loved it!

this is amazing!

i just finished it....

and i can't even express what i felt by reading it.

i couldn't bear to give my original copy away

so i bought a new copy for sharing....

so that when someone reads it, they will pass it on....

the ripple effect could be so amazing.

wonderful trip

we had a wonderful trip

to new mexico and colorado

sharing times with cassie and kyle

and we have a wedding date

a venue and a dj!!!!

yeah!!!!!!

a very rewarding time

both for the wedding plans

and time spent with family!

and beautiful views of God's creation!

no problem

i took asher to target today.

after doing a bit of shopping

and putting him in his carseat

i thanked him for being such a good boy.

his response?

"it was no problem nonnie....it was fun!"

love it!!!

we are off on a jaunt

to see cassie and kyle

and attend a wedding expo.....

what fun!

all the while waiting for a special special blessing....

life is so full of blessings.

takin it all in stride.....

i always start reading the Old Testament....

and end up getting through a few books

and going back to the New Testament for all my reading.

so this year, i asked for some reference books

to shed some light on the history, people, events.etc....

basically to make it easier for me to understand.

my dear husband gave me several books for Christmas

and this is the one i started with.....

and i am so enjoying it!

as i said earlier.....i don't retain history well,

but i am gleaning a lot of information with reading this along with the Bible

and i am retaining it too!

i'm loving it!

a new beginning

for a new year!

the art of listening

Listening as Spiritual Hospitality

~ Henri Nouwen

“To listen is very hard,

because it asks of us so much interior stability

that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations.

True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known.

They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept.

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond.
Listening is paying full attention to others

and welcoming them into our very beings.

The beauty of listening is that,

those who are listened to start feeling accepted,

start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves.

Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality

by which you invite strangers to become friends,

to get to know their inner selves more fully,

and even to dare to be silent with you.”

i really didn't make resolutions per se this year...but i did think about things that i need to work on in my life...or that i would like to work on....and one is listening.

i would truly like to be a better listener....to learn the hospitality mentioned above!

honest scrap

this was awarded me by annette

i am to share 10 honest things about me....with you!

1. i have way too much junk

2. i change wall paint in my house about as often as i change clothes!

3. i really don't like emptying out the dishwasher.....i dread it

4. i'm not a big desert lover....even though i grew up in one!

(i am appreciating it a bit more as i grow older)

5. i have NEVER been good at retaining history......or math

6. i really don't like talking on the phone.....but i spend a lot of time on it!

7. i LOVE decorating magazines.....(part of my junk)

8. i really dislike going to any type of doctor

9. i love winter

10. i like cleaning house....it's kind of like mowing the lawn....

feels all fresh and looks good!

not earth shattering facts....but a bit of sharing