A Major Milestone

I am soo excited for where my life is heading right now...it has been a little out of control (ok so a lot out of control!) but, Superchik, said it well in their lyrics...there is beauty in the pain. Here is the update and basically what I know is going on in my life. I am getting out of the bookstore business as of Aug 31, 2009...I have mixed emotions; not entirely sure what to feel sometimes. I have been offered a postition, which would mean that I would be moving (this would be something like the 20th time or so...crazy I know!) I would be staying in this area, just relocating for the job. More on this once I know for sure what is going on...I could use some prayer!

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

I finally got a chance to go to New York City...I loved it! What an exciting place to be....I don't think I am cut out for daily life in NYC, but a visitor for sure!!!! I plan on returning...I was impressed with how safe I felt & how much easier it was to get around than I had thought it would be. I do realize that we owe the easiness to the fact that Matt has been there multiple times and he understands the subway and trains...I would not want to know what the city would be like without someone who has that kind of knowledge...we used our time wisely and did a great deal! We ate great food, met new friends, saw the Statue of Liberty via Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, Central Park via Carriage ride (only the girls wanted to do that) Tiffanys on 5th Ave, Maddison Square Garden, the NBC building, looking for non-existent Hello Kitty store (Leah!), the best Toys R Us store, M&M store, China town, Little Italy, Little Mermaid on Broadway, & oh so much more! What an amazing trip...on the way home we stopped in Philly and saw the Liberty Bell and Independance Hall....the worst part about the trip was the let down feeling of walking into an empty house that was too quiet after the hussle and bussle of a big city...God was very good to us as always!

The impact of a stranger

It is amazing how a complete stranger has the power to impact our mood, self-image, and even our life! A week or so ago a complete stranger impacted me for life! It was a sweet older lady who started a conversation with me in a waiting room. As we talked, it turned out she and her husband had been married 55 years...she in turn asked me how long I had been married. I responded that I was single...she turned to face me and said with complete shock and honesty "I thought for sure that a girl as beautiful as you are, you would be married!" Oh, maybe it was a vain moment for me, but I felt beautiful looking into the elderly eyes of sweet, stranger, Elaine! Vanity or not, I believe we need those moments when we are reminded that God created us in His image and that we need to look at ourselves through older and wiser eyes as to what is truly beautiful...I don't know if Elaine will ever know the impact of her simple conversation, but it hit home with me that I am someone's "Elaine"! Someone who may be insecure, have a low self-esteem, may live in pain, or just feel like they can never be good enough....my words will either make them feel the way I did or make them feel the exact opposite...my words to a complete stranger can and will impact them.

tryin to move beyond myself

It was commented to me (justly)that I never write on here....when I look back to when I started it, my goal was to write at least once a month (if I'm remembering correctly)...well, I haven't been doing that! It has turned into what every journal I have ever bought or have been given turned into...a few brilliant (hahaha) entries and then nothing! Today I choose to break that cycle and speak (or write in this case!)

I am more and more assured of the fact that I must live a life of passion...I simply must! I must love completely or not at all...I must believe wholly or not at all...I must live a changed life or not at all! Otherwise what is the point? If I love a little, that means there is room for selfishness and I become the most important person within that relationship....If I believe a little, there is no commitment and it is easy to remain submerged in ambivalence; never having direction...If I live a life not changed, I become as shiftless as water only taking on the form of the container I am poured into for the moment. For these reasons I choose to live a life of passion, conviction, and faith.