Walk to Emmaus

Our lives have been blessed by an event called "The Walk to Emmaus." I went on my walk (which does not involve much walking!) many years ago. Our kids were in kindergarten and they are now in grad school! Mark didn't want to go at first and resisted my nudges. But then God did some work and Mark went on his walk . . .five long years after my walk. After attending your own walk, you are allowed to go back as a "servant." This weekend, Mark and I were both servants on Alabama Emmaus Walk 363. This was one of the most spirit filled and wonderful weekends I have worked. The music was incredible, the talks were inspired by God, the clergy were funny and interesting and caring. It was wonderful to serve surrounded by old and new friends. Our God is indeed an amazing God whose love and grace surrounds us and woos us. Our God's grace is far bigger than any sin we can ever commit. Our God is indeed good and on this day, I rejoice and give thanks!!

Simple Pleasures

I've been reading other folk's blogs and I have found some really good stuff . . .I like this!

According to a poll conducted by a British soup company, here are the top 10 little pleasures in life:

1. Getting a good night’s sleep.

2. Finding money unexpectedly in your coat pocket (even if it is just a dollar!!)

3. Snuggling up in bed with your sweetheart. (or maybe even a good book :-)

4. Laughing until you cry. (I've done that several times in the last couple of weeks - today at lunch was one of those times as Dave told us about his dog who had colic as a puppy and had to be "burped")

5. The feel of sleeping on freshly-washed sheets. (I do love clean sheets!!)

6. Finding a great bargain. (or buying something you've really been wanting)

7. Making someone smile.

8. Sleeping late. (this is not that great to me - late is 7:30 a.m. or so)

9. Catching up with an old friend (facebook has been great for this!!)

10. Laughing at things that have happened in the past.


I think I would add - spending time with good friends - doesn't matter what we do. I would also add - participating in a really good worship service.

What about you? What are the simple pleasures in your life?

Living a life full of JOY

I follow several blogs and I recently read about choosing a word for the year. Your word can be anything you choose. It could be something like "change" or "discipline" or "try" or "dare" . . .you get the point. I have thought about this for three days and the word that keeps coming to mind is JOY. I do want to live a life full of joy. I want to enJOY everything about life - my job, my family, my friends. I want to enJOY worship at church. I thought it would be great to have a verse(s) to go with this. I think my verse will be
John 15:9-13 (New International Version)
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

2010

Where did 2009 go? I feel as if I blinked and it was gone. My dad used to say that time flies faster the older you get. That never made sense . . .until I aged!! (not old - aged like fine wine :-)

We had a good year. Our twins both graduated from Auburn and are both in grad school. Good kids. . . actually young adults!! Mark and I are both gainfully employed. Not just employed, even better. Mark works for a company that is run by one of the finest men ever. He has been such a mentor to Mark for 20+ years now. I "get" to work on a church staff - to be honest, I sometimes feel like I have a dream job. For the first year that I worked there, I actually felt guilty that they paid me (not any more - another smile here). I do love my job. I love working in a place where I feel like I just might make a difference in someone's life. Not by my actions on my own, but because of God's actions through me. We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this year. As a matter of fact, Mark proposed to me 26 years ago yesterday - on New Year's Eve, which was his parent's wedding anniversary. There have been some tough times in those 25 years, but I truly can't imagine living my life with anyone but Mark. I was reading Beth Moore's blog yesterday and her husband is a hunter also and it sounds like they are as different as Mark and I . . .but when Christ is the center of a marriage, things just work better.

I don't really make New Year's resolutions anymore . . . but today I've been thinking about things. This year, I want to laugh a lot. I want to spend time with good friends. I want to be healthier. I want to spend more time with God. I want to be a better wife and mother. Those are good goals. Those are attainable goals. What about you? What are your plans for 2010?

May God's blessings be bountiful for each of us and may we recognize those blessings and give thanks to him!! Happy New Year!!