Free Postage!

The other day I received an envelope in the mail from the Colonial Williamsburg Society asking me to blah, blah, blah. Now the only reason that I receive anything from CWS is because 7 years ago my class and I decided to go there for our senior trip, and I was the type of person that likes to plan trips out (hmm, not much has changed in 7 years!). Over the last 7 years, I've received plenty of envelopes from CWS, and they usually include note cards and personal labels. Since my name is spelled wrong on the labels, I don't use those (plus I have gads of free ones from other companies:o)), but I do use the note cards.

So the other evening I sat down to write to some of the missionary wives from my church by using the (free!) note cards. I then stuck them in the missionaries' mail boxes in the church office, where they will be slipped into an airmail priority envelope (that the church is going to send anyway with all their mail!), so I didn't have to pay $2.70 in mail three little envelopes.

So not only did I have an opportunity to write to the ladies who are faithfully serving the Lord on the field, but I was able to do it very frugally too!

Glory I'm Saved!

We sang this song tonight in church and I don't know about you, but thinking about my salvation brings tears to my eyes and a prayer of thanksgiving to my lips. To hear the congregation lift up praises to the Lord in song was sweet indeed!

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Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Now ransomed from sin and a new work begun,

Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son,

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Refrain: Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!

My sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone!

Glory, I’m saved! Glory, I’m saved!

I am saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

The angels rejoicing because it is done;

A child of the Father, joint heir with the Son,

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

The Father He spake, and His will it was done;

Great price of my pardon, His own precious Son;

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

All hail to the Father, all hail to the Son,

All hail to the Spirit, the great Three in One!

Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!

Imagine...

Imagine for a moment that someone has established for you a very unusual bank account. Each morning he has agreed to deposit $86,400. At the end of each day whatever you have not spent will be forfeited. Would you not be diligent to see to it that every penny of that account was withdrawn and properly spent? Would you allow any of it to expire unredeemed?

To read the rest of this challenging statement, go here...

Walking In The Fire.

Tiffany and I spent today together after planning this a month ago. Yup, you read that right. A month ago. Tiffany is at a complex stage in her life being a wife and also a mother to two little boys (and, well, I'm not sure what my excuse is; something about planning to go out of the country for a while.... I know, blah, blah, blah!).

So we went down to Sight & Sound Theatres in Stausburg, PA to see the performance about Daniel.

(Don't the trees block the building just beautifully?!?)

Having seen 7 various shows over 8 years, I last saw Daniel in 2000 when my high school took an end-of-the-year field trip here. So it had been a while since I was "wowed" by the amazing ability of the S&S team in regards to Daniel:o).

I always enjoy coming to the shows. My favorite one was Ruth ~ I saw that one twice! But Daniel was very good as well. The part today that really got me thinking was when the 3 Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace. I thought about theses verses:

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. ~ Daniel 3:24-25

A chill ran up and down my arms during the very next song as it talked about God going through the fire with us... what a precious thought! There is nothing that I will go through that God will say, "Ok, you're on your own with this one." There will never be a time when God drops me off at the entrance to a huge trial and shouts, "You'll be fine! Have a great time!"

No. That verse specifically says that Nebuchadnezzar saw four men loose (with the form of the fourth like the Son of God), walking in the midst of the fire. So that means to me that I will face fires in my life; it is to be expected. But I can also expect the Lord to walk right there with me!

Sight & Sound did their best with the flaming fire... but when it comes to the real "fires" in my life, I don't want a Christian production team helping me out. I know it's going to be my God walking in the midst of the fire with me... just as He did with those Hebrew children!

Oh, The Irony!

Tonight on my way home from work I passed the same sign I pass every night, "Only 28 days until you can mow. Be ready!"

(As an aside, I remember when that sign said 74 days... where has the winter gone?!?!)

The ironic part is that tomorrow we're supposed to get 2-4 inches of a wintry mix... oh spring, where art thou? Safely tucked behind winter, I suppose:o).

And just for the record, I won't be getting out the lawn mower any time soon!

It's Tradition!

Have you ever seen The Fiddler On The Roof? In the beginning of the movie, Tevye is talking about traditions that have been in his family for years. I love the part where he says, "You may ask, 'How did this tradition start? I'll tell you.'" As he leans his hands and chin on his milkcan contemplatively, you expect him to make a grand statement, but all he says is, "I don't know."

Each President's Day, my church holds its own tradition of sorts: renting a rollar-skating rink for three hours where the whole church can come and rollar-skate to Christian music! You may ask, how did this tradition start? Well, like Tevye, I must say, "I don't know!"

But it is tradition...

• ... for it to rain on President's Day (What a good day to hold an indoor activity!).
• ... for the main highway used to travel to the skating rink to be cloggged with people coming home from their own extended weekend.
• ... to trip over the young kids as they learn to skate:o).
• ... to play the four corners game and the limbo.
• ... to get a couple of blisters on the feet.
• ... to be tired and wonder why I even put on a pair of skates.

This is the one activity that is faithfully done each year... in fact, my sister-in-law (who now lives in Indiana) introduced me to the girl who would become my best friend all through my high school years at the rink 11 years ago. So it's tradition for my friend and me to laugh now as we remember that first infamous question: "Is it Anne with an 'e'?" I had never watched Anne of Green Gables before (of course I've since seen it... numerous times:o)), so I had no idea what she was talking about! That memory has now become tradition.

So tradition is what took me up to the rink yesterday. Lord willing I will be in Thailand next year at this time, and I don't think they have rollar-skating rinks, so tradition won out this year; and the blisters are just a little reminder of the good time that was had:o).

Here Is Love.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,

Lovingkindness as the flood,

When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,

Shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember?

Who can cease to sing His praise?

He can never be forgotten,

Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,

Fountains opened deep and wide;

Through the floodgates of God’s mercy

Flowed a vast and gracious tide.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,

Poured incessant from above,

And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice

Kissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,

Love Thee, ever all my days;

Let me seek Thy kingdom only

And my life be to Thy praise;

Thou alone shalt be my glory,

Nothing in the world I see.

Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,

Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct me

By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;

And Thy grace my need is meeting,

As I trust in Thee, my Lord.

Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring

Thy great love and power on me,

Without measure, full and boundless,

Drawing out my heart to Thee.

(Go here for more information)

And Your Flavor Is...?

It's been a while since I've done this, but I'm wondering if ya'll would humor me by letting me know who you are! I've been looking with interest at all the different places ya'll visit from, but it would be nice to put a "name with a place":o). To make things a little less mundane, tell me who you are, where you're from, and what you favorite ice cream flavor is... I'll even allow you to submit the flavor "coffee"!!!

I'll go first....

Anne ~ Emmaus, Pennsylvania ~ Cookies 'n' Cream.


There... that wasn't too hard!! Now it's your turn:o).

Trust Me.

"Trust Me, My Child," God says,

"Trust Me with a fuller abandon than you ever have before.

Trust Me, as minute succeeds minute,

Every day of your life, for as long as you live.

And if you become conscious of anything hindering our relationship,

Do not hurt Me by turning away from Me.

Draw all the closer to Me, come, run to Me.
Allow Me to hide you, to protect you, even from yourself.

Tell Me your deepest cares, your every trouble.

Trust Me to keep My Hand upon you.

I will never leave you.

I will shape you, mold you, and perfect you.

Do not fear, O child of My love, do not fear.

I love you."

~Amy Carmichael~

In 5 Years.

I love being able to work around other Christians. There is such a unified spirit among the staff members (on most days!... we are human after all, so there's the occasional tiff), and I'm pretty much guranteed to have a good laugh at some point of my day:o).

Today I was busily printing some tracts while a couple of the girls were working on sending packages out (I think we keep UPS in business!) when in walked another staff member. He asked one of the girls a rather serious question and the other girl and I jumped right in with cute comments like "Oooh... where do you see yourself in 5 years?" and "What's your future looking like?" Of course we all shared a good laugh, but later on the "5 year" question was asked again, and this time in half-earnestness. I thought about how I've answered it in the past. Normally my answer would have been, "Oh I don't know. Done with school and maybe married." But having spent the afternoon thinking on it a little bit, my answer is different.

In 5 years, I hope to still be serving the Lord. In 5 years, I trust I would have done some more growing. In 5 years, I pray my walk with the Lord would be sweeter than the day before. While it would be nice to be done with all my school (!) and perhaps even married, that matters not when compared with my spiritual life. There is no better goal than to walk with the Lord. All the planning for this temporal life can't make up for the lack of spiritual fruit.

Who knows where I'll be in 5 years... it's Whom I'm by that's important!

Go Ahead! Try It!

I got this as a forward from someone at church... maybe a couple of you did too:o). If you haven't tried it yet, go ahead... no one's watchin'!

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HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

I could not believe this!!! Just try it! This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't! It's pre-programmed in your brain!

1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you are nuts......) and while sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so. Send it to your friends to frustrate them too!

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I just thought I would throw this in for free... of course it's pre-programmed into our brain, by such a wonderful Creator!

"Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him."

~Psalm 33:8~

Tag - You're it!

I've been tagged by Jennifer and Elizabeth! Here are the really simple rules:

The rules for this meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So I guess since I've been tagged twice, I have to come up with 12 non-important things/habits/quirks about myself... Hmm, let me think. Ok, here goes:

1. I don't know why, but often I'll be in the middle of saying something or doing something random when the camera clicks... case in point:
   
   
   
2. I think I might have mentioned this a long time ago when I first started the blog, but I have lots of new readers so I can say it again:o). I only have one contact - in my left eye. My eye doctor basically said it would defeat the purpose to have one in my right eye, so it works out for me in not getting confused!
3. I eat with my right hand but do most everything else with my left.
4. I prefer typing over writing.
5. I like to count cross stitch while I watch a movie.
6. I dislike talking on the phone, unless it's to a sister/sister-in-law.
7. I would rather go to work in the late afternoon and working until midnight... it's always so quiet then! But alas, I can't do that.
8. It doesn't take much to get me to laugh.. pretty much all you have to do is have a goofy grin on your face (or something along those lines!) and I'll burst into laughter:o).
9. I am 5 feet 1 1/2 inches. That 1/2 inch is important to me, since I'm constantly being told I'm short - which I am:o).
10. I prefer doing a lot of things by myself, which is why I'm often jumping in the car to take a drive:o).
11. I do not like coffee or soup - which is almost a sin for some people:o).
12. I have a lisp... who is the cruel person that put that "s" in "lisp" anyway???

So there you have it... 12 random, useless pieces of information about yours truly!

Let's keep the fun rolling. I tag:

Abbi @ Dear Abbi

Jendi @ Jendi's Journal

Leila @ Life Is Beautiful

Lizzy @ Going Lizzy

Abbey @ It's A Wonderful Life!

Kristi @ Thimble Thoughts

If anyone else wants to have a part in it, let me know so I can come read all about you:o).

An Announcement... Of Sorts.

Isn't it neat when the Lord gives us the unvoiced desires of our hearts??? I had that very thing happen to me this past week. My dear friend Jen just came back from a month-long visit to her family in Arizona and was only home for a week or so before she took off for a month-long missions trip to Chile. I had wanted to spend some time with her after church last Sunday and again on Wednesday night, but it just didn't work out.

So imagine my great delight when I was asked to take her to the Newark Airport after her aunt's car had some mechanical problems. Isn't the Lord good??? He knew I wanted to spend time with Jen and with a hour and a half trip to Newark, we suddenly had time!

Jen and I had such a lovely visit and as I pulled away from the terminal and headed back toward the highway, I thought about Jen's trip. How I wished I was going with her to a new continent... a new country... to see old friends and some very special missionaries! But just as I was about to get a twinge of envy, the Lord reminded me of a much anticipated trip I am planning on making this summer...

I've begun the whole process again of getting ready to go back to Thailand. When I came home from Thailand on August 16th, it was with a reluctant heart. But the door has opened up to go back to Thailand - Lord willing for a year or so.

With that in mind, if you are interested in keeping up to date with all that's happening, I've started a blog specifically for jotting down blessings and of what the Lord is doing. Here is the first entry for my blog Each Step I Take. I know that the Lord is truly guiding and directing my every step and I am so excited to see what He is doing in this new phase of my life. Make sure you bookmark the page and check back for updates:o).

In the meantime, I think about a year and just how long, but really short, it is. I think about saying good-bye to my family, friends, and church family. But I do not think about leaving with a sad heart... because good-byes are a part of life. I've been on both sides of a "good-bye. I said good-bye to my dearest girlfriend when we were 18, and during her three years in South Africa as a missionary's daughter, our friendship was transformed from teenager to adult. I said good-bye to family members as they've moved around the country, and our relationships are still strong. I said good-bye to family, friends, and church family as I went on a summer missions trip, and I grew to appreciate the modern communication methods because of it.

Am I excited? Yes! Do I have it all together? No. A big part of when I leave is going to hinge upon finances. But my God is not broke. He is still on the throne and I believe in the power of prayer! So while my departure date is still a few months away, the prep work is not. There is much to do, but I know that I need to take things a day at a time....

...no, make that a step at a time!

Well I Had A Lovely Day.

I had such a lovely birthday on Friday!!! Between phone calls, IMs, lunch with the staff at the local Mexican place, dinner with my mom, and Tiffany dedicating a blog post to me:o), I was in a continual state of being wished "Happy Birthday"! But while my 25th was absolutely wonderful, Esmerelda's was not. Esmerelda was a gift on my 24th birthday from a sweet, but slightly misguided, friend and co-worker, and had a very dismal first birthday being dead:




You see, I am a plant killer.

Whew! I feel better now that I've confessed. (And by the way, a lot of things get named around my place of employment ~ don't even ask who Deliah or Hans are! Or who the pillow person is.).

If you look closely, you'll see the words "This is a flower, I promise" on the yellow piece of paper. You know it's bad when we have to identify what the object is.

The one consolation I have is this. Esmerelda was brought back to the land of plant-ness by another co-worker while I was in Thailand, and I've been told that mums die in the winter. So we'll see if Esmerelda makes her grand re-entry.

In the meanwhile, meet Murdock:

Do you see how vibrant and full of life he is right now? Another misguided soul placed Murdock in my office this week. Of course he was without a name, so Emily and I had to name him. We are so humane... at least we name the plants before we kill them! Enjoy that color and life on him, because his clock is slowly ticking to his doom.

And it really won't be my fault:o).

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This evening was a Father/Daughter Banquet for the girls in the youth group, so another single girl and I spent several hours decorating for the grand event:

Why is it that it takes 4 hours to set everything up, and 20 minutes to take it down??? Ah well, the girls looked so pretty and I'm sure it will be a lasting memory!

Have a great Sunday!

It's That Time Of Year Again.

February is my favorite month of the year because at LVBC, that means it's missions and Faith Promise time. I love hearing the reports of various missionaries coming through and seeing members seriously seek God's face as they consider their part in world missions for the coming year.

A familiar sight to see is flags resting on a window sill; a silent testimony of the souls who still wait to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

I love the way this picture turned out. Doesn't it look like a cross is over the bulletin board? Only the cross of Christ makes it possible to move forward by faith, and the reason for missions is because of the cross!

When I look at all these flags and consider that they represent only a small portion of the world's countries, I then begin to realize just how small and insignificant I really am. Isaiah says, "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing." (40:15) Wow.

This ought to be the cry of a Christian. Notice Alaska is also on this chart. Missions is not just overseas... it begins at home.

Just a small smattering of missionaries all over the world, but they are making a big difference!

So very true... the mission field is right outside our own front doors.