It's Been Awhile

Well, what can I say? I've been sitting here trying to think of something creative or witty to write about, but keep drawing a blank. So, since I don't have anything particularly creative or witty to say, I'll use this post to bring everyone up to date on some of the things that have been going on in my life.

As I'm sure everyone has noticed, I've not posted anything in awhile as I've been to busy to write for a couple of reasons. About three weeks ago I started a job working in the produce department of a local grocery store. I've already had my fill of it, so last Sunday was to be my last day. However, on Saturday I slipped on the floor as I was walking through a doorway; I was able to break my fall by swinging my right forearm and left leg into the doorjamb -- this prevented me from going down to floor. But needless to say, I was still badly bunged up (my grams words), because of how I was angled in the door frame and by the force of my forearm hitting the jamb. This happened because a co-worker was mopping and left the floor wet and without warning - end of story. By Sunday morning I was at a crawl, so I called off my last day. . .but, wasn't so bad that I couldn't make it to church.

Reasons for quitting? Well, the biggest reason is we are putting our house up for sale. As much as we may like the house, it's way too large for the two of us to take care of by ourselves. Also, and perhaps the biggest reason, without a steady income the mortgage is way to expensive. So after much prayer for God's guidance and direction, we decided to place it on the block. What this means in the short term is down sizing -- getting rid of all the stuff we don't need or want by giving it to our kids or selling it. In addition we've got a ton of minor repairs to make before we can let anyone see the place. This means painting, cleaning, and yard work -- the whole enchilada. Whatever it takes to sale! There's too much work for Jim to do by himself, and I can't do all that work and work at the grocery store, especially given the schedule they had me on. I have to admit though, that was the most physically challenging job I've ever had -- and I've had many challenging jobs in my life. Whew!

The most exciting news to report is our eldest son, Matt, finally proposed to his girl. Mathew and Dannielle are finally and officially engaged. They both love the Lord and each other. It's Awesome!
Unfortunately, there is a sad bit to it all this as Matt leaves today or tomorrow a for a six month deployment around world, or at least most of it. Following an old tradition, Matt asked her father for permission to ask Dannielle to marry him -- and that was very sweet. Dannielle snapped this picture and labeled it the Shotgun Talk June 8, 2008. ha Of course we don't know when the big day will occur, and since Matt will be out to sea for the next six months it may be awhile before a date will be set. But, nevertheless we're excited with anticipation whenever it takes place. Dannielle told me she's been planning this day ever since she was a little girl. We now just have one son left to tie the knot. hehe
I've been reading in Ephesians; my favorite New Testament book. We're also studying the entire book of Ephesians in Church. Our pastor came over yesterday for lunch, we were truly blessed to have him for a visit, he has a pastors heart with a genuine love for his flock. We were able to share with him how awesome and meaningful Ephesians is because it can easily be personalized when read. I learned this years ago when I was listening to Kenneth Hagen on TV, he shared how to replace many of the words Paul used with your own name or the name of someone you're praying for. I was reading verses to my husband and personalized them with his name -- it was powerful -- as is all of God's Word, we're very blessed to have His Word in our lives. You should try reading Ephesians in this way. For example: Ephesians 1:1-14, 2:4-6, 3:14-21 personalize with yourself and use the name of someone you're praying for when reading Ephesians 1:17-19. You can place yourself there as well.

I found a cool web site the other day and thought you might like it too http://www.studylight.org/ . I found it when I was researching the word "fear" and how it was used in Psalm 130:4. This came about as I've sign up for daily scripture verses on FaceBook.com. Anyone who receives the daily verse is able to discuss it in a blog. Fear is just one of many words used that can have a different meaning depending on how it's applied in the particular verse. The meaning in this case meant reverence. It may not be best site's out there, but it's worth taking a look. It has Hebrew and Greek applications. If you are one of the millions of people on Facebook, be sure to sign up for daily scripture verses. It's interesting to discuss the verses with others; and its an opportunity to witness to others and to pray for them as not all who receive the daily verse are believers.

On the fun side, my husband and I had pre-paid tickets to the movies. So we were tossing around Indiana Jones or Narnia Prince Caspian. It was Narnia, voted for its showing time. We are happy we did as we really enjoyed the movie. (We would have seen it anyway sooner or later.)

A couple of people that I spoken to said that it wasn't exactly like the written version or true to it. Another was a bit disappointed and thought she wouldn't care for it. The other liked the movie, but loved the book. I haven't read the Narnia Chronicles but have loved the books I have read by C.S.Lewis. The recent movie was wonderful as the analogies presented between man and his relationship with God were dead on, and easy to relate. For instance, at one point King Peter decided that he had waited for long enough Aslan (God) to help defeat the enemy and stepped out on his own. The result was a complete failure with many more dieing then necessary. The message was clear, when we act on our own without waiting for the Lords direction the result is usually bad. Another analogy presented, was that we can only see God when we seek God -- the only one who could see Aslan was Lucy, but when she took her eyes off of him to look or listend to the others, she would lose sight of him. It would take more of an effort for her to see him each time she sought him. When she had finally found him near the the end of the movie, she ask him why he had left her as she couldn't she couldn't see him. He said her that he was always there and it was her who looked away by listening to the others. Even though she believed in Aslan she was afraid she'd be alone on the journey to him. It all turned out well as Aslan was always ready to help, he just needed to be asked, which was what Lucy did -- she asked for help. If you haven't seen it go. I think I'd like to see it again. I thought it was better than the first.

And lastly, I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you (all who read) a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us (all) who believe. Ephesians 2:17-19 NAS