adieu 2010....

It is hard to believe that 2010 is almost over. Time for new years resolutions. Even though I tend to think that new years resolutions are stupid, I write them down anyway and attempt to do them for the first couple weeks of the new year. I am sooooo excited about several things that I won't be waiting for the new year .Tomorrow I start my Tri training (the swimming and running parts). The very thought of a triathlon kind of scares me a little. I am by no means a strong swimmer...I can manage to not drown myself but that is about it. The other night I had a dream that Starla and I were doing our first triathlon and we were finishing up the swimming part and realized we didn't know if we had bikes waiting. Kind of hard to finish a triathlon without a bike. lol. Also, while I am sharing my goals I might as well share the rest of them....I am also training for a karate tournament in March. I have SO missed competing and will be nice to get back in the groove. Now if I can just talk my brother into competing too it will be like old times:-)

ok, so I have another goal for 2011. This is something really big for me and I have been hesitant to say much about it to anyone. Why? I don't know. Maybe because once you start telling people your big goals there is more stress to complete it. People are now watching you to see if you are going to do what you say you are going to do. I recently asked myself what I wanted to do back when I thought I could do anything. What did I have a passion for? What did I dream about? I dreamed about traveling...about flying. I had really wanted to go to Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology but life happened and I just wrote it off as never happening. I still don't see that happening, but I do see me getting my private pilots license. I will be taking my first lesson in January and will go from there. So what do I want to actually do? I would love to work with/ volunteer with organizations like JAARS (Jungle Aviation And Radio Services) or IAMA (International Association of Missionary Aviation) and provide support to missionaries. This goal is SO BIG for me; heart starts pounding and my stomach feels like it has butterfiles in it everytime I think about it for longer than 15 minutes. For the first time in my adult life I feel like I might know what I want to do when I grow up:-) I am 100% sure that this desire is directly from the Lord, so I know that HE WILL provide and open doors that need to be opened.

in loving memory.....

~Ava Grace Maddox and Mackenzie Marie Maddox~

This week I went to not 1, but 2 memorial services. Don't think I've ever been to 2 in one week. The first was for Daniel and Jamie's precious twin girls who were born into heaven November 30th. I have seen God work in the girls lives while inside of Jamie and also seen Him work in their deaths. Quite amazing really. In the little bit I have seen Daniel and Jamie since the loss of the girls I have seen a transformation in their lives...something that comes about only though heartbreaking loss that is then ministered to by our amazing Father God who is healer of everything. I do not know how they are doing this. I am not a parent, have never been pregnant so I can't begin to imagine what they are going through. I do know that they are 2 of the strongest people I know and that I am super blessed to have them in my family and so proud to be able to call them friends.

~James D. Hart~

The second service was for my previous Boss, Jim. I worked with Him for almost 5 years. I can honestly say he was the BEST boss ever. He was the best because he saw his employees first as people and second as an employee. He cared about people. He would go the extra mile.....if he saw I was having a bad day, it was nothing for him to come in my office, put some yummy drink from Starbucks and a cookie and just walk out without saying anything. He always went out of his way on 'office administrator day' to make it special...a card and chocolates or a gift card. Such a sweet, sweet man. If I was not feeling well, he would take one look at me and tell me to go home...not to worry, that everything would get done. When I was moved from our Graniteville site to our Augusta site, the thing that upset me the most was that I would not be working with Jim anymore. Those first several weeks the only thing that kept me going was the belief that this was just temporary and that one day I would be working with him again. My heart goes out to his sweet wife and his 3 daughters. Chris (his wife) is such a precious woman. She has had some major health challenges but never let it stop her from doing things. We were always finding baked goods in the breakroom that she sent with Jim. One year she made a ton of cupcakes for an Easter Egg hunt I was helping with. It was such a huge blessing and very unexpected. I pray that God would draw her to His loving arms tonight.

Been a while!

will start the blog off with some beach pics from a couple weeks ago....stupid pics won't go where I want them to go.....guess I am just technically challenged...lol:-)
ok, so it's been forever and a day since I have posted something. I was beginning to wonder myself if I had fallen off the face of the earth. I am happy to report that I have not! I have started to blog a couple times and find that the words have just left me (don't know if you ever have that happen to you, but it happens to me more often than not). Tonight, a friend of mine encouraged me to blog about my marathon training. I will get to that later:-)


Lets see....August was a good month...mom and I took a weekend trip to D.C. for Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally. It was really awesome! We stayed in a great hotel, ate some yummy food, went to some museums and even caught a cruise to Mt. Vernon. Instead of driving or flying, we took Amtrak up, which was quite fun. It was the first mother-daughter trip and I had a blast.

When I got back to Augusta I found myself in a new job. I am with the same company, but I have been moved from our Graniteville site to our Augusta site. It is more complicated and a lot more work , but I am happy to say that after a month of being there I finally got the swing of things and am in a comfortable routine.

A couple weeks ago we went to Myrtle Beach with some friends for a long weekend(see first pictures!) As usual, I had so much fun and didn't want to come home! It is still my dream to have a beach house / condo one day:-)

Now for the running part.....for the past 6 months I have been training for a full marathon. Our hard work is so close to paying off! I say "our" because I don't think I could have done all of the training without my running buddy, Starla...especially on the extremely hot days and the days where I just wanted to sit on my couch and be lazy while drinking coffee and watching I Love Lucy. Our marathon is in 5 weeks!!! I am feeling more and more confident with my ability to finish this race. Tomorrow is a milestone....18 miles....the most we have ever done. I look forward to reporting how it went:-) The race will be in Kitty Hawk, NC and my family and Starla's mom are coming. I have started to give thought to what my goal will be after the marathon and have come to the conclusion that I will have to start training for a triathlon. Seems a little overwhelming, but 2 years ago if you told me I would be running a marathon I would have laughed at you. It seemed impossible. I see now that it's not. I can't tell you how exciting that is!!!

Is there something you want to do that you don't think is possible? Go for it! (Philippians 4:13 - I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength)

Hmmmmm.....

So last night after our game (we lost by the way:-( but only by one...and to the undefeated team...I thought we did ok) we went to grab a bite to eat with a couple of friends. We were talking and I notice a man come in the restaurant and go table to table showing people a card and they would pull out a couple dollars and give it to him. I figured he couldn't hear or speak and the card explained that he needed money or was raising money for something. So as he's making his way around I go ahead and pull a couple dollars out of my wallet so I don't have to dig through my purse when he gets to our table....

well....he never comes to our table. He kind of glances at our table and then just walks out. What?! now I know a lot of people would be relieved that they weren't asked for money. I however was not relieved. I was bothered that he didn't stop at our table. I like giving to people. Then I started wondering why he didn't stop at our table....were we giving off some weird vibe? Did we look like we were rude people? I really don't think we were. We were just talking and laughing. The Lord started using that to work my heart though....one thought led to another and it just hit me how I have to constantly be aware of my mood and my speech. Sometimes I will be the only example of Christ that someone will see. How will I reflect Him? Will I do it well or will I do it poorly? I want to do it well. So here's to being aware that I have been called to be a light in the darkness and living that out in every area of life.

In other news, the mission team to India and those going to do summer missions with camp WinShape left today! Praying for safety and blessings on them and their families! Can't wait to have them back and hear what God has done through them. I was so envious that they were leaving today and I wasn't! I am able to go on the Kentucky mission trip with the youth in July and I can't tell you how excited I am about this! Beach trips and vacations are nice in the summer, but going somewhere to actually make a difference and to help where needed....that's what really matters. The more I realize that this life is NOT about me and what I WANT...it's about doing for others and having a servants heart. It is so rewarding.

well, that's it for now!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Softball season is here! yay! had our first 2 games last night...and we won both of them:-) had a great time but I was really sore this morning...maybe I'm getting old?...nah. This year our team is made from 2 churches (Crossbridge and Vineyard). I really like it that way! I have gotten to know women that I wouldn't have gotten to know otherwise. It's funny because I always forget how much I really love softball until we start playing again. We had a 2 hour practice last Thursday and I could have stayed out there for another hour or so. love it!

Anyway, that's about it. Can't remember if I mentioned it, but Starla and I have decided on a marathon for the end of the year...the Outer Banks Marathon in North Carolina. Can't wait for that either! I seriously need to get my butt in gear though and increase my mileage by a lot! will keep you posted.

On another note....is it really May already? Seriously? Life seems to be going faster!

Been a while....

I know...I'm a horrible blogger! With that being said, here we go...



Life has been good and busy (just how I like it!). In February I was able to help with "Formally Yours" Dress giveaway. For her senior project one of the girls at our church chose to give prom dresses away to girls who couldn't afford them. It was really neat to be a part of. I think she had 400 prom dresses (probably more...I just can't remember) donated and then had volunteers come and help in the dressing rooms. It was an awesome day and so happy I was able to be a part of it.



We (Mike and I) also went on the youth retreat over Valentine's weekend as chaperone's. I had so much fun and was probably the best Valentine's Day I had ever had. Mike did so much cooking he said he was done cooking anything for a while:) It was so nice to get to know the youth better and see them growing in Christ. It was the weekend it snowed and we had to stay at the church the first night which was fine with me. We had games in the snow and Mike and I played like little kids. Was so much fun! Mike took pictures of Rose outside in the snow...poor thing, she didn't know what to do.


in March I ran my second half marathon in Albany with my friends Starla and Heidi. Lalanya went as well and drove us back (God bless her).I beat my previous time by several minutes so that was good! Was also a surprise because it felt like a rough run for me. Now that I have 2 under my belt I feel confident as I start training for a full marathon in the fall or early winter...thinking the Outer Banks would be a GREAT place to run my first full:)



Softball practice has begun! yay! practices have been going well and season starts in a couple weeks.

Volunteering. I do feel that I volunteer a lot of my time but I have found myself getting in the trap of "doing" Christianity because that is what I'm "suppose" to do. There is nothing wrong with volunteering with youth, kids, cooking meals, etc. but I've really had to examine my motives. If I'm doing it out of a fear that I'm not doing enough, it's wrong! I have been more aware of my motives and God is helping me to work those out and it has been so much more effective and rewarding!

anyway, that's it for now:)

This and that...

I just had the best hot and sour soup ever! The last time I went to the post office during my lunch break I noticed a small chinese restaurant in the same shopping area and have been meaning to try it for a while now. I don't eat out a lot but today I decided to. It was a tiny little restaurant and was just as cold inside as it was outside but whatever. The promise of hot and sour soup kept me there:) So I sat at one of the two tables, ate my soup and just looked at the town. There's not much left in Graniteville especially since the train wreck several years ago (click on Graniteville link for more info)...just a few restaurants, a post office, several churches and a couple of warehouses. The mills are still there but empty so it's kind of like a ghost town. Really eerie the first time I drove through it. Of course it didn't help that it was cold, rainy and I'd just watched Silent Hill. lol:) When we moved to this warehouse one of the first things I did was go exploring. We occupy part of a large warehouse that has lots of offices so I went through them. There was stuff everywhere. It's like everyone just up and left. Office furniture, paperwork strewn everywhere, machine parts for the different textile machines, even a large (and very nice) safe that I fantasized about having lots of cash in it and miraculously opening for me....needless to say, I was disappointed:) haha:)

For those of you who don't know what I do, I do office admin work for a warehouse. Yes, I know...how do I deal with all the excitement? I have been with this company for 4 years. It is a very easy job. Sometimes it is boring. Sometimes it does get stressful and you have to deal with people you'd rather not deal with, but I guess you find that in pretty much any job. I do like the people I work directly with, I am out of here by 3:30 every day, I don't work weekends and I can wear jeans so it works really well for me:)I have no complaints. If I was a person who was trying to climb a corporate ladder or is really into her job I would have a problem. I do not define myself by my job. When I leave every day, I leave my work there. It never goes home with me. This is just a job. Nothing more, nothing less. I am extremely grateful that the Lord has given me this job and while I am here I will do the best job that I can.

When I leave work I can't wait to get home...turn on one of our music channels (usually classical or jazz) and start cooking dinner. I love having dinner ready by the time Mike gets home from work. Of course he's working from home today so I won't have to worry about that. There is something about a clean house (or apartment in our case:)), the smell of dinner cooking and music playing that I just adore. It just feels right. I feel so blessed that I am able to do that. I know a lot of people who have hectic schedules and don't get to eat dinner with their spouse every night. It is one of the things that make me smile. Mike and I will eat in the dining room and Rose will usually sit up and silently beg for food at least once. She is so cute in a pitful sort of way...I think she's couting on that in hopes of food. Yeah, keep hoping Rose.

Oh, speaking of Rose...Mike took her for her shots today and she weighs 37 pounds...she has lost 11 pounds! She looks so good and now has more energy and can jump higher than I thought she ever could.

Well I guess that's it for now:)

Holy Surrender

Today I feel broken. My heart feels torn. But I know it's a good thing! I can't tell you how much I have just felt the Lord working in my life. Over the past couple of days I have asked the Lord to show me where my heart needs to be broken. I want to be broken for the things that the Lord's heart is broken over. And He has honored that request...and now my heart is heavy. Heavy with the realization of the true intentions of my heart, heavy with the struggles that friends and family are going through, heavy with the desire to be fully consumed by the maker of Heaven and earth. It is just constantly on my mind, pulling my spirit into prayer again and again and again.

Also, I have never been more acutely aware of the spiritual warfare that is going on around us ALL the time....especially when I allow the Lord to work in my life......

~Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places~


I guess I've always been aware of angels and demons but when you consider there is a REAL battle going out there for our souls...for our lives...and WE are the prize it makes me want to fight for and defend my marriage,my friendships, my church, my country and my character. So how do we fight and defend? Pray. Bathe EVERYTHING in prayer. I have "prayed" all my life and yet I feel that at the age of 26 my eyes have finally been opened to what it really is...it is not something that starts with "Dear God" and ends in "Amen". It is not just saying thank you for a meal that I have taken for granted yet again. It is not a quick sentence said in church asking God for healing of a friend. It is something your entire being is consumed with. My heart has cried out when I can't find the words.....

~Romans 8:26 - In the same way, the spirit helps our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express~

Right now it is something that isn't quenched...my spirit wants more and more. I honestly think it's because I have been so spiritually dehydrated for too long and my spirit is being revived and learning how to really pray (for the longest time I have felt like the "babbling pagan" mentioned in Matthew 6:7)

So here is to being broken;To love what the Lord loves and to hate what the Lord hates. Here is to becoming a true prayer warrior (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and stepping up for battle when your friendships are in jeopardy, your church is struggling, your marriage is being attacked and your faith is being tested. Here is to truly living in the Spirit. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Hmmmm.....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Mike and I were suppose to go on a date last night. I rushed home from karate, changed clothes and "beautified" myself and waited patiently on the couch while Mike was finishing up a work call....little did I know that "finishing up" would take over an hour...I was really well behaved though. :) When it became evident that the plans we had just weren't going to happen I was a little disappointed and then I got a little upset that Mike hadn't just said "hon, I'm sorry, we'll just have to do this another night". I got over that quickly though, realizing that it must be worse for him. I don't get to go on a date and I get to sit on the couch and watch a movie I've never seen. He doesn't get to go on a date and he's stuck on a work call. yuck. So I headed to Chick-fil-a and we have a yummy dinner of chicken sandwiches, fries and milkshakes on the couch:) Not a bad evening. We just have to have a make up date which is fine by me! I don't want to cook Friday either:)



I just finished reading Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge. I read it in one day. It is such an amazing book and I would recommend it to anyone who is married. Dear friends of mine gave it to me for my birthday along with the Love Dare cards (based off the Love Dare book that is shown in the movie Fireproof). It's been good for me to see God's intention for marriage and to see God's point of view and Mike's point of view.

January blahs....I've got them

This January I have just wanted to go home, curl up and fall asleep every night. I haven't, but I've wanted to. Yesterday after another bad run I went home frustrated but bound and determined to have a productive evening at home. After dinner I did clean the kitchen and start a load of laundry which felt like a huge task. (Of course I've just remembered that the clothes never got moved from the washing machine to the the dryer. Rats.) I knew that I would have trouble getting up this morning so I pulled my clothes out and had everything ready so I could sleep as late as possible. At 8:30 I decided to go relax in bed and read one of my books (Reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Green by Ted Dekker...both really good) ...I was out by 9:00. What?! I never go to bed at 9:00. I thought that the extra hours of sleep would help me get up earlier today. Wrong. Close to 9 hours of sleep and I still had trouble waking up.



Feel like I've hit a brick wall as far as running goes. Yesterday Starla and I did 5 miles (Correction: she ran 5 miles, I walked a good part of it). Not good considering we are running a half marathon coming up in five and a half weeks. I'm pretty sure all of this "stuff" is all in my head and at the moment I don't want run at all, let alone go run a half marathon. I would be running and things were ok (a little slow, but ok) and then I'd start having trouble breathing and just wanted to cry. I actually did cry once and I'm not even sure why. tired? hormonal? who knows. Just hoping and praying I get over it soon!

Not many plans for tonight...karate and then a date with Mike:) Looking forward to not cooking!

John Adams

John Adams, our second president served from 1797-1801. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the first president to occupy the White House and the father of the 6th president of the United States. He was born in 1735 in Braintree, MA. He attended Harvard at the age of 16 and was affiliated with the Federalist Party.

~Quotes:

"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom"

"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak and write"

"A pen is certainly an excellent instrument to fix a man's attention and to inflame his ambition"

"There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under it's leader, and concerning measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution"

George Washington

One of my interests is U.S. Presidents. I love learning about the men who have shaped our country and thought I would pass along just a few tidbits of information that you probably already know....

Born February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, George Washington was president from 1789-1797,he did not have a party affiliation and had no college education. He was the president of the Constitutional Convention and Commander of the Continental Army.

Quotes:


"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth"


"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master"


"Guard against the impostures of pretend patriotism"


"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible"


"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. i attribute all my successes in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her"

Ahhhh....Books!...and more

I love early birthday presents:) Michael surprised me with Ted Dekker books...The Circle Books (Green, Black, Red and White). I should really be cleaning my kitchen or taking a shower and getting lunches and clothes ready for tomorrow, but I'm about to start reading and there's no telling how long I'll read! Here lately I've become addicted to reading. Since Christmas I've read New Moon, Twilight, Breaking Dawn and a couple children's books. Today I started reading Atlas Shrugged and I am enjoying it. Of course I just started it today, but seems promising:)

Hmmm, in other news....had a horrible run Saturday and still a bit discouraged over it. Suppose to be at the gym right now, but obviously I'm not. Oh well. Saturday night I hung out with Starla and some of the youth girls from church...first Chick-fil-a and then to the dollar theater for Planet 51.

anyway, not that this is a very interesting post, but that's all I've got

Brrrrrr!

I am sitting in my office, typing with gloves on (not the easiest thing to do but my hands are cold). It's not exactly warm in my office. Last year my boss bought a small heater for the office and now I can't find it anywhere. Half tempted to go to Wal-Mart and buy another one but I really don't want to go out in the cold. Guess I'd better "embrace" the cold though because right after work I'm going running with my half marathon buddies (note: if they weren't running today there would be no way I'd be running. I don't run well by myself in the cold...obviously I'm not that dedicated yet!)

Looks like it will be a slow day at work which is good because I brought a book:) I use to hate slow days because they would drag by. Now I kind of enjoy them because I can read with no interruption. If I was at home there would be other things demanding my attention (laundry, dishes, Facebook (lol), Rose, etc.) I am reading Breaking Dawn, the last Twilight series book. I just started it yesterday and not too far into it. I've enjoyed the books for the most part. Will have to find a new series to read after this. Thinking maybe something by Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti.

In other news...we started AWANA at our church last night. I was so excited! I am a Sparks leader and it's really neat to be on the other end of it. I grew up going through Awana and I loved it. It's neat because the leaders have the option of going through the books with the kids and getting all the jewels and awards that the kids get. I think my group enjoyed letting me recite our verse to them and them signing off on my section:) I pray that this ministry will be blessed at our church and that it grows by leaps and bounds!

Well, not too much else going on and my book is calling me......

ahhhhh...it's Saturday:)

Yesterday was a good day:) I got off work early and started driving down I-20 to meet mom and dad at Cracker Barrel for lunch. It wasn't something we planned ahead of time...I just called and asked if they wanted to. It was really nice to see them! Definitely something we'll have to do more often:) Then I headed home, picked Tiffany up and we went to do a little shopping....and when I say a little shopping, I mean a little shopping. I'm really not a big shopper and if I see something I like I'll pick it up, carry it around the store and then 9 times out of 10 I'll go put it back because I've discovered I really don't want or need it....which I guess is good. Sometimes though I become extremely indecisive and will wrestle with buying it or not...that's not so good:)

After taking Tiffany back to her house I headed home to Mike, he ordered a pizza and we snuggled on the couch and watched Seven Pounds. I thought it was a very good movie and would watch it again.

I actually slept in till 9:00 this morning. Doesn't happen very often and I blame it on the cold weather. It seriously makes me just want to hibernate! Now I'm just waiting on a load of laundry to finish while making my grocery list and then I'll be off to the store. Not too many plans today. I do need to run when I get back and then get ready for my Premier Jewelry party tonight. Have a great day:)