halfway through.....

The weeks are long these days....
but I know I will get through...one foot in front of the other.....
and then I open my calendar to today's verse and...

Now unto Him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his presence, fresh and celebrating - to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, to the end of time. Jude 1:24-25 MSG

I borrow lyrics once again...."Truly amazing...is our God."

Rejoice with Me!

The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like the hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:19 NASB

Anyone feel like counting blessings?
If you've been watching the countdown clock...the number's getting small....(YAY!) and if you've been reading the posts you know that the writer has been getting anxious and trying hard to pray and to trust...
Amazing what happens when God breaks through. I read an incredible book my momma loaned me.....and it's very interesting what happens when you get out of your own way...get out of God's way and into His will....He doesn't want me to lose sleep and to ache every day from the stress and tension....He wants me to do what I can - to go to work, to do my job to the best of my ability, to trust Him and to pray for my needs....
well.....
The wedding is planned. We're talking about a few options for a honeymoon.
oh yeah....did I mention we found a place to live? With Christian neighbors and landlords!
I move in June 1 and the Bug will move in after the wedding....it's kind of perfect....it's above the apartment where our Bible study is hosted and owned by the man who runs our Bible study....and at least one more family on our street goes to our church :-)

"so whatcha gonna do about the CVill place?" Well...I have always prayed for that house to be a blessing....My sis is gonna live there for a while :-)

We have an open house coming up on May 17....pray that God's will be done and I have the good sense to accept whatever that may be :-D

So....in the midst of all of this, I am reminded of a conversation the Bug and I had earlier this week...or maybe it was last week....but still.....
I had come to the astonishing (ok....not so astonishing...but still) revelation that prayer can't just be whining and that we have to take time to thank God for the heaps of blessings He has already poured out....and that is when that wonderful man I am marrying reminded me that yes, we are told to present our requests to God....but WITH THANKSGIVING. That prayer MUST include praise....duh Eye.... :-)

I thought about that a lot on Sunday while I got lost in the praise....I just didn't want to stop...and as I signed and the tears flowed down my face at the wonder of the intimacy with God that worship is....I realized that none of my concerns really matter....in the long run...I've got God - what more do I need?

Yes, the house and wonderful husbandtobe is great, BUT I have to make sure they are in proper order....
hmm....food for thought....

May your day be blessed.

Who's hungry?

Start with lovely olive oil infused with a touch of garlic, rosemary, sage, sea salt and pepper....toss in some carrots, wax beans and green beans....
















mix with ww linguine and hand over to the fiance!

I found it needed a little lemon pepper but the Bug liked it just fine without it :-)
Have a great day

I think this is one even she will be proud of ;-)

Four Months!

Yesterday was four months until the wedding....now we deal with the "little thing" like deciding what to put on the plates at the reception.......and making sure the guys get measured.....and ya know that annoying little having t pay for it part :-)

But you know what? I am bouncing off the walls excited. Bet you didn't see that coming right? ;-)

It's only Tuesday?

so someone explain why all these weeks are so long?? I woke up convinced it was at least Wednesday...hoping for Thursday and dreaming of Friday :-)

We're going home this weekend - I am fighting the urge to make all sorts of plans - we desperately need a rest....we hope to visit our buddy's new pizza shop...but other than that....well...maybe a stack of movies and some bread and soup (gotta love crockpots and breadmakers....)

I'm feeling sort of quiet today which I'm sure amazes most....so I will end with my verse of the day....savor it.

I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26 NIV
Thank you, Lord! I receive that!!

It's wet out.

yep. coming down in drizzles then in buckets....but it's a soaking rain....drink up ground and bring me back some pretty flowers!

I'm so glad to see this week come to a close...it's been a long one...physically, mentally and even some emotionally.

Today I'm kind of in agony....rain reminds my knee of all the times I mangled it in my years of soccer and stubbornness....so I'm not moving overly well today....my body must be mad at me because the scar tissue in my abdomen is pulling and throbbing and I've even got some acidic pain from my non-gallbladder.

Sheesh. what a depressing post.
let's instead move on to my verse of the day

So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. Hosea 6:3 NASB

Well. that certainly fits this day! I love how God does that.

Can I get an "amen?"

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness.
Psalm 34:8-9 MSG

And in the vein of worship....my latest favorite worship song....
I hope it blesses you as much as it has me....I am told that you can hear this song at Leadworship.com

Hosanna (Paul Baloche)

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You
Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You
'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away
[Chorus:]Hosanna, hosanna
You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises
Hosanna, hosanna
Come have Your way among us
We welcome You here, Lord Jesus
Hear the sound of hearts returning to You, we turn to You
In Your Kingdom broken lives are made new, You make us new
'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away
[Chorus:]Hosanna, hosanna
You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises
Hosanna, hosanna
Come have Your way among us
We welcome You here, Lord Jesus
'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away
'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away
[Chorus:]

Wednesday! Finally!!

wow....it has been a long week hasn't it?
Tonight I'm getting my hair trimmed up and then meeting Bug for some dinner and then exchanging the movie I've been trying to remember to exchange for a week......hmmm maybe I should pick up some fish oil too....
It's finally actually really spring here! Yesterday, when I walked to my car it was 69º!!! yay!

We have a birthday party for his niece P Saturday....and then next weekend it's off to C Village....we need to head to B Village and try out our buddy's new pizza shop (Mrs. G - did you hear about that one? It's the guy from the pizza place in your town....he's branched off!) and then a relaxing weekend at home...we hope!

prayer....and yay....and please oh Lord grant me patience!

House was shown on Sunday.....I'm told they loved it but are still shopping and will let us know....but that it's like number 2 on their list......pray.....
I think it's no secret that I would love the Lord to lift the burden of this mortgage - especially if He would do it BEFORE the wedding!!! I'm trying so hard to be patient and to wait on his timing and not be anxious...but let's face facts...I'm not doing so well with it....
And then I come to work and flip to today on my verse-a-day calendar....and once again smile at the provision of hope...

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! Romans 15:13 MSG

hope you're having a delightful day with the sunshine!

Successful Weekend

So Mom and K made it up safely and we had a great time....we met at the church so they could see where we are getting married....our worship team was practicing so they got to meet a few people and hear our team so that was cool...then we took a spin past the reception hall and then it was off to T Town to see where I'm renting and meet the landlady - who was overjoyed to meet my momma so that was cool.
After that we headed off to Big Bridal Chain for K to try on her dress. She loves it - side note....she swam in the size four...it was at this point I decided she seriously needed a cheeseburger.... so we ordered her dress and headed off to Guitar place to get Bug some strings and then to lunch....where K did actually order the cheeseburger - oh to have a 15 year old metabolism again!!! Then we adventured to a nearby mall where K fell in love with the many stores....we looked for a dress for mom but didn't find much...so I guess that means we have to go shopping again...oh darn right? ;-)

After our shopping spree, I took the gals back to the church to pick up Mom's car and then head to Bug's where Mom and K met my future in-laws, which went very well.

I introduced my mom to his dad saying "dad, this is mom" only to have Bug's mom come in and say "no, that's me!" with a big smile as she hugged my mother.

I have to say I am tickled pink at the way things are coming together for the wedding!!!!

It's FRIDAY!!!

Yesterday one of the attorneys said "it IS Friday right?"
There's nothing worse than thinking it's Friday only to learn there are still work days ahead of you...but today really is Friday and even though it's rainy....I think it will be a good day.
After work I'm going to go pick up Bug and take him for a ride in my new car and then exchange a movie (we went all thrifty and bought it used only to have it skip and freeze....so back to the store to make them give us one that works), and then probably some dinner and home I go to make sure my rooms are spotless as my mom is coming to visit tomorrow. (We never outgrow that do we? I mean, I'm a generally neat person (if you don't count the laundry) and yet...I'm going to scramble to make sure everything is just right and that the room smells of nice cleansers....strange.....

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

....then enjoy this short story about a very happy woman....

Don't mind the frost.....winter is still working on that clue.....

Her name is Makaio - which means "Gift of God"

And I'm even smiling this big before a cup of coffee!!!!

Busy Day....

Today is going to be a busy one...meeting during lunch, followed by a training, followed by the afternoon, followed by going to the dealer, returning the rental and picking up my new (well, new to me) car and then heading off to a dinner meeting before pouring myself into bed sometime later tonight...sound fun?
Maybe I should get some more coffee.....

Talked to my mom for a long time last night.....it's getting to that point in the wedding planning where we need fittings and hotels and my grin just keeps getting bigger :-)