Lay Your Troubles Down...

At the start of yesterday, I was in a foul, foul mood. I was sort of headachy, very tired, and irritated. Everything I picked up, I seemed to drop - I couldn't get moving..and I was still irrittated about the events the night before.

I walk in to church, and that all goes away.  The beautiful music, the sermon, and prayers..By the end of the service I have a new lightnes of heart and there are literally tears in my eyes. That has only happened to me one other time in church before. The last time that happened, was at Camp Meeting last year...Seven was performing and Melanie was talking, and I just started to tear up. The feeling was undescribable. I had the same sort of feeling yesterday during Pastor John's sermon. I'm listening to him speak, and all of the sudden I start to get that strange feeling and everything got fuzzy, except the Pastor, and tears start welling up. I don't even know...it was just a release. I can't describe it or why it happened, other than it was something I really needed to hear at that time.

(About the crying thing, the funny thing is "Seven" is a praise band based out of the church I now attend. I didn't know that, when we started going to this church! That is the mystery/beauty of God for sure!)

The sermon was about Salvation, and what we need to do to be saved. It was about taking that one step, that is specifically tailored to you, to take a step with Christ. I'm sure everyone feels this way at sometimes, but I swear it was as if Pastor John was talking specifically to me. In these days of my life that is hectic, and crazy, and I can't even think clearly, but I have this burning in my heart to be close with Jesus - knowing, it's just one step to be with Christ, one perfectly attainable step, perfectly tailored for me step - it's a real releif.

If you'd like to read Pastor John's sermon, its HERE . 

After church, Jon and Sara and I ended up at Ikea (this is becoming a habit, but a fun one). We walked around Ikea for 3 hours. I got lots of fun ideas for what I want to do in my studio. I've come up with a color scheme I'm going to do through out,  (butter cream yellow, with accents of kelly green and red).  I want to change out my desk, for a smaller - secretary style one. I'm going to get some of those box looking shelves, to go on the top of my partion to the celing, kind of giving it a full wall. I also am looking at trading out my entertainment center for a smaller Hutch style one. Those are some ideas anyway. I managed to escape Ikea, with a can of green stain (to do my corner hutch), and a sore knee - otherwise unscathed. Well, when we got to the car, Jon  had to put down the seat next to me, (which ended up being a seat and a half!) to put a big picture in the trunk - and I was squashed in there so much I really couldn't move my lower body at all. I also was squashed up in such a way, that I had to sort of lean foreward to not knock my head off!  We were all laughing so hard, that I thought we were all going to die...and at one point, when Sara was cracking up, I reached around her, and said "Hey do you need me to drive?" and my arms were quite close to being able to reach the steering wheel!! That set off a whole 'nother round of giggles. I'm laughing as I type this even! Heehee.

In on of our chair and couch testing moments, Sara and I were talking about the 'perfect' person for me, and apparently its a SDA guy, who is a farmer-type who wants children, and lives some where near enough to Puyallup that we can raise our kids together...so if anyone knows anyone.... haha!

Today is one of those rainy cloudy days, but I don't feel depressed. Going to relax at home today, and do some of my Bible Study Homework.

Just pass the chocolate...and back away slowwwly!

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday have mostly been, "Hi My name Is Grumpy McHormone!" days...the best few highlights of them have been:


1)The lovely news about holiday weight maintainment! (Is 'maintainment' even a word? Hmm...Well, it is now!)

2)Having Anne Marie around to have someone WW-Speak with! It's so nice to have someone inspiring like her in my life.

3) Talking about NaNoWriMo manuscripts with Summer. Maaaaan. Is it November yet? Can I get my "Its Okay to be absolutely ape-cookies insane for a whole month" pass yet?

4) Talking to my Brother-in-Bluegrass-Seahawks-and-Hair-Products, Jim Darlin on the phone! I've missed our crazy chats :)

Sunday, on the other hand was absolutely awesome!

Well, Sunday evening (I don't remember much about the day its self...maybe I cleaned house...?) was absolutely awesome! Sunday night found me at my favorite local pub, sharing a couple of pints with someone who is very near and dear to my heart. I hadn't seen them in a while, so it was absolutely great to be able to sit and catch up on each others lives. Hearing about their wonderful vacation, really made me itch to go on vacation...hmmm. AND I got a present! I am the proud owner of the most fantastic pair of earrings in the world!

See for yourself:

(excuse the bad cell phone camera, and my netbook, and classy farm decor place mats!)

Marilyn Monroe earrings! And COLORFUL, eclectic ones at that. I mean, do they know me, or what? The more time I spend with this person, the more I am absolutely amazed! That seriously made my whole year! :)

I'm also finding that it is really fun to spend time with someone who talks as much as I do! :). By the time we left, we were pretty much the only two people left IN the pub (Besides the proprietors!). Definitely one of the best nights I've had in a long time! Besides the part where I am a spaz and knocked over an empty glass with my elbow...and watched in horrified slow motion as it shattered on the ground. It feels like summer in my heart...now if the weather would only catch up!

I Say A Little Prayer For You

For those who have known me more than a minute and a half, you'll know that I have a great dislike for people who tend to be unnecessarily rude. To be quite honest, they just plain drive me banana sandwich. For example, this morning, I am sitting in the window seat of the bus, and scrunched over as far as I possibly can be. Well this girl gets on the bus, and flomps down in the seat next to me, and as she did so, she swung her bag in a way that it crashed into my arm/elbow on her way down. I don't know what she was carrying in there maybe a huge cinder block or something, but it was hard enough to leave a bruise on my arm. I look at her, and she looks at me for a half second, and then turns away. No apology, not even the 'oops' face. There is no way that this girl could have NOT felt the impact from her bag hitting me.

Here is where I'm finding my time with Jesus is doing some great changes in my life.

Normally, I would have said "Oh excuse me!" In a voice that sounded like, "Thanks for making a dent in my arm with your heavy fricking bag, lady!". This time, I did one of my therapy breaths, and instead - I said a prayer for her and then I said one for me. I felt much better afterward.

Same thing with people on the phone at work. There are times when people call in on the phone, and are already swinging at you. They are short with you, yell at you, call you names, down your intelligence, or plain hang up on you. Some days it's all I can do to NOT be like, "Excuse me, I don't know if you know this or not, but we have never met before, and I am NOT the cause of your issues, so could you please talk to me like a fellow human being?." Again I'm learning to take a deep breath, say a prayer to myself, and let it go.

This is something I've found myself doing more and more lately. Instead of getting mad, which just turns into a downward spiral of irritation and turns me into "Samantha and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day", I take a breath and say a prayer.

I'm finding myself praying all the time these days.

It's a good turn in my life, and definitely is helping my blood pressure!


(by the way, I really love run on sentences)