Prayer Request

Quick prayer request....my grandmommy (mom's mom) is in the hospital and will most likely have a pacemaker inserted tomorrow. She is 89 1/2 and still going strong. Pray for her peace and comfort while in the hospital and for my granddaddy (he's 92) as he cares for her both in the hospital and when she comes back home. Pray also for the doctors as they perform the procedure and that this diagnosis will settle her heart into a regular, healthy rhythm. Thanks, blogfamily!

UPDATE: Thursday am -- Looks like Grandmommy won't need a pacemaker yet, but might in the future. For now, please pray for renewed energy and strength as she recovers from her hospital stay.

A Double!

Today (for the first time ever) I gave a double unit of platelets. Like I talked about a few weeks ago (here), giving blood is a very important part of my life. And today, for whatever reason, the platelet machine let me donate TWO units, rather than the single that I usually can give. Yahoo! It meant that I was on the machine longer (107 minutes today), but it also means that two people who are fighting for their lives will be helped by my platelets. Thank you God for allowing me to help give the gift of life!

New Author

Just discovered a new author.....my friend Kelly recommended a book series by Kristin Billerbeck. I was at Lifeway Christian Store at lunch and decided to pick up "What a Girl Wants." Read a couple of chapters over lunch and I'm hooked! More reviews to come, but I'm anticipating great things.

Breaking 1000!

In slightly less than one month, more than 1,000 hits have been made to this little section of blogland known as "my blog." Wow. Who knew that this could happen? How in the world, through very little effort made on my part, could 1,000 visits be made to this little piece of cyberspace (in fewer than 30 days)?!? I'm just plain flabbergasted! Thanks all for visiting, listening to my rants, commenting and encouraging!

It's over

Should I be so relieved? It is finally over.... and I am so glad to be able to rest and not think about my 10 year high school reunion any more! It really was a pretty great weekend -- good to see a few folks that I haven't spoken with since our senior year. And it was good to kindle a few potential friendships with people that I didn't run around with in high school. I spent more time in that one evening talking with our senior class president (and discovering that we really did have stuff in common) than I did in 4 years together at dear old Abilene High. But really, I am just glad that the weekend is finally over! (although there are already talks of a 15....not sure yet how I feel about that!)

Went wedding dress shopping with my little sister last night....it certainly did make things more real to see her in dresses. Out of the 8-10 she tried on, we found 2 that we liked enough to take digital pics of and "remember." Probably will go to at least one more dress shop to try on before the parents come to town in November to buy the dress.

Nothing too much else new to tell, hence the no posting for the past week. I'll get into the groove of just reporting random, mindless happenings one of these days....

Got God?

Ok, so I copied this title from my friend Ryan's blog. He raised an interesting and thought provoking question about desperately seeking God. The title of the newest Zoe release (that I got yesterday and highly recommend!) is "Desperate." My friend Holly just returned from a visit to our missionaries in Togo, Africa and the thing that I heard over and over in her stories is how we have so many things in this modern, American life that distract us for being sold out and actively (read: desperately) pursuing our relationship with Christ.

I've come to the realization recently that one reason that I have been out-of-sorts, floundering, perhaps even a bit depressed is that I am not desperately seeking God. I take Him for granted. I use all the things He has let me have and forget to see the beauty and wonder in His creation. I forget to read His word and listen to what He wants me to do and be. I think that I can do everything through my strength, rather than settling in to His arms and letting Him take care of everything. I know that my life would be simpler if I just let Him take over. Yet I allow the lies and distractions that Satan plants in my life to cloud and shadow the truths and love of God.

God, I am afraid to ask to be humbled, to be reminded of your power and majesty. At the same time, I know that I must fully rely on YOU for everything in my life. Please allow me to hear your promises of love and acceptance and a guidance of my steps and help me to block out the voice of Satan, so that I will want more than anything in this world to cultivate my relationship with You.

Friday randomness

A little interesting tidbit for your Friday....no, don't adjust your monitor, rub your eyes, or squint. Just open your brain and read:

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I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

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So, for all you non-spellers out there, it's really not that important anyway!

Happy Friday!

Long Holiday Weekend

Well, it was a long weekend, so I wasn't on the computer nearly as much as usual....plus, my parents came into town and stayed with me which - much as I love to have them come - does disrupt my "normal" routine.

Fun stuff over the weekend - first off, you all need to know that my parents are in the final planning stages of getting ready to build a new house. And my little sister is getting married. Both events are happening at the same time - yikes! If house plans get finished and the construction begins as "planned" all will be complete a couple of months before the big day. Needless to say, there are lots of decisions to be made and no little amount of stress for pretty much everyone involved. Thankfully most of it isn't on my head, but I do get to experience it vicariously! And try to help them make decisions without imposing my opinion too strongly!

So, here's a snippet of our weekend:

• we watched wedding videos of 3 cousins (where my dad was the videographer) - from 1985, 1988, and 1994. Crazy colors, styles, songs -- wow!
• we went shopping for kitchen/bath hardware for the new house
• Phillip (brother-in-law to-be) introduced us to his home and cooked dinner for our family - great Mexican food! homemade salsa - yum!!
• we introduced Phillip to my aunt & uncle and two of the cousins (w/families)

Also, my 10-year high school reunion is coming up in a few weeks. I volunteered to help and, as is typical for me, ended up doing way more than I ever thought I would. So, yesterday afternoon/evening I spent in my computer chair typing away. See, we decided to have an information book/directory with everyone's contact info (do you know how hard it is to track down people from high school?) and I volunteered to do it. Yikes! It really did come together much faster than I thought it might (you've just gotta love the mail merge!), and it still isn't quite finished, but very nearly. Now, all I have to do is get it to the printer (after we decide how many to print!) and have them with me at our dinner.

Whew - can I have a holiday from my holiday?

Reading

I just finished The Bourne Ultimatum. I haven't read the first two, The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, but I really enjoyed seeing Matt Damon play the role in the two movies. Kinda makes me want to go back and read those two books. Also makes me want to read more like I used to.

Sometimes I forget how easy it is to get lost in a book - to create visualizations of the characters in my head. I am not quite of the generation that only plays video games and watches TV, but almost. And I sure do find myself being sucked into more new TV programs each season. I really need to schedule in time to turn off the TV and read - it will do me much better in the long run, I think.

Any thoughts of good books to read? Something with a strong plot, but not too deep. I read, like I watch TV & movies, to escape....

I'm Linked!

Thanks very much to Mae Anne Hale of Lawrenceburg, TN for being the first person (that I know of, anyway) to provide a link to my blog from hers. So, in the spirit of reciprocation, check out Mae's World.

Happy....

half birthday to me! Today is my 28.5 birthday. I know that I might not always want to recognize these half birthdays, but for now I am trying to celebrate every day as a gift. No promises of or expectations for tomorrow. Today is a gift from God and I must live it in enjoyment of that blessing. Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Wednesday as well!

From my daily flip calendar: Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! May your glory shine over all the earth. Psalm 57:5 (NLT)