Domestic goddess...

So, tonight I was feeling rather pleased with myself. I had such a great plan. And, Queen of All Cookers that I am, I decided to attempt a new feat in the kitchen. Unfortunately, about a half an hour after I started concocting my new creation, my apartment was filled with a dark cloud, as smoke was pouring out of my oven. (I never knew that smoke would come out of the grates on the stove top.) I spent several minutes with my patio door open, fanning my ceiling, attempting to stop the loud beeping the was escaping from my tiny smoke detector. (Strange how such a small thing can make such an annoying noise.)

Obviously, as you see above, my first pie crust was a disaster. Never fear, however, I had a spare pie crust sitting in my refrigerator, and fifteen minutes later I was able to eat my Chicken Pot Pie without any burnt after taste.

Maybe I should stick to frozen pot pie...

Got candy?

Here are some pictures from my church's recent Easter Egg Hunt. I was ecstatic. The day was perfect. The weather was beautiful and there were nearly 200 people that came, approximately 150 of those were children. We had a good time that morning, but the best part of the day wasn't that the kids had hot dogs and candy, but that they had an opportunity to hear about God.

And hey, candy is cool-but Jesus is way better.

And so a star has been born...

I stepped outside my apartment this morning ready to charge off to work. It was a quiet morning. The ground was speckled with dark spots from the rain that couldn't decide if it wanted to come on full force, or give way to sunshine.
The commute was the norm- fast moving cars, people eating doughnuts, stop lights and the like. I arrived at work as usual. I entered the corporate building little realizing that my life was about to change.

I was sitting in my humble cube at the end of my row when the cameras appeared. For approximately fifteen minutes I was in the spotlight, the Glory Land. I was living in the fast life- I loved the cameras and they loved me back. (Of course, the filming was for a promotional video for my company and because of the amount of people being used in the video my fame will more than likely be contained to fifteen seconds) And then the cameras stopped. And the lights faded. It was time for me to move back into reality.

There are those dreams that we all have. These dreams seem to lay just out of my reach, beyond where I can touch them, but close enough so that I know that they exsist. The wonderful thing is that while I have so many dreams that may come and go, God has so many more dreams that are better than my own, and more wonderful than anything I could have ever imagined.

In Jeremiah 29:11 it's written, "For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future..."

So maybe I won't be a famous Hollywood star, but a girl can dream right?

Shopping Trip Continued....

(due to popular request)

...the end of the aisle was treacherously close. I refused, however, to be out done by my nemesis. I had only seconds to assess the situation. On the left and the right hand sides at the end of the aisles, displays were set up, stacked nice and neat. I took a deep breath and gripped the handlebar tighter and sped up a notch. At the end of the aisle I made a sharp right and cut off my opponent. It was an intense moment. Everything seem to be working in slow motion. I had the element of surprise on my side and was able to maneuver safely around the displays and with room to breathe. Unfortunately for my opponent, her buggie wheel caught the bottom edge of the green bean display, and she was left in a heap of aluminum cans while I raced away to meet my next challenger. On to produce!


And who says grocery shopping is boring...

Shopping Trip

It was a normal Thursday night after work. I was in need of some very important items from the store- namely food. I entered the store of choice for a quick adventure through the aisles. It was all calm and normal as I waltzed through the entrance. I grabbed my buggie and I was off. I was rolling along smoothly until I reached a certain aisle. A lady also had her buggie and was walking in the same direction as I was headed. (FYI-this was the frozen food section. I was looking for a cetain type of bread.) The lady and I looked at one another with skeptical eyes- we were sizing each other up. I felt my pulse raise as I gripped my handle tighter. Suddenly, we were pushing our buggies down the aisle in an all out "drag" race. The next thing I knew...

The Bag Lady

Tonight was my usual night at church. After a long day at work, I walk in and hang out with a group of kids who encountered a long day of sitting at school. And, yes, they are so ready to listen more. So, almost two hours later after Quest (Children's ministry) began, I am leaving for the night. And, as usual I have my bag, my laptop, my coat, and miscellaneous other items all strapped to my person in some way or another. (I don't believe in taking more than one trip.) the one thought on my mind was getting home and laying on my wonderful bed. Here I am trying to say my goodbyes and make it to my car with everything intact, when someone looks at me and says, "Ah, here's the heavy laden girl." I knew immediately that the man was referring to all my bags that I was carrying, but it made me stop right where I was at. Sure, I was carrying all those bags OUTSIDE, but what kind of "bags" do I carry INSIDE? All the worries, and troubles of the day, money concerns, job concerns, and let's not forget traffic...all those things I carry with me every day.

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

What a wonderful thought...taking all those burdens to Jesus and letting Him replace them with HIS light burden. What a thought- trading worry for peace, concern for joy....

Now I am at home, sitting in my chair thinking as I am typing....and maybe, just maybe, it's time for the "bag" lady to take a load off.

You Mustn't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must- but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won if he'd stuck it out;
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're the hardest hit-
It's when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN'T QUIT.

-Author unknown