Trekking with Me

I GOT MARRIED!!! June 14, 2020 I said "I do" to Mr. Roger Payne. Now, I am a Payne :-) God brought me this man; exactly what I needed, more than what I asked for, and definitely not what I expected or imagined: he is so much more.  It's been six months now, and I still am in wonder that I am finally married!   He loves me so well.   Our story wasn't a fairy tale, I quite literally fought my way to the altar: he fought for me.   I had to work through a lot of my stuff: I had to fight through my own preconceived notions. I chose to embrace a man who showed me character beyond what I had ever witnessed before.   He fought for me.   God helped me.   For me, it was a step by step process: like I said, it definitely was not what I expected.  Roger continued to show me he loved me even when I ran, or felt like running, and his love won my heart, and confidence. And I said "Yes!"   And... I got to wear the most beautiful wedding dress,  be celeb...

Happy New Years!! So what in the world happen in 2016.... Dear friends got married... and had a baby in ONE year.... that seems almost magical to me especially that she was over 35... there is hope for me???  Marriage is still a hope but I am doing alright single.  Just for your information - free of charge! I had lots of family adventures which included Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Kansas City and South Carolina. Health and Simplification... A 5k and a 10k were completed!!  Cooper Bridge run -5th year!!  Martin Luther King Run - First and training for second. I completed my first WHOLE30!  This was an amazing experience and I am starting my second one tomorrow!! " The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up! " - WHO KNEW but this truly has transformed my life! I have embraced the process and since November I have gone through my clothes, jewelry, toiletries, filing cabinet, and miscellaneous trappings! Through this process, I have created a beautiful, or...

I am really in the fourth decade of my life now.  Hitting 40 was indeed a milestone, and now I pass the first marker of this 4th decade. I can't say that with much hoopla, to be honest.  Lately I am looking a little more carefully in the mirror for lines that were not there yesterday, thinking more about how many days it's been since my last good work out and that it only takes three days of non-aerobic work for your muscles to begin to atrophy.  Ugh... I don't want to look old, but I feel older!  My body is not wanting to move like I did a few years ago.  I even got bi-focals this past year, which at the time made me happy cause I was having a hard time seeing but that is what OLD people have! 41.... oh man. But, I enjoyed my birthday with many well wishes on Facebook, and many texts, a skype call and a few phone calls.  I feel loved.  I feel thankful. And, I am noticing that a year is moving along much quicker.  I now see the year ahead ...

The swoosh of a slam dunk always amazes me:  you are focused on your team, the sweat flying off the arms and legs of the players running, squeaking down the court, following the ball ever so tightly, intensity builds as you hold your breath, then as smooth as molasses, the ball  swooches  into the net!!  Everyone is surprised, screams, yells!  The players relax their shoulders a bit, gracefully turn around and jog back to the other end. The last player bouncing the ball effortlessly down the court for the next play to move into action. That swoosh always surprises, smooths... and continues the game.  It was hard work getting it there. That's how I feel right now. I just got a JOB!( Swoosh!) I am swirling with excitement, disbelief, amazement, gratitude.... I can hardly breath!  At the same time I feel a surge of what a deer in head lights must feel like... What! I have a REAL Job, with real responsibilities... what if... if ...*gulp* I  fai...

Hello! I hope you are having a fantastic Friday!  I am enjoying a day off, doing things I love this morning, at home, which is the place I love to be.  Sure, I get that tickle to travel now and then, but being home, taking care of what makes my home, home, is a priceless treasure.  I told a dear friend this morning, it makes me feel like a normal woman. Whenever I use the word "normal" the phrase pops in my head, "what is normal? the setting on your dryer..."  I better stop there before I digress more.  That could get complicated.  It's Friday, complicated topics should be saved till Monday. Any who... It's been a good start to 2013 for me. A few things that have made it a good start: A Detox!  I finally did it.  All last year, I wanted to do a good cleanse/detox.  I have had a few issues with low-iron; frustration with a low energy level drove me to begin taking good supplements (again, as they have been part of my life yet my tigh...

My adventures keep coming!  What a year this has been!  If you would have asked me 8 weeks ago what I would be doing the first of September, I would have said, "substituting, and counseling, and on the look out for a full time job."  Instead, I have been in San Jose, Costa Rice for over a week now... Why?  This should answer you question: This is my younger brother, with his New Little Lillian Faith.  Jimbo and Timbrel invited me to come down for a few weeks to help with the arrival of this Little One.  Now... How could I turn down that opportunity? This moment will live forever in my memory.  Lillian was literally only minutes out of the womb.  She had yet to even be washed off, her extremities were still blue, and it was beautiful to see the rudy-red spread over her little limbs in the next hour or so... She met all her sisters, and brother in a very short time of coming into this world.  She had a lot to take in.  She was ...

"I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,  so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it."

Happy New Year!! Hooray for New Beginnings! I hope you are enjoying your first morning of 2011!  The Lord has blessed me this morning with a quiet, foggy morning, the house all to myself - quiet, still except for a few critters who wanted to be fed earlier than I wanted to rouse - and time in my favorite quiet time spot - my cozy orange chair, covered with a few flannel throes and a good hot cup of coffee as I enjoy the Word and time in prayer.  A good slow start... (plus, my house is on the cleaner side of things as I spend some time taking care of these earthly belonging - it makes my heart happy to wake to clean clear floors and empty laundry baskets). I welcomed the New year with my two furkids... I actually fell asleep before 10 - I must have been really tired because I slept deep but then was roused by the firecrackers going off around the neighborhood - I flipped on the tv just as the countdown started: it was exactly 11:59:45... I hugged Sasha, who desperately want...

God is doing a wonderful thing: He is always doing wondrous things, it is a matter of our perspective whether we get it or not - and share in the glory.  Lord, give me Your eyes... I have posted a few times about my church life.  God has made us to know Him individually as well as corporately.  We miss a HUGE part of His design if we try to Lone Ranger our way through life.  God designed us for intimacy - with Him and with others.  It is a wonderful part of our humanness - that brings great joy and the capacity for great pain.  Over the past year, my church life has been characterized with some turbulent waters.  As a part of the whole, I felt the painful knowledge that our church was wounded and limping along.  The Lord blessed me by allowing me to be as involved as I could be - I greatly enjoyed teaching Sunday school and singing with the worship team - yet I knew there were many in our Body who were experiencing great grief over what was ha...

It's a beautiful morning. The temperature is perfect... just a tinge of chill in the air, the birds are singing loud, celebrating Spring, my bed is cozy, I have rested well... a sweet welcome to a new day... my heart is peaceful and happy. New beginnings... to marvel upon; ah, Thank You Lord. My ears are tuning into a new voice. That new voice is the Voice of Love. Let's back up a little.... in the last few years, I have been challenged in understanding Grace. I know people who I deem, "a lady of grace," or "a graceful person." I love these peeps! My heart just unfolds with them... they are wonderful safe people I want to emulate. I can copy how they are... but I wanted to BE what they were... I just did not know how to get there. So, I began talking to the Lord about this, it wasn't a new theme for Him. He had been calling me to live in Grace for a LONG TIME... and giving me gentle reminders that I was not getting it. You see, I grew up h...

It is a unique day, I am sitting in my cozy living room, watching snow fall outside - very beautiful and such a treat for this part of the country - watching the historic events unfold on my television. I woke early this morning, and prayers went to the Throne of Grace for our new president, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle and their sweet daughters, as they move into the White House and take the oath of office of the President of the United States of America. What a huge thing! I pray God's blessing on them, and that as they are placed into this seat of authority, we, the people of the United States of America - especially the Church, would rise up and mindfully pray for them, in so doing, pleasing the Lord. I am SO thankful that God is over all things and we can trust Him in our times. He is our Treasure! Isaiah 33:6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18 A friend of mine shared this verse with me many years ago, since then it has become one of my treasured verses. Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came to bring not just life, but abundant life! This morning, my heart has been full of thanksgiving for God's obvious abundant provision for me. These tender feet of mine have covered some difficult terrain over the past few years of my journey and at times it seemed i felt the harshness would do me in, my soul was downcast and the dark clouds loomed over my heart and head. I must confess at times i found it hard to say " God is good"and  hope was far from my heart but i am experiencing a time of refreshing.  I sense his pleasure as I step into the turn in my journey, I am in the right place. I think "life abundant" doesn't consist of comfortable pillows and cozy walkways, but of growing i...

Two weeks from now i will be in South Carolina - house hunting...job hunting. Moving. Part of me looks forward with great anticipation to the new challenges and opportunities that lay on the horizon - as BM said, "Your future is in front of you!" How exciting! I have a journeying heart and i enjoy adventures...Yet i am finding my roots have gotten deeper here in my present home and pulling them up is beginning to cause some pain and a little anxiety. I confess, i have moments when i look around me and say, "what am i doing!" Things are going pretty well here, i feel secure here and quite comfortable...yet, i am following a call in my heart that has been there for a long time. I am stepping out into a new trail - one i have been eyeing since i was young. The Calling i believe God designed for me. So inbetween exhilarating emotions that nearly make me want to fly to SC right now and a maternal pull to stay put, not wanting to uproot...i am learning to be stil...