I LOVE surprises!!!

Good evening, all! Hope today finds you well- it's raining here, and if here is like there, you too are getting wet... : P

There are a few things on my heart today... my family... there are many that are sick, and my heart aches for them, so I am praying. with no time to donate, and the funds below low, it's the best thing I can do. Of course, if the finds weren't running for cover, and I had plenty of time, it would STILL be the best thing I could do. <3>

So this weekend I played bass with some old friends, some newer ones, and met a few more! It was a wonderful weekend, and it's awful to see such a fun time end.

We led worship for Freedom Fellowship, and had a special speaker come and preach. For those of you that are allergic to church, I understand, really I do.... been there myself.. but please indulge me for this post, as I have had such wonderful answers to prayer that barely met my lips...

First of all, it's been a dry season.. dry enough that I had to reorder chapstick. : P Money has been sooo tight, and I have had to sell some things to try and alleviate the rent payments. For those of you not familiar with courier work, I need to explain something... you have to keep a hefty portion of what you make for gas, tolls, parking and the like every week.. it's a given.. you make out well on double runs, keeping your speed down, and not running the AC.. : P

You get the picture. Last night at the service we asked the Lord for blessings - surprise ones, too.. the unexpected. Since no request is far fetched for the Lord, and we love and believe Him to take care of us, He does.. and He has suuuuch a creative streak... : D

I had to sell my amp, UUUGGGGHHHHH!!!! and it was a Hartke 350 head and Ampeg 15 in speaker cab... (for those that don't speak musician, - it was a decently powerful rig :-D ) sooooo... I had to borrow one to play with this weekend - it was a nice one.. with WHEELS even!!! lol... "the supplier" was really really gracious, and offered to let me "hold onto it" for a while.. babysit it so that I can have one to use and not have to chunk money that I don't have into another one, just yet! Since he's not using it all that much.. I am sooo thankful! The one I borrowed is worth about 500 smacks... definitely good for smaller venues <3.

Add to that the $25 extra dollars that I have in my checking account.. God only knows why and how I have it, but it's going to help me last until payday!!!

Then there was the call to the credit card company- I charged some clothes (ALL on sale!!!) for my twice in a lifetime pilgrimage to get new underthings and all that girly stuff... : ) some things just are NOT supposed to be hand me downs.. lol.. with payment due date that came and went on Friday, and me with no extra cash to be found, I ended up late and the late fee is hefty and more than the minimum payment due. I called and asked for more time... *BUZZ* wrong answer... : P

So... I called today to ask about the hardship program. I didn't qualify for that but they DID waive the late fee if I pay it off in the next two weeks.. . YAAAAY!!!!

So there have been some wonderful answers to prayer even since last night.. I can't wait to see what else He has up His sleeve! I want to challenge you to believe for some amazing things, too!

*If you want to know more about how to invite Jesus into YOUR life, please drop me a note! - God bless!

thanks to wallpaperez for the pic!

View from the Three Trees

Here is a picture taken from my parking spot. As for why I call it "Three trees" it is anyone's guess- :p ... it does come in handy in the dark when you can't see the numbers on the parking spaces : )

It helps having some sort of compass. I navigate for a living. Kind of ironic considering my appalling lack of a sense of direction.

But I DO have some wonderful navigational tools. First of all, I want to give kudos to Garmin, I am thankful, eternally, for my navigator- I use the male Australian, Lee. He is, at times, most irritatingly repetitious... the mute button is a godsend. : )

There are times when a map just doesn't cut it. When you are trying to find your pick up or drop off location, and there is a mess of construction, the GPS is a solid tool to help you get around. Especially when you have to do it on the "fly" - keyword fly in my case : D ...With my bad vision, I can't use the maps anymore.

Another great tool is my iphone. That in itself is a gem. The Google Maps application is wonderful - you can actually SEE the street that you program into it. I can't tell you how handy THAT one is!

I get weather updates when I need them. At your fingertips is a whole litany of information. If only the traffic and construction updates were as accurate.. lol.. but on a side and hugely long awaited note (D#) lol, the new Route 72 is due to open up on MONDAY!! Finally!! Thank You, Lord!!!! I am going to have a party! The delays and problems and utterly endless SNARLS of traffic are soon to come to a SCREECHING HALT!! : P

I do have one more navigational tool that I cannot live without... that would be God's Word... It is a compass for life, and keeps me from stumbling around in the dark, lost with no flashLight.. : ) and when you tend to be as distractable as I, you need something solid!

When I keep my focus grounded on that, I can get where I need to get without running around the mountain forty times... longer... than... needed... : D

It can get ugly, lonely, and pretty dark out there.

So, get yourself a good Navigation system! <3

Peace, be still!

Hello! It's been a long time since I have laid pen-er, keyboard, to paper, or screen, as it were. I have had so much floating around upstairs, I may need galoshes : }

One thing that I have been almost painfully aware of lately is my desperate need for rest. Plain and simple. You can dress it up in a myriad of ways... most of them don't fit.

I mean, really, who has time for that these days? We have cars that go from 0-60 almost instantaneously. We have microwaves. Drive through lines. Multi-tasking. Debt that causes us to have to work multiple jobs on little to no sleep. Kids that "need"/want everything that meets their eyes. and ears. : D. An economy with about as much security as a two thousand year old footbridge in a third world country.

How can we rest? If we don't "fix it", who will? With the crime rate through the roof, how can we trust anyone? TV show after tv show paints a morbid look at humanity at large. We don't know our neighbors, and we just keep to our own little world?

With so much angst among us, how in the world can we possibly find peace and rest?

It was about ten years ago. I could time-stack in multiples... lol.. I was in the bathtub ( I know, TMI.. just picture me clothed, it's much safer that way.. even I picture me clothed.. lol) anyway- yet I digress, of course... being still that long enough for a bath was unheard of, so I brought things into the bath with me to do.

It was about that time that the Lord started to gently PROD me to please slow down and rest. Nothing short of a lasso and electric fencing could get me to stop moving. I laughed out loud at my friend's daughter, Anneliese this weekend. She has two speeds, whirlwind and off. You can't even see her move. really... well, she IS almost three. and that would be me, also.

We even TALK fast up here. As if that helps our time-stacking routines. You only have to stop and repeat yourself over and over the those that can't hear you to begin with... *chuckle*

So slooooooooowly, but surely, and ever sooo painfully, I began to slow down- albeit grudgingly... getting older helped considerably. I began to actually notice things as I drove by, the neighbors even stopped complaining about the sonic boom that seemed accompany my car.

I moved south and that absolutely slowed me down. We are maniacs up here on the road, can I say that? When I get beeped at for not being a mile up the road AS the light is CHANGING, there is a problem... : (

I began to notice people's features, and listen.. really listen. We have two ears and ONE mouth... hmmm. interesting phenomenon... lol..

As I started to learn to literally breathe more slowly - no, that is NOT counting the wheezing and panting from climbing the stairs : - P... as I slowed, I saw that I could feel peace more and more. Of course learning not to give into the anxiety and fear is a big one, too..

We have indigestion because we EAT too fast... and we.. er, I am overweight because I/we eat sooo fast that the full button doesn't even have a chance to engage... : )

I know, I am preaching to me, too..

So here is what I am proposing...

Start slowly.... take a night and turn your phone off... they can live without you for a little while, and unless you have a pregnant or very sick family member or friend, it can wait.. : ) then make yourself turn off the computer for a while..

Get into the bath with a good book.. I know a really Good Book... : ) feeds your soul, too... : ) anyway... dim the lights a bit, and bring some chamomile tea with you. Peppermint helps with the digestion, btw...

Take a few deep breaths.. Practice it on an regular basis.. breathing is key to living... (I see the eyes rolling) Pray... Ask Him to help you. and check this out - it's in there.. and it works..

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

And let me know how it went. I am working on it, myself... STILL...

*thanks for reading my extra loooong rant. and thanks to Ozarks Gardens for the pic.*