Life moves fast...

I always enjoy hearing about how people allow God to work through them. It's quite inspiring... When Jeff and I first moved to SD, I'm sad to say we were pretty much hermits. I had met some other ladies my age who were sweet and welcoming, but honestly I was mostly just scared of everyone. We tried church on and off after we got settled, then Jeff deployed and I basically stopped going for 6 and a half months. Fear completely consumed me, though I'm sure if I had been confronted about that at the time my pride would've denied it. My independence would've brought me to my default response of "I'm fine". I was nothing more than a hardened lump of clay too stubborn for The Father's hands to mold... Thankfully, in the second half of last year we made the conscious effort to just...try harder. And by that I mean we chose to realize where we weren't living our lives for Christ and change that. That's hard folks. But it starts with...

Jeff and I were nervous to the core when we stepped into our first experience with a LifeGroup. LifeGroups are sort of comparable to bible studies at our church, except that not every one of them necessarily studies the bible. Some do, but others may be centered around topics of finances, parenting, etc. They are more like group get-to-gathers that allow both strangers and friends to fellowship and get involved in discussions together in effort to strengthen the bond of the church and help grow deeper roots-be it in your faith or in the church, or both. Basically, if you never talk to anyone at the church you go to, you'll never know anyone. But rather than having trivial conversation, LifeGroups allow for some substance; based on what the Word would teach or have to say about something. Like I said, our first experience was nothing short of nerve wracking ... it requires one to step out of their comfort zone to walk into a room full of people they don't know and ...

Criticized by this howling wind  my posture bends to tend to that urging deep down where peace is found And tell me again of that lyric you sang about rocks and trees singing your praise The ringing in my ears forbids me  to hear that note you made just for me to bare But I'm still one with the ground I can almost make profound that tune from the neighboring leaf in my moment of near defeat My hands are calloused from this dirt and miry earth but still lifted all the same in search of You  You came with mud on your feet Will you tell me again of those things you preached? Did we meet by chance in that moment I danced  outside the shade of my shame  when I heard you call my name? Remind me once more  of the rhythm reborn  deep inside this heart that beats in one accord with what you teach  Oceans roar and birds rhyme with all that You justify May I harmonize to Your melody ...

This song in particular has my attention the last couple of days. It may mean different things to different people. To me it's pretty raw and I like the challenge it offers. I had an actual blog written-but I just preferred the lyrics to this song over what I had to say...     I wrote a four word letter... with post-script in crooked lines, "Though I'd lived I'd never been alive." And you know who I am... you held my hem as I traveled blind, Listening to the whispering in my ear, soft but getting stronger, Telling me the only purpose of my being here is to stay a bit longer. Stealing a bicycle chain as the handlebars crashed to the ground, And the back wheel detached from the frame, it kept rolling, yeah, But aimlessly drifting around. Oh, doubters, let's go down... let's go down, won't you come on down? Oh, doubters, let's go down... down to the river to pray. " Oh, but I'm so small I can barely be seen.....

"Sometimes it's hard to grow when everybody's watching. To have your heart pruned by the one who knows best."                       Christy Nockels   Today, I took the day off from work. Not by plan, mind you. I literally got half way there and couldn't see through the ground blizzard apparently going on to get any further. That was not fun, though I did manage to find my way back home and safely there I stayed. Naturally, the weather subsided and sunny rays cleared the roads long after I had already called out. (Figures.) But I've had a lot of time to think on this rather peaceful day. It's interesting how that happens when one gives up social media for 3 weeks. Such as in the case for me as I continue on with social media fast I started last week. I've done social media fasts in the past before. But this one has actually been quite the challenge. Until th...

My day has turned out to be rather productive. I have spent most of my afternoon learning Korean words and phrases in preparation for my visit to South Korea this summer. Youtube has become quite the educational resource when learning a second language! I started with the most practical, of course.  "Hello" (ann-yeong) or (ann-yeong-haseyo)        INFORMAL                                      FORMAL and "Welcome" (hwan-yeong) My plan is to use this language as often as possible without being too obnoxious, in effort to learn it quickly and efficiently. For example, when Jeff comes home, I will greet him with "annyeong!" and a hug. I will also be sure to "hwanyeong" him when he enters the room, gets in the car...visits me at work...walks into any given establishment.....emerges from the bathroom..........(It's...