Trekking with Me

Hey Friends!!  I am a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia and I am absolutely lovin' that they are making some Great movies based on this series!! My FAVORITE Story in the series is about to be released this December; believe me, I will be there opening night!!! As my anticipation has been growing, i got an idea!  It has been many moons since i read this particular book - and i want to read it again before seeing the movie.  Sound fun?? Well, it would be even MORE FUN if i had a few friends reading it with me - or reading it with your family - and then to all go see it... of course, ideally together - but at least we can all plan to see it and then we can compare notes!!! Sorta like our own little book club and movie review team.   Some of you may already be reading it... and are ahead of me...  So... do I have any takers?? I am going to begin reading it this weekend - during my Thanksgiving break.  If you want to join in on reading with us - tell me; if you ...

I asked God from something special on the way home today... as I have noticed my shoulders hanging a little lower than normal and my steps a little draggy... I received this note in my Email: A Better Plan from a Better Planner By John Ortberg It’s almost Thanksgiving, with Christmas right behind. Often on the holidays we become aware that life does not go the way we plan. We think to ourselves: I was supposed to be married by now. I was supposed to be promoted by now. I was supposed to have retired, or to have children, or to have achieved this dream- Or, I wasn’t supposed to go bankrupt.  I wasn’t supposed to lose my job, or get divorced, or get cancer. What do you do when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned? One of the great statements of the Bible reads:  “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope, and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11 We all have plans. But God does not say:...

My sister-in-love posted a fun link on her Facebook page a few days ago of " The Pioneer Woman " blog.  Later that day I clicked and ... got hooked.  I got all involved in reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels , her beautiful, funny, romantic love story.  Seriously, I have not indulged in such a sweet little story in a very long time.  I have been reading other more serious stuff while in seminary so I can be really smart someday. yep. Between chapters, I would run across other posts she authored; I was just plain intrigued! I wish she was my neighbor.  She is hysterical and just plain down to earth.  I love her writing style and loved her story.  I have spent the better part of this day perusing other parts of her blog since I finished her epic tale.  It was fun and I have had to make myself stop to get some other demanding responsibilities finished.  But, I can't wait to go back... again and again. One of her post challenged me to use...

An Awesome Bridge!!  Three weddings in about 8 weeks.... two in the last week.  Those latter two took me out of town... which is fun - though I am exhausted because I have literally been running in and out of my house.  My roommate just commented on how fast-pace our lives have been in the last week.  We have only filled one bag of trash since last trash pick up... usually it is at least 2-3 or 4.  Wow. My dear friend Deidre wedded Friday night.  It was amazingly beautiful.  It was a beautiful wedding and a very nice reception - with fun dancing and a newlywed game... :-)  It was in St. Augustine and I relished in being in FL as it is the perfect temperature, 70-80ish - the first morning I had to changed from my two layer sweater top to a short sleeve shirt and flip-flops! Amazing that you can travel a few hours and the temperature change so drastically.  I even went running the second morning - in shorts and a short sleeve top... it is ...

One thing that God is showing me more and more is He is a LOVING God and HE is here with me - with us!! In the past years I have had some dark days when I felt just the opposite: in the recent few years God has been peeling back those layers of lies that I allowed to lay over my heart and mind. So much like Eve... doubting God's intention to be her everything and give her more than she imagined - in His Way and Time which is beautifully perfect... In the last few days I heard a message that pointed out something A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. He takes us into the desert to build up our discouraged hearts... so we can be strong in Spirit.. and like John the Baptist ... every single one of our actions will point to Jesus. I can not even tell you how many truth lessons have been pointing to His Greatness, His Love, and His presense and His desire for me to totally depend on Him, Trust Him... Love Him completely lately. As I see this truth, this purpose... more and more, my stubborn independenc...

This was my street in mid-October.... This was this morning... I hope to get one with more sunshine later this week...  Fall is truly a beautiful season.  I love the brilliant colors and SC is sweet in that each season last about 3 months... so, if you aren't a fan of a particular season, a new season will emerge in a few weeks.  I heard a gentleman measure it off like that this past summer and it fit well in my mind.  You get a nice taste of each season here.  What a delight! Here is a picture from our trip to Savannah this weekend.  A friend of ours (a group of us went down) got married in Savannah and since we were so close to the beach, we had to find it and put our toes in the sand.  We were blessed by a kind friend of the Bride who had a GPS (what an amazing contraption!) that led us right to Tybee Island in good time to catch the last few hints of the sunset... I had some fun getting down low enough to catch the moon AND my friends stan...

Last Saturday I was in a very silly mood.  I was reading at home and listening to Christmas music on Pandora.  A Jim Brickman song started playing and the album cover was displayed on the screen.  Jim Brickman is a very handsome blue-eyed man.  I flipped on to Facebook and bravely wrote... "I wonder if Jim Brickman is a Christian and if he is single..." verbatim.  A few hours later I noticed an announcement on Facebook from a local coffee shop saying, "Come enjoy a LIVE intimate performance of Jim Brickman, Tuesday...."  I laughed out loud.  How ironic!? I quickly cut and pasted the announcement and said, "someone is pulling my leg!" to which several family and friends commented and conversed - demanding I better be there with lipstick on! ha! I love live music, I love coffee, and I love Jim Brickman's music.... so, you know I was there! Yes, with lipstick on too. ;-)  I enjoyed feeling the first beams of the morning sun shine over the city as...

For this little FL chick the last few days have been "Brrrrrrrr!!!" here in South Carolina! I had to turn on the heat to get the chill out of the house a few mornings ago. I tried holding out...to save money... and I made it the whole month of October plus a few days on either side without heat or AC. But when the top of my head and my ears get cold when I am sleeping and I wake up shivering, IT IS TIME FOR THE HEAT - and my flannel sheets. My flannel sheets are ONE of my FAVORITE things about the temps dropping. There isn't anything much cozier than snuggling down into my sweet bed wrapped all up in my flannel sheets. It is as snug as a bug in a rug.... It is a Beautiful day this November 8th. I am kinda feelin' like a slug because when it's cold i just like to curl up and stay warm; so this morning I did not walk Sasha, though I did go to the gym, but our class was canceled so I did not push myself near as hard - cause I am a wimp like that when no one ...

Ever have an experience that made you want to crawl in a hole and die? Earlier in the week I had an assignment to lead a discussion of sorts with a small group.  It went phenomenal until I opened my mouth.  Seriously, the first half was simply powerful and tender.  God blew me away with the experience; then for some weak reason, I felt I needed to open my mouth and add something.  (In reflection, this is the point I wish I had a partner with me who loved me enough to see the downward spiral of my words and would kick me to make me stop.)  My words seemed to defuse the warm, sweet atmosphere that had warmed the room seconds before.  Not that I was saying something wrong, I simply did not need to add anything; in all honesty, it was my insecure flesh wanting to be something significant and approved.  Well, God's got that covered already, so please shut my mouth - right?! Later in sharing my horrific embarrassment with some girlfriends, they helped me r...

Church was amazing yesterday.  I am loving the solid teaching in this new church. I am rejoicing as I watch what God is doing in our little transplanted "cell."  I am anticipating what God has for me, as I embrace this new, mixed with some "older" known members, as well.  It is exciting! Transitions are hard; I was surprised (though after I recognized what was going on i was not so surprised) even at my own discomfort in moving to this new church.  I admit, I was very happy over the change and what I hopefully imagined church would look like for me in this new setting.  So, when the first few Sundays left me feeling oddly uncomfortable, I was surprised I felt that way; even though it was a positive transition it was still painful.  (BTW, I really don't like using the word "uncomfortable"... it sounds like I am using church to be this cozy bed of roses I can hide away in from the world... NOT.  It is more to describe the odd pain we all experience whe...