Check

Camera- check
Extra batteries- check
Camera cord- check
Cell Phone- charging
iPod and charger- check, check
Suitcase- not quite finished packing this
Boarding pass- check

Well, it is definitely coming, but I am not quite packed. That's right, I am heading out once again. This time I am going on vacation. Nashville, here I come! I am going to visit my college friends, Jeff and Abbey and their newest family addition, Reed. I meet Jeff and Abbey when they were freshmen at Mississippi College. Jeff and I graduated together and then repeated that process from Southwestern. I was also in their wedding. We have lots of great memories and stories. I am looking forward to adding some new ones.

I am taking my laptop so I will be trying to blog from there. It sounds like we are going to have quite the adventure!

Fall Makes Me Want To...

Fall makes me think of several things...the colors red, orange, and yellow...football...cooler days...and of course baking. Okay, so maybe not everyone thinks of the last one, but I do. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Fall comes right before the holidays and that definitely reminds me of cooking and baking. Nevertheless, I was inspired this weekend, which was good because I had some bananas that were a little too ripe...well not for banana bread!

It was yummy!

Note, that I said was yummy. I took it to work today and considering how little was left by the end of the day, I would say it was a hit.

Sleepy Days

Today was one of those dreary days, but I am not complaining. It meant the sun didn't come in my window at 8 am. It meant that at 12:30 pm when I fell asleep on the couch the sun wasn't blinding then either. And it meant that at 3 pm I took another nap. That's right...2 naps and that is after 13 hours of sleep. Needless to say I am catching up on some much needed rest.

I had two goals for today, but neither were accomplished. Oh well...there will be other days.

Update

The last several weeks have been very interesting in my little world. My days have been anything but "just another day"! However, they look like the will become normal...well, as normal as anything that I do. Last night was AWPM's Light of Life Gala. Having been on the planning committee and responsible for all printed materials, the vast majority of AV stuff, and all the tables, well it might explain the erratic posting over the last several weeks. I would post pictures, but I didn't take my camera. You'll just have to trust me that I looked nice in my sapphire blue dress.

Over these crazy weeks I have often thought about things that I could blog about, but now that I actually have time I can't remember a single one. Hmmm...maybe they will all come back after another night of sleep that is uninterrupted by trying to remember some Gala detail!

Sabbatical

Just wanted to let you know that I will be taking a little sabbatical this week from blogging. I haven't done a great job keeping up recently because life is busy. This week the busyness and craziness should reach the pinnacle. However, I will fill catch everyone up on Friday!

Talking to Ourselves

(I began this on Tuesday night but hit writer's block about halfway through. This morning during my quiet time the reading from day 32 out of Beth Moore's Jesus completely coincided with what I wasn't able to write yesterday. Some of the thoughts expressed and the title of this post come from what I read.)

Recently my nephew came home from preschool with only two stamps. If you are good all day then you actually get three. His mom asked him why he only got two stamps and he confessed that he had gotten in trouble for talking. As any good mom and former school teacher would, she continued to ask questions. "Who were you talking to?" He replies, "No one...I was talking to myself." They then talked about how you don't have to say everything that you think.

Most of us have learned this lesson, though I know a few people who still haven't quite mastered this. I am far from perfect, but I do try to think before I speak and not always say everything that pops into my head. This really paid off the other day.

On Saturday I headed to Super Target on the other side of the bridge. It was early evening and I was hoping that my delay in going shopping was going to cause me to miss the majority of the Saturday crowds. I was very excited to find out that my plan worked. I maneuvered the aisles, gathered everything on my list, and headed to the checkout. Like most people I began looking for the shortest line which is rarely on the end so I headed to the middle. I was elated when I found a line with only one person in it and she didn't have that many items. I waited patiently for my turn. The seconds ticked by and it didn't seem like this process was going fast enough. I continued to wait, but not as patiently. Time continues to tick by and I continue waiting. Now I am getting impatient. The checkout lady is moving extremely slow and I am now debating what to do. That's when I notice it...she is only using her right arm. Why? Because her left arm was actually a non functioning prosthetic. Of course I felt absolutely horrible after I made this discovery, but also thankful that she had absolutely no clue what was going on in my head.

Part of growing in our Christian walk is coming to the point were we can recognize and confess our judgmental, critical, and impure thoughts. But it doesn't just stop there...God can change our thoughts, attitudes, and motives. He not only can He, but He wants to.

Even when I contain my thoughts and don't allow them to cross my lips, God knows exactly what I was thinking. In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus is anointed by a woman at a Pharisee's home. In verse 39 it says, "When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, 'This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him-she's a sinner." In the next several verses, Jesus confronts the Pharisee's thought even though he never verbalized it.

One of the things that God has been showing me lately is not only the need to take thoughts captives to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:15), but that I need to change my way of thinking. If I am going to be more like Christ then I have to begin to think like Him, act like Him, say things He would say, etc. In John 14:31 Jesus says He only does exactly what the Father commands Him. Isn't that we all should be doing? If I am really growing in my relationship with Him, it should become increasingly difficult to tell us apart.

Never Alone - Barlow Girls

"Never Alone"

I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen You
Are You still there?

Chorus:
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I"m never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life

We cannot separate
'Cause You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

We cannot separate
You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

Inspiration (From the band):
Alyssa: That “Never Alone” was our breakthrough song off our debut album just proves that when you share your brokenness and share your deepest struggles, that’s when people connect with you. That’s when a song will touch other people’s lives.

Lauren: We wrote “Never Alone” because we realized that even though we can’t feel Him, He is still there. God is not a vending machine, where you pray and ask Him for a million things. He just wants to be loved.

Randomness

Today has been one of those random days. It wasn't particularly bad, but at the same time not one of the best either. Here are some of its highlights.

• Once again, I left my coffee in the coffee pot at my house. I didn't realize it until I was halfway to work. I think this is the second time this week that I have done that, but it might have been last week that I did.
  
• I also packed half my breakfast for later, but when I got ready to eat I couldn't find it. It wasn't in my bag, not in my car, and I cannot find it any where in my apartment. I am beginning to wonder if the ants carried it off, but that is another story.
  
• Today I treated myself to lunch at my favorite Asian restaurant, Pei Wei (pronounced Pay Way). I hated my favorite, the teriyaki chicken bowl. Of course it came with two fortune cookies. The first said, "A lifetime of happiness lies ahead of you." I thought good deal who couldn't use a little happiness. The second said, "Happier days are definitely ahead of you." So, which is it...happier days or a lifetime? Oh well, I guess it is a good thing I don't put any serious thought into those things.
  
• I got home and checked the mail, hoping to find my Apple rebate check. I saw an envelope that could have possibly been the check, but it wasn't. The good news is that apparently the Navy is still recruiting and if I am interested in adventure, exotic locations, educational opportunities, 30 days' vacation with pay each year, and much more, then I need to give them a call.

Oh, and since beginning this post, I did find the rest of my breakfast. It was exactly where I thought I had put it...well, sort of. Anyway it is nice to know that the ants didn't carry it away.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Those three words accurately describes this past week and this weekend. The coming week looks a little less busy, before yet another busy weekend. I am hoping to catch up in my blogging this week, so keep posted!