Life moves fast...

So I was thinking today: Sometimes I feel like " that girl". You know-the one who experiences odd ball moments...in public...often... Take for example my recent trips to the store to grab a snack before work. (Random thought: Publix I miss you!) I walk in, get what I want, pay...and on my way out the door-the ones that supposedly swing open automatically-I walk directly into them. Mind you, I'm not even preoccupied on my phone! I happen to be " that girl" who does not text and multitask 99% of the time. I am merely folding my receipt as I greet the tall, shiny and apparent doors before me. Furthermore, rather than taking the logical route - that would be to use the OTHER set of working doors - I proceed to pry my way out of the store with brute force, as if the doors were purposefully not going to let me pass, just...well, just because. That's what I did. Meanwhile, the people behind me were probably wondering if they should help me or just wait until I ...

I've been hearing more and more often about the adjustments and changes going on in the military. There will always be things I don't understand and I'm not claiming that I believe the government needs to answer to ME for anything. I'm just naturally a logical thinker and some stuff doesn't add up. For example, while waiting for our flight to return home back in December, Jeff and I stumbled across an article posted online about how the pull-up requirements for women during Marine Corps' boot camp is planned to change in the near future. In a different recent article written just after the first of the year, found on military.com, it stated "55 percent of women at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., could not perform three pull-ups...". The part that bothers me about this whole thing is the fact that the response to such research is apparently to go soft and basically make it not so hard for women. Are you kidding me??!! Women: If yo...

Tomorrow is Valentine's day. I don't really categorize myself as the Valentine's day celebrator. Personally, I'm more looking forward to the fact that tomorrow is Friday! Not that I don't like Valentine's day. It's just that I eat chocolate (often) year round and do fun stuff with Jeff/date whenever we want. He even buys me flowers occasionally! So, Valentine's day is more or less just another day - only everything in the world has been temporarily colored some bright shade of pink or red.  Honestly though, the only reason I'm a little bummed is because I actually thought of a brilliant V-day gift for Jeff! Mind you, this rarely happens because he so difficult to find that "just the right something" for. Yet, I did find something he and I could do together that he'd really enjoy that isn't the typical dinner and movie date. There's this indoor shooting range here called Smoking Guns and I wanted to go shoot with ...

Goodness. We have been so busy lately I think we've legitimately forgotten what day it is multiple times this week! But I started out with "goodness" for a reason. Because most everything taking up our time, apart from minor frustrations at work, is all really good stuff. We're really enjoying this new semester of LifeGroup while we read through the books Captivating and Wild at Heart. It's offered such great conversation and the ability to connect with others who can identify with the this's and that's of life.  Jeff is soldiering on through the end of this quarter with his school work. He's doing well in my opinion but sometimes he's hard on himself when he realizes he needed/should have more time devoted to homework and stuff. In any case, I'm proud of him and we're thankful there's only a couple more weeks left until his break. If everything works out, I'll be able to start school in the Spring as well. We've planned it to...

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 ...