Life is...FUN!

It's been a month now since I was let-go from my job at KFC. I wish them well. For me, I have been making it a point to have some down-time to readjust, switch gears, get re-energized. I realized that because I was so burned-out on duties and drama that I wasn't able to just enjoy life. That's changing now, praise God! In this first month He's opened fun opportunities for me: Women of Faith, Kings Island, Chicago, my pool (when it's warm enough), cornhole (beanbag toss), and even the LST! What's the LST? Well, let me start with the cornhole tournament.

I got to play this year! Bill teamed up with me and we actually won one round. We would have won another time if I hadn't been the best player for the other team! At least I was making the hole...just not with my bags. We had a great time. And to no one's surprise, Jeff won again this year. He and Mark will be sharing the trophy. Yes, I made the trophies. Corny, huh? :-)

Joe and Chad came in second place - this would have been me and Bill had I not gotten a few of their bags in the hole! Oh, and since it was my birthday weekend, Bill made sure I had a cake there. This was about the cheesiest smile I could muster. Check out the colors - hot pink with my neon green lettering - 80's flashback anyone?

And the LST? The US LST 325 is a Landing Ship Tank - the largest ship ever designed/built to place tanks, troops, and cargo onto a hostile beach, then retract off. These buggers are considered to be "the ship that won the war," meaning WWII. This was docked in Jeffersonville and we decided to tour it on Sunday. Yes, my official birthday.

We went to Rafferty's and overdosed on cheese fries - my favorites! And I got some really fun presents from friends - Rebecca & Ricky gave me a Wonder Woman doll, along with sock yarn and needles. She had confidence that I am ready to make socks. And Kim - by best friend/sister got me the most fun present I ever received. A HUGE coloring book of Tinkerbell, along with a mega pack of markers that even had the smelly ones! We had a ball with it - or maybe we were just getting high from sniffing the scented markers.

But back to the LST. This was bringing back memories for Bill since he had served on an aircraft carrier. He had little stories for every part of the ship - his own stories. And the veterans that still run the ship would be stationed along with way with stories of their own. The boys had fun being boys with the guns of course.

And yesterday? Filled with rest. Seriously, I slept most of the day with the cats. Now that was fun. Not a care in the world, did whatever I wanted, which obviously was not much. I may be another year older, but got back to my early teenage roots sleeping all day. And yep - I was up till 1:00 a.m. this morning. Go figure. But I'm learning to have fun again.

So take it from me, if you are feeling burned-out, stop. Find something you enjoy - and go enjoy it. Life is full of stuff and fun should be right in there with everything else. You need to have fun to loosen-up. So do things that are fun and childlike to you, and hopefully those things being back childhood memories - those are the best...smelly markers!

Grace & Peace to you all!

Friday Fragments

} I now know retired people are telling the truth when they say, "this is the busiest I've ever been!" And you know why? All those things you didn't get to do when you work full-time gets in line to be done. Not only that - but people come first. If someone calls and says, "Hey, you wanna?" I'm there! But I've also discovered that Satan, the enemy of our souls, will use that to his advantage to keep us away from time with God. SO, ladies & gentlemen, beware of busy-ness!

} The pool is now tree-free. I was holding out hope for the cedar trees, at least to feel like there was some natural fencing, but alas...it had to go. Steve and Bill cut it down on day - so I had to post the before and after. The tree is still there waiting for the first signs of Fall. I sense bonfires in its future.

} Aside from working around the house, I've been celebrating my whole birthday-month! I got to go to Kings Island this year at least. I was wishing for a week at Disney, but a jam-packed day at Kings Island will do. We went with Steve & his son, Bryant & his wife & friend - their church group really. We had a great time, but I don't think I've ever been with such a determined group before. We were wore-out! We rode 13 rides - actually, I stopped at 13. The Vortex beat me up pretty good so I stopped while I was ahead - or still had a head.

} Then I went to Chicago. Turns out my media distribution rep, Merlin, has decided that since I'm no longer working, he's quitting. LOL - not really, but he is moving on from his job in media distribution. Timely, huh! He, Pam, Cliff and I have been working together for roughly 6 years so I just had to go celebrate his last day with him. Chicago is not near as far a drive from me as I thought. And it just thrilled him. I got to have lunch with Pam and dinner/night-out with Merlin & Cliff and Shaunda. Harness racing. Certainly different than racing at Churchill Downs.

} Unfortunately on the way home from Chicago I took the round-about way to stop at a family member's funeral. Uncle Ray was my great-great uncle. His wife, Aunt "Duff," sends me a homemade birthday card every year. I just felt I needed to be there. And I was glad I did. Turns out, I was the only one from her side of the family that came. How important is it to keep in touch with family? And why is it so easy to get lost in our own little worlds?

} Mom's garden is in full swing. Although the tomatoes are taking forever to turn this year. Too much rain and mild days. With 64 tomato plants she had been able to make LOTS of salsa, juice, and now even pizza sauce, and that's just the beginning. Corn to be frozen this week. She's made LOTS of pickles and relish from all the cucumbers. She's looking into getting a greenhouse to start plants for next year. I may have to take up a corner or two for flowers and houseplants.

} Auction season's in full-swing too. Last weekend was a 2-day event. I think one of the funniest items we had was a 2-volume book set of "The History of Prostitution." One of the guys joked with me when we saw the pictures DRAWN in the back, "Once a man sees his first woman naked he wants to see them all naked. I bet it's the same for women, huh?" I bet he didn't anticipate my honest response, "Depends on the first man we saw naked." He didn't laugh nor try to flirt with me the rest of the day.

} For today? Full day of cleaning the walkway, cleaning the pool, cleaning vegetables, cleaning me...ooohhhh, maybe a nap too.

} And for those who like to play cornhole games - we're having a tournament this Saturday at the church's "ranch." 3:00 p.m. start time and there will be fantastic food as well - pork chop sandwiches, hot wings, pasta salad, cole slaw - mmm, mmm!

Love these Friday Fragments! For more - go see Mrs.4444 @ Half-Past Kissin' Time:

Or even Sara's Friday Freewrite:

Grace & Peace to you all!

Quote of the Day

I'll actually post something again soon, but until then I'll post this quote I received from my aunt in an email.

Quote of the day: 'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of it.'

Women of Faith

If you've never been to one of these conferences ladies - add it to your calendars! Women of Faith! I just got home from this year's conference in Indianapolis. We found out that it will be in Indianapolis again next year.

There are thousands of women who get together to be refreshed with testimonies, fellowship, and meaningful messages from the Porch Friends: Marilyn Meberg, Patsy Clairmont, Lisa Harper, Sandi Patty, Lisa Welchel and others. Rebecca was beside herself when Steven Curtis Chapman came on stage! And when he said the word "knit" - good grief I thought she was going to faint! Too funny.

This year's theme was "A Grand New Day," based on Lamentations 3:22-23: "The Lord's love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning. So true. I took plenty of notes, here are some highlights:

• Secrets keep us from intimacy with God and others. (Marilyn)
• Illustrations from Jesus with Mayr, Martha & Lazarus: 1) You can come to him boldly (like Martha & Mary when asking why he didn't get there sooner), 2) He feels your pain (Jesus wept), 3) He hears our prayers (Jesus prayed out-loud to Father God), 4) He's sovereign. (Marilyn)
• The gift God gives us can be used to keep him away - like music or work (Sandi)
• DNA strands which are drawn vertically - when laid on its side acts as wavelengths, that can be translated into music. DNA is individual - our own individual song has been with us from the beginning! (Sandi)
• Transcend your feelings and emotions to do the next right thing. (Steve A.)
• Don't miss your moment - with family, friends, God! (Steve A.)
• Forgiving someone does not make them right. Forgiveness frees us to move from victim to victor. (Sandi)
• Satan wants to get and keep us out of balance - he stays in the pleasure center; thus, addictions to pleasure (you name it). (Marilyn)
• Walls around the heart can be understandably built and it's keeps the love of God in, but it's safe to come out now.

It was great spending time with girlfriends, and we will all have plenty of stories to share for years. One that I HAVE to share is about Adrienne. We were waiting in the parking garage to leave and there was no movment for at least 10 minutes. Adrienne get a little more impatient than the rest of us when she sees there is no traffic on the road below and we just can't understand why cars weren't leaving the garage! So we joke with Adrienne she should go direct traffic. She proceeds to go downstairs! Within a couple of minutes, the snaking chain of vehicles begin moving. We could only imagine it was Adrienne - but surely not... When we get to the bottom - there she was! She had gotten the cars to line up in two lines and was motioning everyon onto the road safely. She's an elementary teacher - go figure! LOVED IT! And so did the 50 or so vechiles in front of us!

Grace & Peace y'all!

Confirmation

Have you ever gotten to a place in life where you just needed a confirmation you are where you are supposed to be? You don't necessarily expect to be at your destination, but you want to make sure you're on the right path, right? Well, with losing my job recently, I've really wanted to make sure I was going to be doing what God wanted me to do for now; to rest & refresh for awhile - at least a month! Who ever has that opportunity? It's like a dream. But I wanted confirmation that's it's ok to rest that long.


So of course I've been praying, more like ongoing conversations really. And anytime I need real confirmation, God always provides - in threes. It can be any method: music, sermons, scripture, blog posts, even commercials - whatever speaks to my spirit. As long as the message is the same. And this weekend, inlcuding this morning, I got five!


Saturday night, George started a new sermon series on Pursuing God - Connect. Asked the questions: What am I pursuing in life? Is there really a God worth pursuing? What does a life look like when pursuing God? What does a life look like that doesn't pursue God? And part of his message included Matthew 6:33 & 34: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." And he finished up with Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man..." Ok - so seek God first, don't worry about tomorrow, keep his commandments. Got it.


Sunday morning Michael starts the new segment of his series - Head2Heart2Life. Time to focus on not only getting the knowledge of the scripture - but comprehending it - taking it to heart. Spend time letting it sink in. That in spite of ME (and all my sins and failings), He loves me (and everyone else). His Q's to us were: Who in my life needs the love of Christ? (insert family member, coworker, etc.) and, What are the things that keep me from showing the love of Christ? (selfishness, fear, impatience, etc. - busy-ness was one of mine). I didn't do the public display of commitment by taping our cards to the cross mainly because I am in that process of taking up my cross daily, and I want this card held close to pray over.


We went over Ephesians 3:13-21 this week. And in vs 17 it states, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith... So ok - need time to let scripture sink into my heart.


This morning I have had THREE confirmations. Dave Stone's message on the radio was about spending time with God - being obedient to His Word. And this phrase stuck with me: Obedience is faith in action. Christ dwells in my heart through faith. And Christ ALWAYS made time with God to reconnect with His father away from others. Just what I need to do.


When I got back from taking the truck for his Fixin' Day!, I read a blog post at At The Well. It was dead-on with where I've been and where I am now. Then I got a message in my Facebook inbox from "SIS" (Sisters in Scripture). Part of it included a note from Shiela Walsh: SIS WOW:You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. John 15:16. "This verse had been a part of my life since I was a young teenager. It helps when I feel overwhelmed-I remember that if God chose me, He will equip me. -Sheila"


I KNOW God has brought me to this place in time to rest & refresh. And whatever He has in-store for me from this point, He will equip me. So for now, I am going to enjoy life the way Christ wants me to. Spending time with My Father and learning to enjoy moments and who Christ created me to be. As well as spending time with others just to show the love of Christ. And I can't tell you enough what your wonderful supportive comments have meant to me, both online and off.


Grace & Peace to you all! Have a Marvelous Monday!