Slowly Thawing Out!!! Tuesday, 22 Jan 08

Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 04:15

Ohhhhh Brrrrrrr! I'm chilled to the bone LOL. Sunday morning I had -25 not including the wind chill! My poor truck groaned a bit when I went out to start her for church. Uff da, I was glad for my long undies that day for sure. Actually, all weekend was cold but Sunday was the most brutal. Yesterday was around 2 above and the remainder of the week will gradually warm up to the low 20's. Aside from the brutal air, you have to see the beauty of it all. We were blessed to have the sun visit on Sunday and boy was it ever bright!! The snow just glittered out there and the trees with no to little snow on them glistened and glittered against the "frosting". Not many were out and about - low attendance at the 0800 worship service but couldn't blame folks. If I had to drive further than the 2 miles to church I have, I don't know if I'd have made it either.

Pastor is starting a "Read your Bible in 90 day's" class. I'd love to attend but with working 2 jobs...... He did tell me he'd get me the materials and tutor me on the side as time allowed. He'd answer my questions, make suggestions and guide me along the journey. I may very well take him up on that. I've never read my Bible cover to cover before and it's a goal I'd like to complete. I have my favorite Psalms and verses but I'm sure there are many more out there. I was told by a lady I met at a Women's Bible Retreat a long time ago that the best way to read and get the most out of the Bible was to read with an open mind - not question just take it for what it said. Now I'm not sure if I totally agree, but that advice has served me well.  I miss those retreats and am longing to go again. Maybe this Sept. Trouble is that it usually falls on my weekend to work and it's Harley Weekend and am pretty much guarenteed a weekend of 12-16 hour shifts due to all the motorcycle accidents and such.

I last posted about cleaning the dinning room and kitchen. Well, I made huge strides although I didn't quite get the cupboards purged and packed up. I'm not loosing sleep on it however. I've just highlighted it as something to be done on an "easier" day or a day when I get ahead on chores. This week is living room week. I've accomplished quite a bit as I was off the weekend and had all day yesterday to work on it. It so feels good to accomplish so much in a week and the best part is my house is looking better and better.

Update on my daughter - She called mid week last week asking to come home. I told her she could "visit" over the weekend. Well, after praying and asking God's guidance, I came to the conclusion that I should feel her out to see what had indeed changed in her. Sigh........ Same girl, just not liking her current situation. I've a written set of rules that have to be followed if she does come back, but I didn't think that this was the time to have that discussion. She just hadn't changed any and appeared to be looking for an easy way out without having to do anything. It broke my heart when I took her back on Sunday but I felt in my heart it was what needed to be done. I had bought a change of cloths, socks, undies, a couple bras which I insisted she leave with me and they'd be there the next time she came to visit. She didn't want to go back to that house, you could see she didn't but my gut and broken heart told me it's what she needed to do. Well, my mother caved and let her go to their house - "anything to get her out of that house" was what she said. Implying all the while I didn't want her back ect..... Not true. I love my daughter, just not her choices. She needs to be held accountable for her choices and has got to realize that you must work in order to be a responsible, caring child of God (which, she still views religion as "crap"). I know what a long hard road she has ahead of her as I walked much of that same road when I was 18 - almost 23. My wake up came when I was alone, pregnant and in a homeless shelter 2,000 miles away from my family. I spent that 4 1/2 weeks evaluating my life and chose to make the best of it. Instead of feeling sorry for myself (ok, in honesty, I was very depressed for about the first week) I looked around and really "saw" life. It was the most increadible experience. I saw good and bad, reflected on where I was and how I got there and what I needed to do to make it better and so it never happened again. Well, that's a story for another day.....

Today I'll sleep for a short, hit the Chiropractor at 1030, sleep some more then putter in the living room. The woodwork needs washing as do the heat vents. I'll change the filters I put in the registers too. Dinner is homemade chicken strips with stir fry veggies. I'll box up the leftovers to bring in to work with me when I do my 3-11 shift (YUCK!!) on Thursday.

Whew, sorry so long winded this morning. Have a great day everyone. Sending toasted warm fuzzies. God Bless!!!

Michele