Oh What a Day!!!

Surprise? 
 Where are we going?  
Come on Mom tell me!!!!!!   
 Hehehehehe.....sneaky.....

Take a guess!

Pleeeez, give us a hint!!!

Sandy feet and bums are an instant infatuation.

Kites and shovels and buckets make for a day of intoxicating fun!

I simply couldn't go, I'm buried in my work!

Treasures!  And an island mysteriously uncovered at low-tide......  Paradise!

Why can't we remember the sound of the ocean until we're there again?  Why doesn't it ring in your ears for days like a concert does?  Why does a good dose of sand in the sneakers make life much easier to deal with?  Why, oh why, did we come home?

Sometimes life creeps in and makes us aware of how harsh it can really seem, but with a God who loves us and has a will for our lives beyond what we could ever comprehend, I know that life is a fleeting moment and will not define who we are.  God is our protector and sometimes a day away can make that apparently clear.  Sometimes you just have to say, "Let's get away from here and just soak in His presence."  And that's what we did.  A day trip to the ocean to soak in the sun and take home our fair share of sand was just what the Great Physician ordered for our day yesterday!  Oh my.  It's like a sweet tooth......

For in Him we live and move and have our being..... - Acts 17:28a

Thank you God for your every present comfort in these times.  Thank you for beautiful moments where the sand is warm and the ocean is loud, drowning out everything but you.  Thank you for your beautiful creation.  Thanks.

A Split Second Life

Opinions of me based on a glimpse into my life.  What does it say?  I mean, unless you are very close to me and get to know me personally, do you have a certain....impression about me?  

Definition of impression:

1. An effect, feeling, or image retained as a consequence of experience.

2. A vague notion, remembrance, or belief: 


What is that based on?  


I question this today.  Am I giving the right impression of my life to those who are just in and out of it for a moment?  Granted, I hope that I can impact my friends and family in a way that glorifies God, if that is his will for me to impact them at all.  But what about the others?


Do I give the right impression that I love God with all my heart?  Am I thankful?  Am I humble?  Am I compassionate?  Am I kind?  Do I love? Am I patient?  Am I a Godly woman?


If I only have a brief moment to make a lasting impression on someone I need to be aware of what I'm projecting.  If you've visited here much, you will see the roller coaster of feelings, opinions, and otherwise futile things that float around on my porch.  It is in need of some spring cleaning and fresh flowers.  


Make no mistake that I am a woman of convictions and beliefs from my Almighty Father that guides me daily.  I want my life to be credible and true and real.  


So, my prayer today is for internal spring cleaning.  Removing the cobwebs that may be blocking the view.  


Dear Heavenly Father, be with all of those today struggling with their fit in this world.  Be with those who think that they don't measure up.  Be with me as I strive to be more real with you and with my life.  Grant peace and joy to all of those who are in the pits.  Bring your glory to those with whom I come in contact with everyday, if only for the first time, the last time or one time.  I pray that your will is evident in me.  Glory be to God!  Amen. 

Ingredients

Have you ever had a different entree or dessert or just something new where you thought, "Wow.  I wouldn't have put those ingredients together.  That was really good"?  Sometimes I wonder how chefs come up with such insanely different recipes.  I mean, come on, how much can you do with macaroni and cheese, but then again.....

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2

I visited one of my favorite mountain towns a couple summers ago, Black Mountain, NC.  They have some of the most unique shopping experiences.  The local chocolate shop, Chocolate Gems, is right out of the movie "Chocolate", yea, the sexy one....  Anyway, the whole family decided to go in and enjoy a piece of heaven of their choosing.  I've had my fair share of chocolate in my lifetime so I decided to take a leap and try something new.  I chose this truffle with dark chocolate and cayenne pepper:

My niece cringed at my choice with lots of "ewwwwwww"  thrown in there.  Let me tell ya, it was the best truffle I had ever eaten.  The perfect blend of ingredients.  I wouldn't have put those together, but thank goodness somebody else didn't conform.

I have really been reflecting a lot on how we are all intertwined in our lives like this.  My small group, my church, my marriage, my friendships, etc....."wow, I wouldn't have put those two together."  God has his way of knowing exactly how to weave our beautiful lives together for our own good, our own enjoyment, our own.  Understanding that notion that God put just as much thought and love and care in choosing our church families and work families as he did our biological families. 

As most of you who have read parts of my blog in the past, you know I have struggled with, "do I stay or do I go now?"  (Hmm, sounds like a song.)  A very wise and wonderful woman in my life made the comment in my presence a few months ago, not knowing my battle, saying, "I can't believe it when someone leaves the church.  This is my family.  My church family.  I can't understand why."  It changed my perspective.  I had been looking at me.  Shocker.  At that time I had resolved that I was messing with a plan that God had so intricately woven together.  I was going to be unraveling a beautiful tapestry by leaving.  I won't be a part of the unraveling.  I want to be a part of the weaving.

  
I can only hope that through life I will never forget how God has put this plan in place before I was born, that, if I'm not careful and faithful to Him, I will unravel.  I trust he will work with whatever happens at church, or work,or life and be glorified through our unraveling.


May your ingredients be strange.  May the taste of life be so different it leaves you wanting for more.  May your chef mix it up perfect for you.  May God continue weaving where you feel unraveled.  Bless your ingredients!

Does this shell make my butt look big?

So, I have come to the point in my week where I am about to lose all sense of direction.  I haven't been out of my house for recreation but once since Sunday, at least that I can remember, and I think I'm losing my mind.  I don't take to the life of a hermit very well.  Granted, lots of things around the house are getting done, i.e. it hasn't burned down as of yet.  My daughter has been ill for over a week and it won't go away and I refuse to go to the doctor with her, because I can't afford a $150 diagnosis of the common cold.  She's not sick enough for prescription drugs but too sick to be in contact with any other life form that might be susceptible to germs.  I love hanging out with her because I learn a lot.  She's so much smarter than I.  No, really, she is.

I actually like and tend to love my entire family.  I like being around them and hanging out.  But today.....I feel the need for a spontaneous trip to the beach or to somewhere that has sunshine.  I can't leave.  My car has issues, so I'm stuck waiting on my hubby to cart me around.  That's humbling, let me tell ya.  We are expecting another round of weather this weekend and I just want to run far, far away.

I guess I will have to chalk up my trip to offer custodial services and retrieve grocery supplies as my outing for the week.

OOOOO.....my phone just beeped!  Help is on the way!  Thank you Jesus......

Please, someone kidnap me.  Today.