topic of quilts, but I have never seen a horny toad before and got to see one at church yesterday...he was kinda cute:
Anyway, there are my random things for today!
Hope you all had a great Independence Day!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Psalm 116
I can't sleep tonight, or should I say this morning. It's 1:40am. My dad always told us if you can't sleep, it must be God telling you to read your Bible or pray, so that's what I'm doing. I came across this Psalm in my reading:
I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I beseech Thee, save my life!"
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For Thou hast rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
I believed when I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
I said in my alarm, "All men are liars."
What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
I shall pay my vows to the Lord, oh may it be the presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.
O Lord, surely I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast loosed my bonds.
To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.
I shall pay my vows to the Lord, oh may it be in the presence of all His people.
It the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!!
The Lord has done so much in my life over the past year. I have so much to praise Him for!!
I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me, and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I beseech Thee, save my life!"
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For Thou hast rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
I believed when I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
I said in my alarm, "All men are liars."
What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
I shall pay my vows to the Lord, oh may it be the presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.
O Lord, surely I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast loosed my bonds.
To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.
I shall pay my vows to the Lord, oh may it be in the presence of all His people.
It the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!!
The Lord has done so much in my life over the past year. I have so much to praise Him for!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
More Vacation talk
I had loads of fun on my vacation. It was the first time I have spent time on a warm beach. The only other beaches I have been to (that I remember) were in Connecticut and Alaska. Not your typical beach vacation spots. :) I am not a huge water person, I hate water in my face, but that didn't stop me from getting in the ocean at all. In fact, I enjoyed it immensely!! I didn't get that sunburned, just in spots, and even managed a bit of a tan.....ok, I'm just not as white! I went bungee jumping twice, the first time I wasn't nervous at all, the second time I knew what to expect and hesitated a bit before jumping, but it was still fun! We also played mini golf, raced go-karts, bumper cars, and played random arcade games at the Track. Oh, and restaurants.........the seafood was so good!! I did not want to come home, but I did. I tried to leave "life" behind for the week and for the most part I did. I was able to keep some things off my mind which is surprising for me. One particular thing that I was told about a couple of days prior, I was able to let it go of. Actually, I think it was more that God just gave me a peace about it!
Water tends to bring out reflectiveness in me. Last August, I went to visit my best friend. I always try to get a window seat when I fly and this time was no different. As I sat staring out the window, I noticed a river. I watched it for a while and then turned back to the book I was reading, "Let Me Grieve but Not Forever". I couldn't stop thinking about that river and wrote the following in that book:
I just watched a river. It was extremely long. Some parts of it were straight, others were winding, some parts narrow, others wide. There is no explanation as to where the river will flow, except for God designing the river and creating it's banks. So is my life right now. No rhyme or reason except for the knowledge that God is in control, making my river (life) flow in the direction that He wants it to go.
Being at the beach this past week made me reflect again on my life. On Wednesday night, I had a rush of emotions after we returned from "The Track". I decided to take a midnight walk on the beach. That didn't go over too well with some people :) and I was followed, but not before I was able to think (and cry) for a little while. I had spent some time earlier that evening watching people, more specifically couples. That's kinda a hard thing to do when you are on vacation, especially when you know what it is like to have that "better half" by your side. Before I met Jared, I was perfectly content with being single, now, not so much. I kinda had a pity party for myself for a little while. As I sat staring at the waves crash up against the beach, I realized I had to stop and just get over it! I watched the waves and paralleled them a little with my life. When we first got there, the beach was clear and clean. Throughout the week, green moss and grass washed up on the beach, and some days would be more gunky than others. No wave ever came in the same way, and some crashed more than others. Sometimes I feel like the waves crash in my life and none of them are the same. I also feel like "gunky" things are dragged into my life all the time. I often wonder when the calm seas will come again. As I sat there on the beach, another wave hit me. This wave was the thought that the same God that controlled the strong waves I was watching, controls all the waves in my life. Like the river, He knows the way it will flow. I don't need to wonder what the next wave will be because He will sustain me through it. I later thought of Psalm 139, especially verses 17 and 18.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
He knows me so well, He knows what I need, when I need it. His thoughts toward me would outnumber the sand.....and believe me, there is lots of sand!!
Well, I'm now back to reality. It was so difficult to get out of bed this morning. My sleeping schedule is so messed up. I spent a week going to bed between 12 and 1 and getting up between 10 and 11 in the morning. I tried to go to bed early last night, but I just couldn't fall asleep until around midnight. Tomorrow, I try again to resume my 6am running/walking, so I better get to bed early tonight!
Water tends to bring out reflectiveness in me. Last August, I went to visit my best friend. I always try to get a window seat when I fly and this time was no different. As I sat staring out the window, I noticed a river. I watched it for a while and then turned back to the book I was reading, "Let Me Grieve but Not Forever". I couldn't stop thinking about that river and wrote the following in that book:
I just watched a river. It was extremely long. Some parts of it were straight, others were winding, some parts narrow, others wide. There is no explanation as to where the river will flow, except for God designing the river and creating it's banks. So is my life right now. No rhyme or reason except for the knowledge that God is in control, making my river (life) flow in the direction that He wants it to go.
Being at the beach this past week made me reflect again on my life. On Wednesday night, I had a rush of emotions after we returned from "The Track". I decided to take a midnight walk on the beach. That didn't go over too well with some people :) and I was followed, but not before I was able to think (and cry) for a little while. I had spent some time earlier that evening watching people, more specifically couples. That's kinda a hard thing to do when you are on vacation, especially when you know what it is like to have that "better half" by your side. Before I met Jared, I was perfectly content with being single, now, not so much. I kinda had a pity party for myself for a little while. As I sat staring at the waves crash up against the beach, I realized I had to stop and just get over it! I watched the waves and paralleled them a little with my life. When we first got there, the beach was clear and clean. Throughout the week, green moss and grass washed up on the beach, and some days would be more gunky than others. No wave ever came in the same way, and some crashed more than others. Sometimes I feel like the waves crash in my life and none of them are the same. I also feel like "gunky" things are dragged into my life all the time. I often wonder when the calm seas will come again. As I sat there on the beach, another wave hit me. This wave was the thought that the same God that controlled the strong waves I was watching, controls all the waves in my life. Like the river, He knows the way it will flow. I don't need to wonder what the next wave will be because He will sustain me through it. I later thought of Psalm 139, especially verses 17 and 18.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
He knows me so well, He knows what I need, when I need it. His thoughts toward me would outnumber the sand.....and believe me, there is lots of sand!!
Well, I'm now back to reality. It was so difficult to get out of bed this morning. My sleeping schedule is so messed up. I spent a week going to bed between 12 and 1 and getting up between 10 and 11 in the morning. I tried to go to bed early last night, but I just couldn't fall asleep until around midnight. Tomorrow, I try again to resume my 6am running/walking, so I better get to bed early tonight!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Beach
It's hard not to like it here! I hate to leave and go back home, but I know I must. I've joked all week that "I think God is calling me here"! :) Not really, just a hope!
I'll write more about my week later, just thought I'd post some pics of the beach!
Monday, June 14, 2010
What a week!
Blessed by the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise. I Kings 8:56
As exhausted as last week at camp was, I strangely feel rested. I feel more rested emotionally and mentally. Physically.....I was constantly on the run, but exercise is always good, right?! :) Still tired from lack of sleep, but I'll catch up one day!!
I had a great week at camp, I wish I could spend the whole summer working at a camp! The kids were great, they did keep me on my toes, and I had to sternly talk to a few of them, but quite honestly, they were all in all great kids! I had such fun hanging out with them, letting loose, doing fun things with them like.....ziplines, water slides, high rope challenges, archery, shooting, etc. It was fun being one of the "kids" again. :)
The theme of the week was "God is_______", i.e. the One who sees and hears, a Shepherd, a Vine, Love, etc. We were teaching the kids about the character of God. It was so good for me to hear also. I had been feeling a bit of discontent in my life and hearing all about how great my heavenly "Daddy" is to me, just helped me refocus on the fact that God is sovereign in my life. It was so wonderful!!!
I was asked if my story could be used as an example of Psalm 23, about how God is our Shepherd, He will walk through the valleys with us and how our joy can be restored. Even though in my mind I hesitated (I didn't want to have to sit through it!), I said yes. I want the story told to prove what a great God we serve and bring Him glory!!! At first, the story was told without using my name....then at the end, the kids were told that they had spent the week with the person in the story, and I was pointed out. All the kids turned around and looked at me, you could have heard a pin drop! After the service was over, one of the kids in my group (one of the last ones I would have expected) came over and gave me a hug. It was so sweet! At random points of the day, kids would either give me a hug, or mention things like "I never would have thought that, you seem so happy", "did your husband really die?", was my personal favorite. :) I had one boy tell me that he felt sorry for me.....I had forgotten about the talk by now and had to ask why. In the meantime, one other boy says, "don't remind her and make her cry!!" I responded that they didn't have to feel sorry for me, and to remember the reason why the story was told. They were all so cute!! I just pray that they remember the story now and later in life when they have to deal with trials in their lives. God can heal and restore, all the while teaching us more about who He is!
At church yesterday, I had a mom come up and say what a blessing I was to her daughter at camp, but that doesn't matter. She proceeded to point out an ironic thing, her son (a 5 year-old boy Jared taught) thought the world of Jared, even visited him in the hospital twice! She then told me that her son still misses him and that just proved what a great impact that Jared had on her son! That made me get teary eyed, but they were happy tears because he is still remembered and reminded me that God is still using him as an example to others!!
Well, that's all for now, I need to go work-out!!
As exhausted as last week at camp was, I strangely feel rested. I feel more rested emotionally and mentally. Physically.....I was constantly on the run, but exercise is always good, right?! :) Still tired from lack of sleep, but I'll catch up one day!!
I had a great week at camp, I wish I could spend the whole summer working at a camp! The kids were great, they did keep me on my toes, and I had to sternly talk to a few of them, but quite honestly, they were all in all great kids! I had such fun hanging out with them, letting loose, doing fun things with them like.....ziplines, water slides, high rope challenges, archery, shooting, etc. It was fun being one of the "kids" again. :)
The theme of the week was "God is_______", i.e. the One who sees and hears, a Shepherd, a Vine, Love, etc. We were teaching the kids about the character of God. It was so good for me to hear also. I had been feeling a bit of discontent in my life and hearing all about how great my heavenly "Daddy" is to me, just helped me refocus on the fact that God is sovereign in my life. It was so wonderful!!!
I was asked if my story could be used as an example of Psalm 23, about how God is our Shepherd, He will walk through the valleys with us and how our joy can be restored. Even though in my mind I hesitated (I didn't want to have to sit through it!), I said yes. I want the story told to prove what a great God we serve and bring Him glory!!! At first, the story was told without using my name....then at the end, the kids were told that they had spent the week with the person in the story, and I was pointed out. All the kids turned around and looked at me, you could have heard a pin drop! After the service was over, one of the kids in my group (one of the last ones I would have expected) came over and gave me a hug. It was so sweet! At random points of the day, kids would either give me a hug, or mention things like "I never would have thought that, you seem so happy", "did your husband really die?", was my personal favorite. :) I had one boy tell me that he felt sorry for me.....I had forgotten about the talk by now and had to ask why. In the meantime, one other boy says, "don't remind her and make her cry!!" I responded that they didn't have to feel sorry for me, and to remember the reason why the story was told. They were all so cute!! I just pray that they remember the story now and later in life when they have to deal with trials in their lives. God can heal and restore, all the while teaching us more about who He is!
At church yesterday, I had a mom come up and say what a blessing I was to her daughter at camp, but that doesn't matter. She proceeded to point out an ironic thing, her son (a 5 year-old boy Jared taught) thought the world of Jared, even visited him in the hospital twice! She then told me that her son still misses him and that just proved what a great impact that Jared had on her son! That made me get teary eyed, but they were happy tears because he is still remembered and reminded me that God is still using him as an example to others!!
Well, that's all for now, I need to go work-out!!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Quick
This week I'm at 5th and 6th grade camp. Having loads of fun, quite tired and should be sleeping now, but this is about the only free time I've had, so this will be quick. I fully expected to come to camp and help show the kids who God is, specifically, more about His character. Well, as usual, God had other plans. I'll get into the details later but this week has been a great reminder to me that God is sovereign in my life!
Camp verse: And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10
Camp verse: And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10
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