2010---The good, the bad, the lovely!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! In just a few hours, we'll be headed to a party to watch Carolina play in a bowl game and ring in the new year. Actually, we probably won't make it to midnight....I'm tired from a long run this morning, and Hubby went for a long bike ride. Sad when you get old!!!

Just visited Facebook to see how my friends in cyberspace are doing. One of my sweet peeps, Leah, had a great question on her wall. She asked what was the most memorable thing about 2010. I would love to hear your answers to this! So, get comfy and spend a few minutes reflecting on the moments that have made an impact in your life this year. (Leah, if you have the same question on your blog, please forgive me! I really liked it!!!)

My memorable moments (is that redundant?) include reading through the Bible for the first time ever (see Wendy Pope, for tomorrow we start again!), attending an awesome ladies' retreat (gIRL gathering at Black Mtn.), speaking to a lovely group of ladies at a nearby church, and seeing my photography business grow according to God's plan.

The other is going through the first year without my Daddy. It was a year ago last week that he passed away. But, glory! He's celebrating Christmas again in Heaven.

Share your memories with us! And, have a blessed New Year!

Sweet Blessings,

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of hosting a Christmas dinner for some precious friends. One of these darling gals lives way up in Virginia, and I haven't seen her since last year. Even though my week was very hectic, I slowed down and made time for these wonderful women of faith. We laughed, ate....and ate some more, and simply sat in the presence of each other for hours talking and planning our next marathons. We never did decide on one that we could all run together. One is planning her daughters' weddings (yes, 2!). Another is busy teaching high school. One is very involved in her church work. And another is working around her son's senior year in high school--prom, graduation, etc.

Everyone is in a busy season it seems these days. How many errands can you run before lunch? How quickly can you get in and out of the grocery store? How many loads of laundry did you wash and dry today (folding them up doesn't count!!)?

How many times did you talk to Jesus today? How many phone calls did you make? How many prayers did you lift up to the Lord before bedtime? How many texts did you respond to?

As Christmas approaches (and I am NOT done with my shopping or baking, thank you!)
I encourage you to stop. Sit. Pray. Listen. Take out that Bible and turn to Luke 1. Slowly read the words, one at the time. This is not the time to speed read! Let the meaning sink in. Ponder the words that God has placed before you. What does He want you to see, to hear, to remember? Enjoy this Christmas time. He has given us the most wonderful Gift ever. The gift of Jesus...who loved us so much that He died for our sins so that we might spend eternity with Him. Now that, my friends, is the best Christmas present ever.

Sending all of you hugs and love from my little corner of SC.
Merry Christmas!

Sweet Blessings,

Christmas Gift Ideas!!!

Hey, y'all! Is it cold enough for you? Mercy! It's freezing down here in the south! I don't do this kind of weather!

Hope that some of you have thought about Christmas presents by now! There are only 19 days left until Christmas. I should be in a panic because I only have a few purchased. But, I refuse to let it get to me ( call me on the 24th, and we'll see if a panic attack has set in or not!)

Ok, time to share some fun gift giving ideas for those of us on a Bu-Jay. You have less than a week to find something really cute and fun and special for some of your closest girlfriends. You have wracked your brains out trying to come up with an original idea...you have done the Bath and Body Works lotions (which I LOVE!!!), candles, ornaments, etc. You need something new...vibrant...exciting. Are y'all getting the picture? I need some ideas!! Quickly! But this is something that we can all benefit from!

List two or three items under 20$ and the store where they can be purchased (online stores/etsy are great options!) Let's see what we can come up with that will relieve a little stress. On your mark...get ready... go!!!

1) Half of a pound cake on a nice plate from Target, Marshalls, etc.
2) A plug- in from Scentsy and some bricks to go with it in a cute drawstring pouch (Contact your nearest Scentsy rep.)
3) A new cookbook (You know where to get these! Church ones are the BEST!) and a cute Christmas spatula( Cracker Barrel, Target)

Ok--your turn! Impress all of us with some really cool ideas...quickly!


Sweet Blessings!

Sweet Shot Tuesday--Fall and Thanksgiving!

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it..." Psalm 24:1

Ok, I promised a few fall pictures from sunny South Carolina! The two shots of the leaves....mercy! I just wish that I could truly figure out how to enlarge these photos for you to get a better glimpse! But.....I will focus on the blog post at hand and not dwell on my limited computer skills. God amazes me with His beautiful colors! The last one is not one of my favorites! We are on a suspension bridge above a waterfall at Raven Cliff Falls....way far up,and I do NOT do heights! Yes, Hubby and the boys were making it swing with me on it prior to this shot! You see that I am the only one hanging on!

We arrived at the falls at noon, so the sun was perfectly overhead and gorgeous...but with not the best photo shooting opportunities. But, I was with my boys, and that's what mattered.

It's going to be a busy week and a half ahead, so I won't be posting again until after Thanksgiving....I know myself!!! We will be celebrating at our house this year with my side of the family. This will be the first Thanksgiving without Daddy, and he will be greatly missed. The peace that we all have with where he is gets us through each day. Praise the Lord! It's one of the many blessings that God has given us.

So, bloggyland friends, what are you most thankful for? I would love to hear. And, what are your plans for Thanksgiving? A precious friend of mine and her family are going to serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless. How wonderful to be the hands of Christ!

Join me at Darcy's for Sweet Shot Tuesday for more great photos! And, Happy Thanksgiving, my sweet friends!

Hugs!

A Chapter Closed

Child #2 getting "painted up" at State!

Last Saturday's temps were in the 30's when this picture was taken! Mercy! Cold JV kids!


Child #2 and Child #1--both of which are taller than me!!

Both varsity teams placed well in the top ten in South Carolina 4A teams (4A schools have over 1500 students and more. Our high school is around 2500.)

I am alive, people! I have been away from my computer--which had a virus a few weeks ago! It is healed! Mercy, it was a pain though!

Thanks for your great recipes!! And, Sassy, I appreciate all of those websites!

Cross country season is over. Another chapter in Child #1's senior year has been completed. As he crossed the finish line at the State Championships last Saturday, I felt my heartstrings pop a little! I was walking to the area where the team was after they finished, and I felt the tears start. I looked at another mom walking beside me. I told this sweet girl, "I'm having a moment here!" She gave me a hug. As I got closer to the team, I saw my child and his smile through the sweat and dirt on his face. I had to smile right back at him. Hugs and kisses--even though he was pretty nasty--were given he bid farewell to this sport that he absolutely adores. Track is around the corner, but XC is where his passion lies.

My passion has also been with running, as most of you know! And, of course, my precious family! But, when the Holy Spirit nudges you in a different direction, you follow. My passion is for Him. I look forward to spending time first thing in the morning with Him as I snuggle under a blanket in my Jesus chair! After getting the kids out the door for school, laundry started and the breakfast dishes loaded in the dishwasher, I'm out the door to get my run in for the day. If I don't spend time with my Lord first though, it makes a difference!

So, what's your passion? It may be one thing or several. I would love to hear what's on your heart!

Y'all have a great weekend! Our family spent last Sunday as our worship time hiking the beautiful trails of SC. God was right there with us in His sanctuary, and His palette of fall colors was awesome! I'll post some of the pics next week!

Sweet Blessings!

thirty-one

Hey, y'all! Happy Halloween and stuff! I just noticed that the title of my post corresponds with the date! How cool is that? And, it has nothing to DO with October 31!

This Thursday, a sweet friend of mine will be at my house sharing the fall line of thirty-one. Thirty-one is a neat, Christian based company (did you know that Mary Kay is too???? :) that sells things that help you stay organized--and I need all of the help that I can get! From pocketbooks to organizers to carry-alls, they have it. AND--you can get 99% of it monogrammed!!!! I love my monogramming for my "stuff!"

I recently attended a party and saw this really cute, cute pocketbook with an adorable "skirt" on it that had ruffles! How southern can we get here? Precious! So, instead of buying it out and out, I signed up to do a Par-tay and get adorable ruffled pocketbook for only $10.00!!!! That is a bargain! At least I think so! Sweet hubby is not so sure! He just feels like I will spend a little bit more than that $10.00. But, it does mean a clean house before Thursday night!

I will be serving light snacks--sausage and cheese balls, chips and salsa, etc. Do you have any absolutely wonderful snackies that you've made for things like this or tailgating, and you had no leftovers? I would LOVE the recipes/or websites! Would you please share these with Runner Mom as she is SO not a cook? You are just all too, too sweet!

Make sure to take a peak at the catalog! I wish that y'all could all come to my par-tay, but I think that delivering your purchases might drain my checking account!!! Looking forward to your great ideas!

Sweet Blessings,

My Bucket List

This morning on the radio, the DJ's were talking about what their "bucket lists" would include. As I meandered through the high school traffic taking child #2 to school, I pondered this as well. If you are not familiar with the movie, "The Bucket List," it's about two grown men--not in the best of health--developing their friendship and imagining what they would like to do before they die The sky was the limit. It's a pretty good movie--if you can handle Jack Nicholson's language! Anyway, I started thinking.

And thinking......................................

And thinking......................................

Y'all, I don't have a bucket list! Mercy! I need to start one! I'll probably never do half the stuff that I put on it, but it would be fun to at least have one! How about you? Do you have one? If so, what are some of the items on it? What would you like to do at least once in your life---no money strings attached--if you were given the opportunity? Share it right here on my little blog, please! You might give me some ideas!

Hmmm.....travel to the Grand Canyon with my family and hike to the bottom???

Have lunch with Beth Moore and then go shopping? (Heehee!)

Visit a third world country and love on little ones who have never heard about Jesus?

Have the opportunity to take pictures in locations that have never been photographed?

Ok, so I'm thinking! Come think with me!
Sweet Blessings,

Faith....period

And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over." Mark 5: 34

But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith." Mark 5:36

These verses were part of my Bible reading today. I've read them many times before. But, today, the word faith caught my eye. As some of you know, I'm reading through the Bible in a year with P31 Bible teacher, Wendy Pope. Wendy did some digging into the word "faith". According to Strong's (4102), faith is conviction or truthfulness of God. It is assurance and belief. The first verse is about the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. In faith, she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus' robe. She believed that if only she could touch a part of Jesus, she would be healed. And, she was.


The second scripture refers to Jairus, the leader of a local synagogue, whose 12 year old daughter was about to die at home. He rushed to find Jesus so that He would heal her. By the time Jesus finally got to Jarius's home, the little girl had died. The scripture above is how Jesus responded when this daddy heard the news that they were too late. Jarius also trusted and was assured that Jesus would still heal his daughter even after death. And, He did.


Faith...it means different things to different people. Have you examined your faith lately? Does it align with the definition above? Or, are you in a different place in your walk? Are you even walking with the Lord? Sometimes, we really stray off that straight and narrow path. We have to cry out to Jesus to pull us back on the road less traveled and continue our journey with Him. I encourage you to dig into the Word and see where the word "faith" appears! You'll be reading that wonderful Book for quite some time!


In the picture above, the sweet dog in the wagon has cancer. He is weak and is not expected to live much longer. He was rescued at the local humane society. His owner brought him to our church Sunday afternoon. We had our very first blessing of the animals. She had faith that hearing the Word of God prayed upon the animals and their families would give her peace about what will soon happen. Her prayer was for her pet to not have to suffer much longer. Y'all, it was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. We had over 50 dogs, 1 cat, and 1 mouse. It was reverent----really! I've never seen anything quite like it, but I hope that we'll have it again next year.

Faith...Assurance...Belief....Conviction...Truthfulness.....are you walking in it?

Sweet Blessings,

gIRL Getaway!

(Robyn and I were truly focused on the weekend and not that our college teams were playing each other and that her mom kept texting us the score!! )

This past weekend, I had the privilege to take off to beautiful Black Mountain, NC for a gIRL(girlfriends in real life) get away. These girls are some of your bloggy friends whose posts you read on a regular basis. And what do we all have in common? Our love for Jesus, our Lord.

Over the years, I have been on many church retreats, women's retreats, youth retreats, etc.! I have loved them all and have taken away nuggets of Truth from each. When Elaine called me about this one waaaayyyy last spring, I thought, "Hmmm....another retreat. Well, maybe. At least I would get to spend some time with a few girls whose blogs I regularly read. And, it's not far from my house. And, the price is right. Ok...I'll go."

Fast forward to last Friday. I got to Black Mountain just in time to do lunch with Beth, Lisa, and Karen. We talked and laughed as if we had known each other for years. Beautiful! Then, we headed up to our cabin to check in and get to know some of these ladies who were ready to just love on us and who were so filled with the Holy Spirit! People, God was SO in control of this entire weekend! We truly gave Him all of the glory and praise for this time.

We laughed, cried, worshiped, studied the Word, and prayed. And, prayed some more! And then some more! I'm talking truly authentic praying. Loved it! The sweet aroma of the Lord permeated throughout our cabin. We prayed that we would take it with us to the rest of the camp and then home to share. Because of beautiful weather, we were able to worship outside in the amphitheater. Simply wonderful!

So, if you see a gIRL getaway near you, sign up right away! Y'all, this was such a God-filled weekend! (And so incredibly fun! )

Enjoy the pictures! More on FB. I didn't list all of the gals who were there (and they were just PRECIOUS!)--so see if you recognize them from the pics. Do you all know how long it would take to do links to everyone's blog??? Call me lazy--but honest!

Sweet blessings,

God's Plan, Not Mine!

" Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. "

Hebrews 12:1

I loved how the sun was at an angle where you really needed a hand above your eye for shade so that you could see what's ahead. Child #2 was running the race that had been planned on a course that had been well-marked. When we are unsure of our plan and our course, we have the tendency to look to ourselves or others for the answer. Having faith is what's needed--and relying on that faith to see us through those twists and turns when the sun is keeping us from seeing what lies ahead is what's needed. If you've never read the book of Hebrews, especially chapter 7, I encourage you to do so. So many examples of faithful servants are found there.



Last Tuesday, I posted about needing a pumpkin patch. Y'all, I prayed all week about that and had others praying as well. By yesterday at noon, I still had not heard a thing from the one church that I had contacted. Obviously, it was not God's plan. A couple of friends had suggested that I try another pumpkin patch on the other side of town. It was actually the one that I used last year.



When I spoke to their youth director--the pumpkin patch is a mission project for the youth--she was quiet for a second. I thought, "Oops, this is not the one either Lord!" Then the words flowed, and I stood in amazement of our Holy Father--as did she! She told me that they had been praying about having a photographer come and take pics of the children and families in the patch! Coincidence? No way!!! It was God's way in His timing--I was just a week early with the first attempt! We were so excited to see His hand in this entire plan! I love how He can simply blow us away sometimes! Mercy!


Pumpkin patch pics start next week!!!


Join me at Darcy's for more pictures to enjoy for Sweet Shot Tuesday.



Sweet blessings,

The Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch....NEEDED

I love pumpkins. I love fall. I love the cooler weather that we are FINALLY having at night.(I love running in the cooler weather too!)

These pictures were taken last year at a church pumpkin patch. Some of my first shoots actually! I love the excitement of the little boy exploring the pumpkins and finally, the exhaustion after choosing his one little pumpkin. It took him quite a while to make up his mind!

Join me at Darcy's to see other wonderful pictures.

Last week, I sat down at the computer to research the charities that our high school is going to support in the winter during Spirit Week. One was very near and dear to my heart. A precious friend of mine--running buddy and sister in Christ--and her husband adopted a darling little girl a couple of years ago. They noticed that her speech was a bit delayed, but that is nothing new with overseas adoptions. One thing that they did notice was that she loved noise....banging empty plastic coke bottles was her favorite thing to do. Time passed, and things had not changed, so they took action. After observations from doctors, therapists, etc., it was determined that she was autistic.

We have a school not far from here that is just for kids with autism. It is a wonderful place, a place of hope. When I watched the video online, my heart was filled! I could feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to do something. I wasn't sure what, but I knew that in His timing, the Lord would let me know! And, He did!

After much prayer and research, I want to use my photography as a ministry to help raise money for Project Hope. I want to have mini sessions of pictures in....you guessed it!! A pumpkin patch! All of the sitting fees will go to support this ministry.

Yesterday, I sent a letter to a large church in town that has an awesome pumpkin patch. I explained who I was and what I wanted to do (borrow their pumpkins!). And, since they use the proceeds of the pumpkins to support missions, everyone would benefit.

Just one little thing.....I haven't heard back from them yet! That's where y'all come in! Would you mind praying for the Lord to provide a pumpkin patch for these photo sessions? It might not be the one that I contacted yesterday. But, October is "a comin', " and I need a field of lovely orange pumpkins. So, if you wouldn't mind, I would greatly appreciate it!!! I'll let you know when God lets me know.

Sweet blessings,

Labor Day weekend

Hello bloggyland friends! Hope you all are enjoying this weekend. Our weekend began early yesterday with a cross country meet not too far from home. That made it nice! The weather was lovely, and the team did well. They were entitled to a meal at the BEACON restaurant in Spartanburg afterwards! If you are from SC, you know about the BEACON! It's one of those southern icons! One man has worked there for over 30 years! If you love "greasy" chili cheeseburgers and fries and ice cream, this is the place for you. My boys thoroughly enjoyed it!

I had tried to put a XC picture at the top of my post, but, the computer and I are having issues! So, I'll just post it another time! I only have 10,235 cross country pictures on file!! Can you tell that I love that sport? Instead, you get to see my butterfly and coneflower :).

I saw this beautiful butterfly in the yard last week and had so much fun simply observing it. Of course, I grabbed the camera on the way out the back door! We have had some lovely ones in the past few weeks. I am in delight mode! I love the little surprises that God gives us each day if only we will slow down a bit to notice.

I would LOVE to hear about your plans for the weekend. We have several friends who headed to the beach and to the lake. What about you? We're just chillin' at home now. It seems that we are always going somewhere. Home is a nice place. I might even fold and put away some laundry....but not until tomorrow. I am embracing the "no work on Sunday/Sabbath" policy!!

Wanted to thank you all for the prayers for Elaine. The surgery went well, and she is recovering. Thanks so much for those continued prayers for her and her sweet family. God is good!

Sweet blessings,

Sweet Shot Tuesday

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy , it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres....And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Cor. 13:4-7, 13.


Some of you know that a few weeks ago--the same day that my sweet friend Kristi was in that car accident, I was photographing a wedding. This was the wedding of my "BFF's" daughter that happens to be my cousin. Here is one of my favorite pics of the happy couple! They are just too cute!

If you want to see more photographs, join me over at Sweet Shot Tuesdays. I just love to visit there and enjoy the wonderful pictures.

Please join me in prayer for my sweet friend Elaine who will be having surgery tomorrow at 1:00. I encourage you to read her post today. This community of bloggyland friends are some mighty prayer warriors. I feel very blessed to be a part of this amazing group.

Sweet blessings,

Sabbath Peace

Hubby took this photo last week with his phone of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains while he and another buddy rode bikes to the top of Mt. Mitchell. They truly are that blue! No photoshop--I promise!

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

Your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.

Psalm 36 :5-6

It's been a hard week. Not one, but two friends have been diagnosed with cancer. I was so ready to worship today, to hear a Word from the Lord. And, I did! Praise Him! It was Communion Sunday at our church. The bread and the wine(grape juice in the Methodist church!) filled me with His Presence. I was reminded of His faithfulness and His love through His great sacrifice. Interesting how we all need those reminders even though we know....

Praying that your Sabbath has been a blessing from the Lord. Rejoice! He is in control!

Sweet blessings,
Susan

Pray Without Ceasing

Hey, bloggy friends! One of the neatest things about blogland are the friends that you meet. Sometimes you only get to meet them via cyberspace this side of Heaven. Other times, you are blessed to meet them face to face. This is about one of those face to face friends, a true one of a kind friend, one who tells it like it is friend, an "Elaine friend!"

Last summer, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with Elaine and her precious family in NC. She was in the process of writing her first book. It's a wonderful one too! When you visit her website, you'll see the link to it.

We talked--a lot, laughed--a lot, ate--a WHOLE lot!, ran in the rain, celebrated her son's birthday, had a luncheon with her "ancients," shopped, explored really neat places for photographs in her book, and just loved on each other as new friends. She is such a blessing to all who know her.

Well, her post yesterday and her facebook this morning have put Runner Mom into a new mode...pray without ceasing. (1 Thess.). Y'all, Elaine received news that no woman ever wants to hear. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. This news has touched the very depths of those of us who dearly love this wonderful sister in Christ.

BUT...we serve a God who is the Great Physician, the Healer of all. He is bigger than any disease out there! I truly believe in miracles, and I am asking God to heal Elaine completely. I would love for you to join me in praying for her! Please link up with her website and leave her a comment. I know that she would so appreciate it. And, so would I!

Sweet blessings,

Sweet Shot Tuesday

This is sister number one. Flower girl number one! She is totally focused on the event at hand!

This is flower girl number 2---flower girl number one's sister. She had fun at the wedding, but her attention to special moments and my attention were one in the same! And look, she has a Nikon hanging around her neck! It's a mini-me! Except I'm a Canon girl!!

I have had two opportunities to photograph weddings in the past few weeks. They were both small and outdoors. God took me WAaaayyyy out of my comfort zone from shooting kids and families! I enjoyed them, but was totally worn out--and dehydrated afterwards! I have said that there will be no more. A friend of mine said to wait and see what God says first! Hmmm....

Join me over at Darcy's for Sweet Shot Tuesdays for more adorable pictures!

Sweet blessings,

Waiting.....

Just wanted to give you all a quick update on my friend, Kristi. They are in "wait" mode at the hospital. Waiting for the paperwork for her to leave. Waiting for the nurse to unhook the IV. Waiting for their new normal to begin. And we all thank you for your prayers! She will be having skin graft surgery next week. I'll keep you posted.

I have been a LONG time fan of Steven Curtis Chapman. I probably have some of his first CD's! Each time he has toured Greenville, we've been to his concerts. And, since the loss of his daughter, Maria, I've wondered how they as a family were doing.

His wife, Mary Beth, is a wonderful writer. The other day while in a local Christian bookstore, I saw where they were preselling copies of her book, Choosing to SEE. Being the patient person that I am, I rushed home to check out Amazon and see if they had the book yet! Yes, m'am...they did! Quickly I pressed the "add to cart" button and sent them my handy dandy credit card number. Then, the wait began!

When it arrived, I had another book that I was working on ( I have 2-4 going at one time!). It's Magnifcent Obsession by Anne Graham Lotz and it's fabulous! I wanted to let that one digest before I began Mary Beth's. I've had a lot of waiting time this week, so I started Choosing to See on Monday. As I waited for child #2 to finish oral surgery at the dentist this morning, I also finished the book. I was laughing one minute and crying the next!I was hoping that I wouldn't read a crying part while in the waiting room!

One quote that I want to share with y'all just really touched my heart this morning. Mary Beth writes, "And even when we feel our God being silent in the pain...that is where the truest sense of faith must come into play." Think about that for a minute. We are in times of pain, and we are reaching out to God. But, we don't hear Him, see Him, or feel His presence. It happens. Most of us have been in a place like that. Then, faith, maybe as small as a mustard seed, that has been planted in our hearts begins to grow. Not quickly, but over time new growth occurs. The wait is over...faith has arrived.

Sweet Blessings,

Grace and Prayers

Remember this picture from a post I did a few weeks ago? My sweet friend, Kristi, is chowing down on some yummy dessert and loving every bite of it! Well, Kristi, was finally allowed to "chow down" on some Italian ice yesterday morning in the hospital. Her first "food" in about 24 hours.

Saturday mornings, in her household and mine, are made for long runs or long bike rides. My hubby rides with her, her husband, Dwayne, and other friends. I choose to run! ( Kristi is a great runner, btw--one of the fastest women in SC!) Hubby, Kristi, Dwayne, and Phil--another precious friend, had decided to do an easy 50 mile bike ride in the mountains ( yes, I'm kidding about the word "easy!"). They had finished riding, changed clothes, and were on their way back into town to eat lunch. They were in two cars. Hubby and Phil were ahead, and Kristi and Dwayne were just a few cars back. Hubby got to chick-fil-a and called to see where they were. No answer. A few minutes later, Dwayne called on Kristi's phone and said that they had been in a car accident and to come back. By the time Hubby and Phil arrived, so had the ambulance, police and firetrucks...amazing. Hubby and Phil were shocked at the Dwayne's forerunner. Upside down and in a stranger's yard...bike stuff strewn all over. We still have not found Dwayne's cell phone. He located Kristi's in the yard...and her battery a few feet away. He had to use it to call.

Another car came from a side road and broadsided Dwayne on the driver's side. He swerved to try to miss her and his car flipped and slid across the road. He crawled out through his window and a woman was standing there. She asked if there were any children in the car. He said no. Then she said, "I didn't see you. I am so sorry." Dwayne was more concerned about getting Kristi out of the car at that time than the woman. He had to crawl back into the driver's side--her side was crushed--undo her safety belt--she's STILL upside down!!! Then, he dragged her out. They were sore and had cuts and scrapes, but they were alive. That in itself is a miracle.

And where was Runner Mom in all of this?? Two hours away at my cousin's wedding! Kristi didn't want me to know until I got home...but I found out and got to the hospital as soon as possible. Mercy!

Y'all, her arm has a large and deep cut. This morning, the surgeons will operate again. There may have to be more surgeries if it doesn't heal on its own. It's not pretty. I watched my friend suffer on Saturday. I had the privilege of holding her hand in the ER while the doctors pulled off nasty, sticky gauze that had been on an open wound for hours. I could love on her and pray for her and pull more grass and glass out of her hair. I got her some food--just crackers--but the pain meds made her feel sick, so she couldn't eat. After almost 6 hours in the hallway in the ER, she was admitted to a room. The last thing that she told me was to keep praying--which I have been. And, this little gal with the big heart also said to pray for the woman who had hit them, and then left the scene of the accident. Kristi forgives her. This is all about grace.

I just ask the same. That you please pray for Kristi's healing and for this woman who made a huge mistake on Saturday morning. This is something that she will always have to live with. But with God, there is forgiveness and grace.

Sweet blessings,

Mary, Martha, and fruit kabobs

Guess what I did last weekend?? Couldn't make it to She Speaks in NC, but I did make it to our women's planning retreat at the lake! Mercy, we had fun! Here is a group picture with some of the gals--not everyone could make it, and we truly missed them!

Our focus was on Luke 10:42. Jesus is at the home of Martha and Mary. Martha is scurrying around cleaning and cooking and waiting on her guests. We know of at least 13 visitors(Jesus and his 12 disciples). There could have been more followers of Christ just wanting to hear Him speak. Can you imagine 13 plus guests coming over for supper?? That's a lot of cleaning and a ton of cooking, people! But then, there was Martha. Bless her heart!

Sister Mary was no where to be found to help with the baking of the bread or washing the cups for drinks. No, Mary had found a comfy little spot...right near Jesus. She simply sat and listened to His Words. And, Martha didn't like it one bit!

This weekend, we focused on being still...just like Mary and listening to the Word of God. We were not Marthas! That was kind of cool too! When was the last time that you let your Mary spirit overtake your Martha one? Hmmm??? Jesus even told Martha that Mary had chosen what was better to do. Sit, listen and pray. Without distractions. Intentially putting away "stuff" to spend time with the Lord. Period. How refreshing it was to sit at the feet of Christ.

Now, we did do some eating! Don't get me wrong! Most of it was prepared prior to the retreat. On Friday, we had BBQ sandwiches, pasta salad, tomato pie and lots of desserts. Saturday morning, we were greeted to the aroma of breakfast casserole and these yummy fruit kabobs! Y'all, I am struggling with blogger and my photos a lot lately! Trying to enlarge them AND move them around to fit my posts is not happening. So, that's why the fruit pic is WAY up there! Sorry!

Pull out those wooden skewers you have in the back of your kitchen drawers and slice some fruit. Place on the skewers and the final touch---sprinkle lightly with some powdered sugar! Yum! Your kids will think you hung the moon!

I encourage you to find a quiet place today. Sit at the feet of God and just soak in His Presence.

Sweet Blessings!