I had such a nice weekend.

Spent Saturday and Sunday with my sister and her family.

We did all of the below, plus more. :o)

Shopped at the mall and Old Navy
(My sister and I came out with on-sale shorts that we really liked, and I found some really cute striped flip-flops at Old Navy that, at $3.99, were a bargain! They'll be great to wear to work and church with my black skirts and other things.)

Celebrated my 2-year-old nephew's "half Birthday" with homemade (yes!) cake and Breyers oreo ice cream.

Ate at a really fun restaurant called HulaHut
(My sister and I split a salad :o))

Hung out with their neighbors
(They're so nice, and, as it turns out, ended up giving me one of their "extra" DVD players! Incredible how the Lord provides.)

Good times. :o) I so much am looking forward to going to see them again! I can't believe it had been nearly a year since I'd been down there. Boy, how time flies when you're having fun and serving the Lord. :o)

9:35 P.M.
I'm at Target, trying on a "fun" shirt. Translation? Fun, meaning I could definitely wear it around the house, and with just a few alterations, could probably also wear it out places.

It's on sale for $12.99.

Not a bad price, but not "super-duper" cheap, either. Trying on the shirt, I think about the family we just did a web story on, who were brutally hacked to death in Central India for their Christian faith and Gospel witness.

And suddenly I am struck by the contrast ... and finding myself transported to another world.

This dear, sweet little family probably didn't have much to their name. Let alone could even one family member be shopping "for fun". Say, for shirts at Target or its equivalent.

Yet exceedingly great is their reward in heaven.

I end up deciding on another piece of clothing -- will make a great skirt for the office and church. Even at $12.99, it's a bit more practical than the other thing.

Still, in this area I probably have a long way to go.

I get to the checkout. Turns out, the "skirt" is still $14.99, not on sale for $12.99. In keeping with what I already decided, I don't get it.

Hmmm ... maybe I am learning at least a little bit after all. :o)

I had a nice weekend.

Friday I stayed for Part One of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a little bit of the second. :O)

Saturday morning I was tired and a little sad about something, but then that afternoon I had such a nice time with the Lord!

Then I took an hour and a half nap (much-needed! :o)) and my friend Christine and I went to a hot dog cookout they were having at our apartment complex. We sat by the pool for a while enjoying the nice breeze and talking. Then we went and had ice cream at her apartment. :oD It was a nice, relaxing time.

Sunday I introduced my friends from Sunday school to my black boot. Some of them teased that they couldn't believe I was wearing a big 'ole boot, just for a fractured toe. :oP We all had tacos in our classroom after church.

Then that night, four of us hung out playing games. That was fun!

Well, I'm about to go home for lunch, a nap and prayer. Well, that is, if I can squeeze all that in in an hour. ;o) We'll see ... I'm struggling a little with something, but I know God is good and He knows what He's doing. I find sometimes that even just a few minutes in His presence can so much change my perspective. How wonderful.

It's Friday. :o) I'm tired! But it's the weekend so I can catch up a little on my rest! Tonight I'm probably watching part of Lord of the Rings with some friends from the office. They're doing a Lord of the Rings marathon ... good for them! But as for me and my big black boot, we're pretty sleepy ... we'll probably just stay for part of the first one.

My foot is doing much better! But I'm told I'll still have to wear the ever-stylish big black boot through at least the 27th. But praise God! :o) We can rejoice always. He is good.

Tomorrow I'm going to a wedding shower for a good friend of mine who also serves here at the ministry. I'm so happy for her!! Then tomorrow night I may have an opportunity to share the ministry through having some friends for supper and then us going to hear Brother KP speak ... if the Lord wills!

Then Sunday is church and a taco dinner with my S.S. class in our classroom! :o)

I've had a headache this afternoon. ;o( Not fun! But I've had a relatively good week overall. Yay! :O)

Guess what? I fractured my left middle toe playing rugby with some pals from the office on Sunday. So I've been walking around with the ever-stylish big black boot all week. :oD And my toes are kind of bruised and I still can't bend my left middle toe that much at all. But I had so much fun! I would do it again in a heartbeat ... just this time I may wear shoes. : ) (we were ALL playing barefoot)

Well I am going home ... I will probably try to do laundry tonight. Doesn't sound all that appealing tonight, but it's gotta be done sometime. Then again I could always do something fun tonight and wait for the weekend to do laundry ... Hmmm. :o)

I think my headache is already getting bunches better.

I've had a good week. It's gone by fast with projects. I think I'm going home in a minute. :O)

It is beautiful outside. I will probably go walking at the preserve in a little bit. First, though, I need to pay a bill so it won't be late. Not fun, but must be done. :oD

Last night I went and saw a funny movie at the dollar theater. It wasn't my first time to see the movie and I'm sure won't be my last. : ) It was quite relaxing, a nice break!

Not sure what all I'm doing this weekend. I do want to have some good time with the Lord over the weekend. And I need to do laundry. I want to go walking. I'm also getting together with a girl from my S.S. class tomorrow night, most likely. And then on Sunday of course is church and our S.S. group all hanging out afterwards. And Sunday night is my ladies' Bible study.

Okay, so I take back what I said about not having weekend plans. :oP

(I'm taking off. Will be back later.)

Last week I struggled with some discouragement, but this week I've been feeling renewed and refreshed, almost like a new person. I've found in recent weeks and months I have maybe tended to struggle much more with discouragement than usual -- not sure exactly why.

I had a nice weekend. It was pretty restful. Most of the day Saturday it was raining, and I just hung around the apartment. Sunday our group went and ate after church -- We had such a nice time sitting outside at Chipotle, laughing and talking.

This week is going by pretty quickly, which I guess makes sense, considering we were off for Memorial Day. Work is going pretty well -- I have some new projects to work on and am encouraged about that. :o)

Well, I'm gonna go for now, but I will write more later!