A chance to get away...

I don't go away very often.  I need to.  It was so much fun!!!

I was able to attend my leader training for Weight Watchers in Chicago.

What was even better was seeing this amazing young woman...(and she reads the blog)

This pizzadilla had the MOST AMAZING caramelized onions as a bottom layer!  Yummo!

Discovering the quick firing snap...

On my walk in the morning, I was listening to "Your Grace is Enough" by Chris Tomlin and saw this...thank you for the reminder, Jesus!

And what do you do when you're in Chicago on a Friday night?  Hit the hotel gym.  ;)

Five minute Friday

The word today from the blog that started the five minute Friday is...

Red...

GO

When I think of red, I think of fire, love, sunsets blazing, purses...but mostly I think of my sister. And not just because she loves Target and their symbol is red. 

My sister and I fought growing up. A lot. To be honest, I didn't like her much and have come to regret my college years where I dropped off the face of the planet and out of her life.

But somewhere in all of the roads twisting and turning, we became friends. 

When she was planning her wedding last year, I don't think a day went by when I didn't talk to her daily.   When she went on her honeymoon to Ireland, it was the longest I had ever gone without talking with her in years. I actually cried when seeing her on FaceTime. 

She is very unlike me. We still clash, but I am so grateful and thankful for her. She is generous, caring, and is the best present-picker-outer. She loves clearance and sales and gets junk store shopping. She  listens when I need to vent and I do the same for her. 

She is an amazing sister and has become one of my best friends. A sister is an amazing gift and I am so glad I finally realized I had one!

STOP

A Beep and a Message

I love to cook.  Bake.  Eat.  Probably not in that order, but anything I can create (and in a healthier way), I love to!

Tonight, I was prepping my breakfasts for the next few days (often oatmeal or muffins - tonight, Almond Joy muffins).

I set the oven temperature and then went to work.  Measuring, mixing, stirring, tasting, portioning, all in the quiet of my home.

And then it happened.

While I was pouring the batter into the muffin tins, the oven beeped at me.  It was letting me know that it had officially reached 375 degrees and I could put my muffins in any time.

And then the message came all in that instant of a beep.  No, the heavens didn't open up for me.  And no, there wasn't a loud voice.  But I knew the message.

I turned on the oven and then went to work.  I didn't stand there watching and waiting and talking and praying and fretting about how much longer was it going to take.  I just did what I needed to do to make the muffins.  That's it.  My mind wasn't on the oven.  Just the measuring, mixing, stirring, tasting, and portioning.

It was as if God was reminding me that I don't have to worry and wait and talk and fret over whether I will be married.  I need to get to the other work that's happening and when it's time, He'll let me know.

That's it.