This Weekend!

We are going to Myrtle Beach for our anniversary weekend!

And we are staying here:

Anderson Ocean Club and Spa

We probably won't be using the spa part of it much, but the OCEAN part we are all for! Look, it's right on the beach!

See, beach and OCEAN! Yay! I'm looking forward to it a LOT!


We are also going to see the Battleship North Carolina!

It should be a fun day trip to North Carolina, that way we will get to see TWO states instead of just one. Besides, we like to explore!

In short, I can hardly wait!

Kayleah Wilson

This story has gripped the people of Greeley and Evans for the past two months:

Kayleah Wilson disappeared March 28th. Her body was found yesterday by a ditch rider in Greeley. The ditch where she was found had been searched twice during the last two months...once by humans and once with tracking dogs....no luck and no evidence of anything either time. This does not mean they did not do a thorough job, but it does mean there was foul play.

Please pray for her family...they have closure in knowing where Kayleah is, but now a whole new can of worms has been opend with the homicide investigation.

For more information just google her name.

One Tuesday Evening

We had plans to build valves with B last night, but God had other plans….

We usually start around 6:30, and last night was to be no different. Then the rain started, the hail came, and the tornado sirens blared…
I ran home to get different clothes to build valves in and proceeded to make cookies because I was hungry for one! Hubbin went to his haircut appointment across the street from the hospital (all of two and a half blocks away). Then Hubbin called and asked me to bring a check for Rhonda (the hair cutter) as he didn’t have any cash. I drove over there and Mom called me on the way. I decided to sit in my car and talk to her since I knew Hubbin wouldn’t be done for awhile. Then B texted to say she was sitting under the awning at a gas station on the way to the shop. I proceeded to tell her not to worry about it because we were still in Greeley. Then the hail came…I was stuck in my car for fifteen minutes (eating cookies and reading a book, lol) while I waited for the hail to at least slow down a bit so I could make it inside. When it finally did slow down I booked it for the door and spent the next few minutes talking to Joel and Rhonda. We decided it was a BAD night to go get valves from the PDC yard. Which forced a decision, invite B over or send her home? We opted to invite her over for dinner so she could wait out the storm before driving back to Longmont. I called her and she suggested bringing someone else with…D! I didn’t quite know what to say to that, but in the end I agreed to it.

When I got off the phone with B and told Hubbin who she was bringing he wasn’t too excited (and neither was I) because we knew the conversation we were going to have with D sometime during the evening. I immediately got butterflies in my stomach and started praying for the conversation. I washed a few dishes and then turned the radio on only to immediately hear: “Don't know where to begin, Its like my world's caving in, And I try but I can't control my fear, Where do I go from here?…” Let the Waters Rise” by Mikeschair. I am bound and determined to devote an entire post to how God has used this specific song in my life, but for last night, as soon as I heard the song I was instantly filled with PEACE, the kind of peace that comes from only one place.

They got to our house as I was still washing dishes and Hubbin was making ground beef for tacos (too much information? lol). I have to admit, it was weird and awkward at first, but we all pushed past it and started talking. We had a nice dinner and played a card game that got violent at times (it was kind of like slapjack).

As they were literally walking out the door at 10:15 Hubbin stopped them by saying we needed to discuss something that we were not ready to let be shoved under the rug. We proceeded to hash out with D the reason for his absence in our lives the last three months. I think the conversation went well. Hubbin and I said nearly everything we wanted to say to D, and it is my hope he was able to do the same. I think we effectively left the ball in D’s court-if he wants to be friends he has to take the next step. It is my hope that B benefited from hearing the conversation we had. We then proceeded to talk until nearly 1:00AM just like old times.

Oh how GOOD the evening was for my heart. If you think of it, please pray for the situation as I know we have a long road ahead of us with those two.

Cookies!

I stepped out on a limb yesterday and created a new type of cookie! I call them Chocolate Almond Marshmallow Cookies, or CAM Cookies for short!

…I was in Wal-Mart last night literally searching the entire store for vinegar (it did eventually occur to me that it should be next to the salad dressing-which is where I found it! lol) when I decided I wanted chocolate marshmallow cookies. It just SOUNDED good. So I grabbed some of that oober-sticky Marshmallow Crème and decided I had everything else I needed at home. It was TRULY an adventure! I knew I wanted them to have two sticks of butter and sugar, but other than that I was at a loss. I tried looking at every cookie recipe I have to see what common ingredients they have, but some of them are oatmeal cookies and some are not, so that was not as useful as I had hoped. I eventually decided on the recipe below and they are really GOOD!


Ok, I will post the recipe as soon as I remember to do so! :)

Jet Ski

We got our second Jet Ski Yesterday! And I LOVE it! I will have to post pretty pictures of it soon! It has purple decals on it, its shiny....That is all for now, good bye!

Give up or Give God

All too often we give up…on life, on love, on peace, on faith, on God. How much better off would we be if, instead of giving up, we gave it over to God? How much would that kind of TRUST really cost us? Not much if we exchange the act of giving up for it.
Yet, few ever have the courage to do so. Few give up all to God on a daily basis even though we are commanded to do so: "

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

However, those who do live FULL lives. Their eyes are opened WIDE to the greatness and awesomeness of our God. They are not apathetic or atheistic in nature. They are full of LIFE, full of LOVE, full of JOY, full of PEACE, full of GOD.

Each of us makes a choice every day, every moment, to follow God full out, or not. To TRUST the Holy Spirit’s leading, or not. To BELIEVE, or not. I want to make those decisions to follow the Lord, so why is it so hard to do so? Probably the same reason it is so hard to actually work out...I can read articles about working out, watch videos showing different moves to work out, learn how good it is for me to work out, but none of it does any good unless I actually WORK OUT.

I KNOW the logical decision is to give my issues and problems over to God. To trust Him with my life, my all, every day. To follow hard after Him. To listen to the Holy Spirit's leading on a momen-by-moment basis. But none of it does me any good unless I actually TRUST God with it, listen, and DO.

So many things in life are the same way. Yet, actually completing the ACTION enough times for it to become a habit never gets any easier.

Lord, let me be one of the few. Help me choose the narrow road on a daily, moment-by-moment basis. Help me to hear Your voice and follow through on Your commands. I long to trust you like I have never done before. I want to hear You speak life into me, to see You use me for Your purposes. Give me the tools to follow through.
This is my prayer, is it yours?

Wanderings

Once again I’m sitting here at work pondering other people’s lives….Ok, I’m working too, but my job is kind of brainless most of the time, so I get to thinking while I am doing mindless tasks...

First, I catch myself thinking about a girl (woman now) whom I played basketball with in High School. She was SO GOOD at basketball, but she never really let it get to her head. She was always part of the “cool” crowd, but never acted like it. She was pretty much loved by everyone. She ended up going to John Brown University. She played soccer in college (she did in high school also). Now she is on the “World Race,” basically a year long missions trip to twelve or so countries. Here is a link to her blog: http://meganrouse.theworldrace.org/ Stop by and read it sometime. God is doing amazing things in her life right now. :)

Second, the thought crosses my mind to "pray without ceasing." What is that? How do you do that? What does it look like? Is that even possible? It has to be if we are instructed to do it...

Third, I visited Megan's blog (see above) and she has a new post about Aubrey. A girl she knew in high school who has been traveling in Asia and has been missing for the last eleven days...please read it and PRAY without ceasing!

Old Friends, Babies, and Worry

Olivia, a friend of mine from college is here visiting…well, she is really here for her baby girl (adorable btw) to have a scope to figure out why she keeps getting sick (poor little one…and poor Mom with all those sleepless nights!). Anyway, Hubbin and I finished painting the basement and stairwell tan in anticipation of her arrival. Now all we have left to do it clean the carpets and paint the baseboard white….we may end up just ripping it off and starting over with the baseboard as the carpet was installed after the baseboard so to paint it in place is going to be a pain. But that is not what I am trying to get at!
My point is, after work yesterday I went home and finished cleaning the house for when she arrived, and boy am I glad I did! Little Maddy was down rolling on the floor within a few hours of getting there (she had been cooped up in a carseat for five hours!). While I was cleaning I noticed how nervous I was for her to get there. I don’t know why, maybe because I hadn’t seen her in four years! Maybe because Hubbin and I have never had guests from out of town stay with us before (with the exception of my wonderful Matron of Honor and her beautiful Flower Girl daughter and her fantastic Pastor Husband right before our wedding….but I was so concerned with the wedding that I didn’t get nervous at them coming, I was just excited!). And maybe it was all just for no reason.

In any case, I read something that suggested I keep track of all of my worries for a few days. This was one of them. And I have yet to figure out why (for sure) I was so worried about it, but I suspect it was a combination of all of the above! And heck, I have a clean house out of the deal!

I also worried about the current Erickson “feud” (I say “feud” lightly, because it isn’t a huge deal, but it is a somewhat strange argument…) And then I worried about how much MORE work Hubbin and I are going to have to do because of it…I know that it doesn’t really matter in the end. No one is going to love anyone any more or any less because of it. But it does get frustrating sometimes…

Hubbin took his phone for a swim, so I was concerned that he would lose his contact list. Turns out he didn’t. His phone turned back on and the Verizon man was able to get everything off of it.

I have worried about the meeting I have with my boss on Friday…I have worried about Mom-I so hope she gets super-well soon!...I have worried about Dad, I know how he hates to just sit for days on end so I know he is not having the time of his life right now….I worry about Hubbin and whether he will ever get a promotion…I worry about the stupid ticket Hubbin was given last week and pray it gets taken care of appropriately and that Hubbin doesn’t end up having to go to jail over something he didn’t even do!...

I worry about so many different things on a daily basis. I didn’t even realize I did so, but I do. And now the challenge to attempt to consciously turn over each and every worry to the Lord every time it crosses my mind. I know I can do it, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy!