my day off

I decided to not only clean the house, but to clean up some old emails - 300+ on the account that I give to on-line places and use for ordering things.

Smart move, found some things I actually needed to follow up on. Important follow up.

I had to cancel a meeting for tonight due to a couple missing people that were unable to attend. This has created a day originally dedicated to preparing for that meeting - now empty with absolutely no time restraint. I cannot remember a day where I had absolutely nothing to prepare for. Such a weird wonderful feeling! So thankful!

God knows just when I need to relax the most - I believe He cares about small things. I praise Him today in the small things.

Can you believe God cares even about the small things in your life?

my day off

It has been a relaxing day off! Went to leasurly browse at my favorite store Gabriel Brothers, picked up a few things at a couple other stores and mostly was just home!

I spent some reflective time trying to grasp everything that went on at Crossroads this weekend...I am overwhelmed that God would bless us with such great guests and opportunities.

The possibilities with the Satellite broadcasts we can provide for our community is very exciting! As I recapped the events in my Elders Report today, I was blown away by the evaluations I looked over. Crossroads hosted 34 different churches at the Beth Moore event - when does that ever happen? About 1/3 of the ladies that attended the Beth Moore event, turned in evaluation forms, but out of those 19 Crossroads' ladies recommitted their lives to Christ and 15 ladies from other ministries also recommitted their lives! Now, that could definitely have impact in this community!

Then as I thought through Nancy Beach's impact I heard the words ring out "Wow"! Nancy encouraged our congregation to 'see' the miracles and opportunities around them. She asked us to slow down and enjoy the "wow" moments and things that God created, including us!

Beginnning last night as I was cleaning up in my office, one volunteer at a time passed my office and yelled "Wow" at the top of their lungs! OK, OK so the message was amazing, but say wow to God not me!! ha ha I even got a Wow text today! Well, I guess that just proves everyone was listening, and for that I am thankful! And for Nancy's tremendous ability to stir our souls I am thankful!

I have enjoyed today, a true day off!

my day off begins

My sister, my mom and I are on our annual birthday trek in celebration of my mom's birthday! We have gone many different directions over the years, but this year takes us to Indiana. We began our journey yesterday afternoon after church. And the laughs started immediately. My sister and I tend to talk loudly in very high tones when together. My mom just shakes her head in disbelief and laughs continuously!

We decided to have this trip begin with a visit to Indiana Wesleyan University to see my kids dorms. The kids called several times to follow our progress. Progress impeded by a late start, drive thru dining and rest stops after too much coffee.

Ok, so the main reason to stop at the campus was just to see my kids as well as their spouses. A name we have given their girlfriend and boyfriend unknown to them.


We are getting ready to begin birthday and Christmas shopping with a new Casting Crowns Christmas CD to preview to get us in the mood. We will collect pictures as we go and report back at the end of the day. Stay tuned for my day off Pt. #2!

my day off

I slept in! It was so nice! Long overdue!

I headed out this morning to run a couple of errands and ended up gone almost the whole day again, but it was nice. Breakfast out, a few hours at the church cleaning up details from the weekend, and reading a great book while I rode a work out bike at the gym. My favorite quote for the day came from a leader I talked to from the Ginghamsburg, a Tipp City church, she had been reading - Oswald Chambers’, “My Utmost for His Highest” We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring. "in the commonplace"... that's right where we are! Nice!

This evening I am doing one of my favorite things, just sitting talking on the phone, talking on the computer and writing. Perfect, quiet ending to my day off.

my day off

My day off went quickly. It was an entire day of errands. Five minutes here, five minutes there, gone!

5 minutes to drink coffee
5 minutes to get gas
5 minutes to deposit my daughters check
5 minutes to mail some letters
5 minutes to drop off a picture to my mother-in-law
5 minutes to look for fabric for a chair I'm recovering
5 minutes to go through a drive thru restaurant
5 minutes to talk on the phone (0k, so several 5 minutes calls!)
5 minutes to send an email
5 minutes to read an email
5 minutes to write a blog

As my day off drew to an end I thought back to Pastor Tim's teaching in the "One Month To Live" series this weekend. If I had only one month to live would I have spent my time the same way? In the light of eternity was my day significant?

How do you feel about the accomplishments of your day? If you had one month to live would you have spent today differently? Please leave a comment answering these questions!

my day off

I finally had a very simple day off! It was a day of things to be thankful for.

I was thankful for a friend who spent time studying her old college books in order to try and treat my throat (dysphonia) with massage. I am so thankful for her care and very excited to see if it helps.

I was thankful for time to spend with my husband before he leaves on his amazing mission trip. We made the most of the day by eating out constantly, breakfast, lunch and dinner!

I was thankful for good reports from college from my kids, the opportunities they have make me so grateful to my Lord.

I was thankful for beautiful weather and beautiful flowers, we bought mums that were amazing!

I was very thankful for a simple day off!

my day off

Have you revisited places where you spent a lot of time as a child and felt that it was so much smaller than you remembered it? That was the case with me today. I drove to my home town and went to the Ashland County Fair. This was the location of many of my best childhood memories!

My sister and I were quick to find our favorite food vendors! This was just one of many that we sampled.

Another highlight was all the kids trying desperately to control very large animals, they did well except for a couple who laid down or got away from them.
We then watched goats in costume competing for prizes. Crazy!

My parents were also with us and we all had a great time.
As I left this evening and and looked back at the fair, it truly did seem much smaller than I remember as a child. But it was still very full of big memories!

my day off

Today is my 30th wedding anniversary! And guess what? I've never loved my husband more! I have no idea how I got such a man, God is good!

I am sitting in a little coffee shop trying to prepare for the week and waiting for my massage appointment! Not a luxury exactly as I have continued to suffer from a neck injury early this year, but a great way to start the day nevertheless!

We are then going out of town for the rest of the day just to eat a fabulous meal and enjoy the day!

Titus 2:4 & 5a and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure...

So why would a young woman have to be trained to love her husband? That's not what the movies show...you just fall in love and everything falls into place...NOT SO!

Any relationship is work, so why do we let our young people go into the most important earthly relationship of all unprepared? I definitely believe the home is the first line of teaching our children these things. Most importantly we are commanded to love one another, to demonstrate what a Godly couple look like and act like and serve like! This presses deeply into their very being. I was fortunate to grow up in this kind of Godly family. It has a direct connection to my training to love my husband.

I have mentioned before how much I appreciate my parents and a long Christian heritage ( I have many, many, many Christ following relatives). Today I celebrate my marriage, the marriage they prepared me for with God's help and many, many prayers! I knew what to look for in a Godly husband and I learned not to settle for less than that. And with all the training and prayers in my life I found Ron! We are off to celebrate and have a very good day off!

Another Day Off

I have great friends that graciously allowed me to take my family to a lake house this past weekend. We headed to Lake Erie with trunks full of supplies and more food than we could possibly eat. It’s amazing that just an hour and a half drive from home can feel like you are far away. It was beautiful at the lakes, what a blessing!

We ate constantly, watched the Olympics, took walks, sat by the lake, video taped my dad talking about the old days, ate again and ended the night with a rousing game of Family Feud. This was our final time together for the summer. This was the end of many things.

My family is changing rapidly. My dad turns 80 tomorrow, my husband turns 51 on Wednesday and my children both go to college in a week.

Empty nest. Time moves rapidly forward. I am sad, excited, nervous, and curious to see what God has planned!