Trekking with Me

 It's been a minute. Journaling a few sentences each day has helped loosen up my writing juices.  So with a little extra motivation from a book called, "The Joy Switch", a golden list seemed appropriate to try to get my writing flow moving again! 1. The deep blue skies and beautiful sunshine of this winter day.  2. Watching my dogs jump high to catch the bright orange tennis ball, such skill! 3. My crazy ball-chasing GSD were quite winded, and on our way back to the house, they discovered a crystal clear deep puddle of water in the road-side ditch that totally delighted and cooled them down.  Their faces of delight were just too cute for me to forbid them from jumping in. That is what hoses are for! 4.  I feel great! In the first week of a January Whole30; my body seems to be enjoying the clean food without the sugar withdrawal!  5.  Better mental state: I notice with the good feels, my critical part has quieted down and a new joy, appreciation part ha...

Happy Christmas to you! This is for those, like me, who may have woke not with scurrying tiny toes and bounces of little tots excited to see the morning light of day, but to a quiet, stillness to this holiday morning. I noticed an extra stillness this morning, as a little part of my "family" is not present.  I had to say goodbye to my little precious kitty yesterday.  My "Pud" (Puddie cat) was a gift of God's love to me for 17 years.  She was given to me in 2001, as a gift from one of my sweet students who learned that I lived alone and felt I needed the comfort of a pet.  My student accompanied me to the humane society animal shelter to pick out the perfect little purr box:  this little tortoise calico kitty grabbed my attention when she swatted at my hair from a crate she was housed in.  She was laying in a twisted position so to reach out her playful paw under the gate, seeming to say, "Hey! Pick me!"  Her paw was her trademark. That little ki...

Good Morning! This morning's Golden List ... 1.  Celebrating and enjoying a day off: love that I had no alarm to wake me.  Dark January chilly mornings make for stay-in-your-pj's-longer and coffee that much more cozy & delicious. 2.  I so appreciate the community of friends God has given to me.  I love that these relationships are maturing in depth of insight and love.  I enjoy making new friends but I am so thankful the rich deeper levels of intimacy that grow through walking with others over a good length of time. 3.  God's provision:  I have had to deal with some ...shall we say... interesting circumstances of late, and I see God's hand holding me as I worked through making decisions, having conversations and taking actions which would be hard for anyone.  He is good in providing me the strength, support, and insight for each step. 4.  My furkids:  they bring a smile to my face each morning with their own little personal...

Oh goodness!! I sit here in my cozy quiet room, "oatmealing" after a long Monday. I feel so stirred with joy, happy energy... yet not enough energy to actually go running or anything.  But... I do want to write.  It's been so long that my normal writing juices are not really flowing but I can't let this blog go dormant week-after-week, month-after-month! So... I will start with my " Golden List " theme I have used on occasion to see how it goes.... 10 Things I am thankful for Today.... 1.  I am so thankful for rainy days...weeks... well, it's been rainy and grey so long around here lately that we are beginning to called it "Seattle of the South!"  But...something about rainy days just feels cozy and romantic and I am embracing that!! 2.  Change of Seasons... This year I have noticed more how darkness falls so early...and, I have fallen in love with the soft lights of the city, the reflection of the lights on water, the way dusk quiets the...

The morning sun had yet to make its appearance, my heart and mind were feeling the dark despair as I mindlessly drove my now familiar route to work.  My normal positive outlook had been under fire for a few months now.  The recent few days had brought on a new grief;  since August, life had taken a turn from lovely light paths lined with poppies to dark, hard and lonely. It was mid-October, a shocking death had shaken my church, personally I was in a place of despair over work;  again wondering, had I made terrible mistake .   That morning The Counselor lead my mind to this verse and counseled my soul: " For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." The Spirit led me to realize that this hard place, where I was crying, fussing and complaints were gushing out, was an altar: a place to die.   T hat place over there looked a whole lot bet...

It's about time for a Golden List.  If you do a "golden list" search on my site, you will see it is a often repeated theme.  Since today is the 14th, I will share 14 things I am thankful for: 1.  Progress, even though small, in the daily challenge of teaching. 2.  Vitamin D: a simple solution to a long time fatigue problem. 3.  Mashed potatoes: my mouth has been sore, my tummy hungry - soft, yummy potatoes hit the spot. 4.  Sight! Having a foggy, fuzzy right eye for over three weeks makes me exceptionally grateful for clear vision.... it's 95% clear now. 5.  A spontaneous concert: Stephen Curtis Chapman, Laura Story and Jason Gray! 6.  My students 7.  Jim Brickman Pandora Station: so soothing... 8.  My parents surprise visit: they blessed me by cleaning my yard, house... and cooking. 9.  Beauty I catch in photos... 10.  New Friends: I work with some neat people whom have made me feel very welcome. 1...

If you have been following me here, you will be well aware I have been neck-deep in a huge renovation project.  This last week, it has about done me in! I don't know if I am receiving some physical notices that I am getting older... but every part of my body is "powerful worn out" (know where that quote comes from??)! Since I am in the renovating mindset, I thought it was time to make some updating changes on my blog.  I wanted to add a few gadgets to make it more interesting, give me some better feedback, and freshen it up a bit.  As you can see the "gadgets" are on a slide out thing to the right of the screen: notice I have added a "Popular Posts" gadget.  You will also notice there are some feedback and sharing tools for you! I also added a few links to my "about me" page, if you are just coming through for the first time (or have only visited a few times), stop by and let's officially meet! I would LOVE more feed back, so plea...

Good Morning ~ It's a good morning: Saturday's are amazing gifts... I don't have to wake up to an alarm :-) It's time for a " Golden List " 1.  Spring in South Carolina --- there could be a hundred subtitles to this first point.... 2. A great roommate and friend She will hate me for posting this....  3.  Amazing cheese --- our Whole Foods were sharing samples of this cheddar cheese variety with sea salt in it... I may or may not have had a few more than my fair share. 4.  Bare Essentials Make up.... a new thing in my make up bag.  :-) 5.  Friends passing through town & a free meal to boot! 6.  Sasha: funny how a relationship grows with a person or group or animal in this case... :-) She brings me much joy. A recent road trip: Sasha always enjoys getting fries for a treat! :-) 7.  Communication: texts, emails, snail mail, facebook comments, blog comments... phone calls... yes.  More please. 8. ...

The Lord has really encouraged me this week.  It's been a week in which offensive moves were being made, moving forward without much assurance that this is what I am suppose to do yet believing moving forward is the right move, as opposed to freezing in my steps.   A few darts came flying in my direction to cause me some unnecessary fear; that is where God strengthened me to hold up truth, stand as His Girl, and keep stepping. This came home today, even more so, in my "Time With Abba."  Tucked away in Judges, chapter 7 to be precise.  The story of Gideon; it's worth a look if you want to go re-read it for yourself. The part that particularly grabbed me is squeezed between God slimming down his army to 300, and the ludicrous trampling of the Midianites with horns, broken pots and shouting in the middle of the night.  Here see for yourself in verses 9-15: "Now the same night it came about that the  Lord  said to him, “Arise, go down against the cam...

I am half way through: February 14 is the half-way mark for my birth day.  It conveniently falls on Valentine's Day.  Not that I am pushing for my birthday to get here sooner, or even lamenting that it's going so fast, it's just one of those things that pops up in my head. Admittedly, this year, my 39th year, causes some shock waves; like a wake up call or something.  Not bad, but definitely something that makes me a little more alert to what I am doing, where I am going, and the decisions I make and why. Just a minute ago I read a question from  The Pioneer Woman's Blog . If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what age would you be? I can clearly say, I like where I am, right here, right now.  I have been through some tough waters in the last ten years, emotionally speaking.  I feel I am finally gaining some ground over fear, over hang-ups, insecurities and pits.  I am finally resting in who I am in Jesus, understanding that more, ...

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 ...

Today is my 39th Birthday.  Wow.  How did I get here so fast? To be very honest, I have been dreading this day all year.  I have been trying to find the break pedal since last birthday.  39 just seems so....,  close to 40! These last few weeks I have had weird emotions about it too.  So odd of me, but some birthdays do that to all of us.  Slap us around, tell us reality isn't what we had dreamed or something like that.  I was wrestling and pushing over the fact I am here and not there, so to speak.  Ya know?  Yet God, My precious gentle, wonderful, patient Lord and Love did something for me these last few days...  He breathed on me a truth... Love... Hope... Joy.  He changed my perspective. How?  Well, how do you explain how God changes that?  This past weekend, I had a lot of time alone.  I did not plan it that way, in fact it had been planned otherwise.  All my plans fell through.  God gave ...

I did it!! Woooo-Hooooo!! God is so good! I can't believe four years have come and gone.  I can't believe what I thought would take me TWO years stretched into Four!  I can remember a night early in the four year journey when I started freaking out when I realized it was going to take that much longer!!  A very wise mentor gently prodded me on by saying "where else will you be in four years?"  Hmmm, simple logic is a good thing.  It calms me down and I love sweet friends who gracious, non-judgementally point it out to me.   It kept me going for sure. I wrote about the beginning of this journey and the reason for it  way back in 2008, before even moving here.   God is so good.  MUCH ground has been covered in these four years.  I feel like a different person, and yet more of who God made me to be. This part of the journey is where it starts to feel like I am jumping off a cliff.  It is scary and exhilarating to finish something. ...

Dark, grey luminous clouds cover the evening sky as I sit here listening to some of my favorite soothing music.  A sweet peaceful worshipful atmosphere has settled in.  A whistle lets me know my water is ready for a hot cup of tea.  A July evening mysteriously, romantically invites me to sense His closeness to me, and His favor.  May I share it with you? Contentment and quiet joy fill my soul, a gift given from my Maker: Thank You Jesus. The last few mornings, Psalms 146, and 147 have started my Time with Abba with, "Praise the Lord!" I have many reasons to sing, worship and praise Him.  One main one, is He has healed my heart.  I have been nursing a broken heart of sorts in the last few months.  Well, more like a huge disappointment that knocked the breath out of me. God has shown me much grace throughout, in many ways, yet there was a lingering irritation that I just could not shake.  Like having a piece of splinter stuck way down bene...

Okay.  Matthew 14 has me thinking this morning. So, in this passage we see some incredible things Jesus does: Jesus mourning John the baptist's death, and Jesus feeding the 5,000, and Jesus walking on the water. And, in previous chapters, we see Jesus healing the sick, lame, blind, deaf and mute.  His disciples have front row seats to these amazing, miraculous works.  He speaks with authority, He is continually moved with compassion to touch, heal, and meet the need of the hurting, hungry, and lost around him. Okay, so He responds to the obvious needs around Him.  He is full of compassion... we get this, right? Well, then... why the whole walking-on-the-water thing?  What need is he meeting? Why did He do this? Hmmm,... so Jesus put his disciples in a boat, and went up into the mountain to be alone and pray.  The disciples start rowing and got stuck in the winds and waves in the middle of the lake.  These were experienced fishermen so they knew...