Just Because...

... I thought you might need some extra reading over the weekend:o), hence the three (three!) posts in one day. I found this blog recently (blog-hopping:o)), and then I read this article tonight and thought this was a rather well-written post on the issue of being too content as a single. This paragraph kinda sums in up (emphasis mine):

Another thing we should be cautious about, I think, is being too perfectly happy as singles. How does that work with finding contentedness in each season of our lives? I think the message we should be sending isn't 'I'm quite happy as I am right now, thank you very much, and I don't need anything else', but rather, 'I'm happy, but I feel ready to move on to the next stage, and I'm eagerly anticipating it.'

So while this will probably not be applicable to 98% of my readers:o), I figured that it might explain what I've often thought but never put into words. So hopefully you can read it, and maybe things would make a little more sense to you in understanding what I do and why I do it... all the time waiting for what I believe God has in store for me one day (but not pining and moping away my time as a single.)

Confused yet?:o)

Then that's life with me... in a nutshell!

Taking Weird To A New Level.

Ya'll have got to go over to A Maryland Girl's blog and check out her post. I have absolutely no idea where she finds the pictures, but these have got to be the best (?) she has ever posted!!!! Let me know what you think...

WFMW: A Packing Tip.

Tomorrow I'm heading out on an "extended" field trip to the new Creation Museum in Kentucky with about 30 students and 10 other chaperones... so the bus ride should be a little crazy to say the least! (It's about 14 hours, but that does NOT mean whines and complaints of "Are we there yet?" are allowed!) My goal as a chaperone is to make it back in one piece:o).

I don't ever stress about packing for a trip (when I went on my 3-month trip to Thailand, I packed about 12 hours before I left for the airport!) and this one handy-dandy tip has saved me quite a bit of stress over the years. I have, for lack of a more original term, a toiletry bag that I always keep packed with the essentials: shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, spray, etc. Everything is all ready to go in that little bag that I don't ever worry about the little stuff when it comes to packing right before I leave. So tonight when I get home from church, it should take me about 5 minutes to pack for the two-day trip and that's what works for me!

For more works-for-me ideas, go pay a visit to Shannon:o).

I Have Decided...

(I heard this song sung today on two different occasions, and was deeply challenged...)

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

God Owns The Cattle On A Thousand Hills.

Psalm 50:10 ~ "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."

In reading that verse the other day, I thought about this song that says,

"God owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
The wealth in every mine;
He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,
The sun and stars that shine.

Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell -

He is my Father so they're mine as well;

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills -

I know that He will care for me."

Yesterday while e-mailing a friend in regards to going back to Thailand I commented, "I've started saving for the next trip over, but I think it will be 2010 before I get there at the rate I'm saving!"

But God, who knows my each and every need, brought encouragement along at the right time! You see, my volleyball team had a party yesterday afternoon since we're finishing up our season on Monday, and they gave me this for a gift:

As I turned over what appeared to be a 5-dollar bill, one of the girls said, "This 50 dollars is for your trip to Thailand."

Isn't God good?!?! Just like the Shunammite woman was commanded by Elisha to "borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few", so I too need to bring empty vessels to place before the Lord! He wants to fill them, all I need to do is bring the vessels.

Frugal Friday And A Blessing!

Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood is gracious enough to host Frugal Friday each week, so I thought I would share a tip and a blessing all rolled into one!

My Frugal Friday tip is very simple, but as the saying goes, "a penny saved is a penny earned" (Thanks Benjamin Franklin!), so here's my tip on saving those pennies.

A local gas station (Wawa in M-town, for those of you who are local) has two prices out on their marquee: one price for those who pay with a debt/credit card and another price for those paying with cash. The cash price is significantly lower (it can be up to 7 cents cheaper) than the credit card price. The nice thing for me is that they have my bank's ATM right inside the store, so if I don't have cash on me, then I can go to the ATM, take out the amount I need and pay for the gas. By doing it this way, I save pennies each time... and this time it was 51 cents!

Now the blessing. Tonight I stopped to fill up the gas tank (I think I was beyond empty!), and as I pulled in, I remembered a challenge my Pastor gave last night in the church service. He was talking about Personal Evangelism and then he said this: "Why don't you pray and ask the Lord to give you one person to witness to within the next 24 hours. Give yourself a time limit."

Oh me of little faith "kinda" prayed for the opportunity, but I *knew* that no such opportunity would come along because I would be at church all day. The only slightest chance might have been a repairman or salesman stopping by church.

Like I said, oh me of little faith!

God gave me an opportunity to give my personal testimony tract to the guy behind the counter and it was an opportunity I didn't even think could happen! Because my friend Emily had asked me to come to her house tonight for a game night (thanks Em!), I had to fill up my gas tank and it just so happened that the Lord provided an opportunity to give a person a tract!

God is good, all the time... all the time, God is good!

So there's my Frugal Friday post and blessing all wrapped into one:o).

And We Have...

...A Winner:o)

But first, let me say thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! I must say as the comments came in, I wished I could give everyone the book or CD that they mentioned!

I truly am blessed to have a good, solid, KJV-only bookstore right in my very own church! Plus I work for Challenge Press, so I've read so many of the books as I've printed them off... the problem I have is that I wouldn't be able to afford all the books!

But I'm sure ya'll are curious as to who won the gift certificate...

First of all, I must say I drew the name in a very scientific way:o). I put all the names on the exact same type of paper (minus those who commented twice. I figured that would be an unfair advantage!) Then I folded the papers up and even went so far as to tape them shut so that one wouldn't get "stuck" inside of another. Finally I had my mom pick out the name (thanks Mom!) and after spending several seconds trying to get the tape off:o), Mom opened it up and the person whose name was on the paper was the person who wanted the Logos Christian Software for $450.00 (that's Four Hundred And Fifty Dollars!) Here's what Katina wrote:

Wow Anne, you got a lot of comments...I didn't realize you were giving away a freebie...cool! I'll take the Logos Christian Software.........scared ya didn't I! :) Would $450 really be too pricey for a good friend?! :)If I could pick anything I would pick, "Don't Make Me Count to Three"...b/c I find myself counting around here quite often some days. :)

So there you have it! I had so much fun doing this giveaway and just wanted to thank ya'll again for participating:o). And who knows? I just might do this again in the future.... :o).

In A Nutshell...

This weekend was as busy as I anticipated it to be! On Friday my team was waiting for the other school to arrive in the middle of a rainstorm when a rainbow peeked out and reminded me that God always keeps His Promises! It was a small blessing, but it meant so much to me ~ it sure brightened my day!


After the rainbow, I decided to gather the team together to start taking pictures. You know how that goes ~ reverse psychology: We take pictures and the other team arrives! So here is my sweet volleyball team and I'm happy to report they did a great job on Friday! It was very intense at times, but good Christian competition:o).

Saturday was just a crazy, chaotic day in so many ways. In the middle of the day we went to the wedding. My Mom is pictured below at the reception...

Sunday was busy as well. I was able to attend Sunday School and participate in the ongoing study of Abraham's life. In the morning service I had junior church with the 2 and 3 year olds and at night I was in the nursery, so I'm looking forward to being in church tomorrow night:o). During the afternoon, several family members came over, including two of our youngest ones! Ethan recently got a hair cut and Andrew is gaining weight, so it sure was sweet to see my little nephews:o).

My sister and brother were both able to come, and it was nice to spend family time with them that always seems to be too short...

Ann and I don't often get our pictures taken together and there's even a family joke about that. You see, back at Ann's baby shower, we had asked my sister (pictured above) to take a picture of Ann and I. After she took the picture, Ann asked if it turned out alright. Mary glanced at the camera and said, "yup, it's fine" so Ann and I didn't think to have another one taken. Well later on we were looking at the picture and here my head was cut off! So we jokingly told Mary she can't take our picture anymore:o).

The family time continued on last night, but I forgot to bring my camera for that. My cousin flew in from Charlotte, so my Aunt and I went down to Philadelphia to pick her up and spend some time with her. I'm excited because she is moving to NYC next week, so that means she'll be living closer (and I'll have a point of reference in the city too;o).

Somewhere along the way I caught a cold, for I've been sniffling and sneezing my way through the day today. Hopefully I'll get rid of it soon, but a little R and R should do the trick:o).

In the meanwhile, there is still time to enter the giveaway... I'm planning on closing it sometime Wednesday night; probably 9 PM. And I am completely impressed with the fact that after faithfully reading my blog since the beginning, I finally have a comment from a friend who shall remain anonymous... thanks for commenting!

This Is A First.

I'm in for a rather long (and busy!) weekend with a volleyball game, wedding of a longtime friend, and hosting a fall gathering of about 30 people so I've decided to do something that I've never done before and we'll see how it goes!

As many of you know, my church has a big printing ministry in addition to having a bookstore. I would like to give away a $15.00 gift certificate at the end of next Wednesday night.

So here's where you come in! Go to the Challenge Press/Book Heaven website, browse around, and come back and tell me one book/CD you would want if you won the gift certificate. I'll work out the details with the winner later (Hmm, can I see some LVBCers coming out in droves for a gift certificate? Well, it's free, so I'm sure that will be motivation:o)), but just leave a comment and I'll close the give away out next Wednesday night.

Happy browsing!

Another Works-For-Me!

About a year ago I read on someone's blog (you know how that goes! Blog hopping, that is... :o)) about an opportunity to earn free gift certificates. With thoughts like "yeah right" running through my head, I apprehensively e-mailed the lady and she referred me to MyPoints.com. I then signed up with MyPoints and did earn gift certificates!

Here's how it works:

• You read the e-mail offers MyPoints sends to you.
• You then click on the orange box that says "Act Now!" "Take Survey Now!", or something like that and instantly earn 5 points.
• You close out the window, delete the e-mail, and that's it:o).

Now I will say I'm not a big fan of spending money so normally I just click on the link and get the points. I've only ever bought one thing off of MyPoints and it was something I was going to use anyway. Their big emphasis (of course) is for you to buy something with the companies they advertise, but you don't have to do that:o).

I received $50.00 in gift certificates and it came at a good time too ~ right before I headed to Thailand for three months! I'm just about ready to get another $50.00 in gift certificates, but I'm having a problem deciding what to get (Christmas is coming you know!).

It's really easy and it takes me one, maybe two, minutes in the morning when I check my e-mail. I can definitely do that and as a result earn gift certificates. If you are interested in trying it out, go to my profile and e-mail me. I'll then "refer" you (and get points for doing so!) and you can start earning gift certificates too:o).

For more "Works-For-Me" ideas, go to Rocks In My Dryer ... just be prepared to spend a while reading!

Stay In The Castle.

Chantel wrote a good post regarding this book, "Stay In The Castle". I was just 16 years old when I first read it, but it impacted my young life greatly. The story is about a young maiden who wishes to find her Prince but was given an earnest warning from her father, the King: Stay in the castle! In other words, don't go wandering around outside the castle, trying to find what you think would work for you. If you do, you will miss the special man that God has waiting for you.

From the day I put the book down, I determined I was going to wait for the Lord to bring my Prince along. It's been 8 years since I've read that book, and I've seen many a friend and relative get married. Just because time has elapsed doesn't mean the command from my King is any less important. I've posted this quote on here before, but it's one of my favorites:

"Wait for God's time to bring it round and He will do it without any heartbreak or disappointment."

~Oswald Chambers~

Just recently I heard about someone I knew long ago who had the same desire that I have, but then impatience got in the way. Now that person is married, but it's not the best situation. My heart broke when I heard that story because patience did not have her perfect work!

I've pondered all my years since I read that book and realized it's not been a bad wait at all, but lest I was tempted to "throw the towel in", I was reminded as to why I'm waiting! I would rather remain single all of my days and be in the center of God's Will than to marry outside of God's Will. There is no safety in stepping outside of God's plan and Chantel's post and the story I heard were good reminders of that.

And so, I stay in the castle. To the ridicule of some and the sympathy of others, I wait. Only God truly knows my heart's desire, so I wait. Because the dangers of stepping outside of the castle are not worth it.

Burdens ARE Lifted At Calvary!

Days are filled with sorrow and care,
Hearts are lonely and drear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

Chorus: Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Calvary, Calvary,
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

Cast your care on Jesus today,
Leave your worry and fear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary,
Jesus is very near.

Troubled soul, the Saviour can see,
Ev'ry heartache and tear;
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near.

~John M. Moore~

A Surprise Trip.

Lest some of you think I fell off the face of the earth... I did not:o). I knew I was in for a pretty busy week with Revival Services last week and towards the end of the week, I went with a family in my church to Tennessee ~ a complete surprise to all the kids in the family and my sister-in-law who came down from Indiana! The plan was concocted a few weeks ago, but my friend agreed to keep the whole thing a secret, telling only her husband. So after church Thursday night, I headed out to her house and was met by several of her confused daughters who couldn't figure out why I was there until it dawned on them that I was coming with them:o).


The main purpose of the trip was to help the family out with a house they recently bought ~ beautiful, but in need of a lot of work! So we spent the weekend cleaning, painting (the whole first floor was painted in yellow... I like yellow, but this was a little extreme!), and just general work...

An added bonus was the opportunity to see my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. Originally my brother and other nephew were coming too, but in the end it worked out to be the three of them. The secret of the past two weeks was completely worth it... my sister-in-law shrieked when she saw me! Since she wasn't expecting to see me for another two months, this was a huge surprise!

(Hopefully she doesn't cause great harm to me for posting this picture!)

The weekend was so fun, peaceful, and quiet... well, quiet is a relative term. There were 10 females in the house and one very active 5-year-old-boy, so it wasn't quiet in the realm of noise but it was a very relaxing weekend. I've found yet another place I would love to go back and visit someday... Muddy Pond, Tennessee!

Seeing my nephew is always such a highlight for me. He is talking more and it's understandable too! Towards the end of the trip, he began to say "we go home now", but Kim and I knew he was definitely done with Tennessee when he said to me, "Good-bye Auntie Anne"! I'm looking forward to see that whole gang come December:o).

The whole trip was very pleasant, minus having a queasy stomach early Tuesday morning and having a tire blow out on the trailer two hours from home. Thankfully I feel much better now and two very nice men (one from Mississippi and one from Carlisle, PA) helped us out with the tire, which was a huge relief to us!

There's no place like home, but I sure do love taking these trips... and the next one's coming up in just a couple of weeks!