A group of us from staff went on outreach to a local flea market. It was kind of a neat time ... I think a lot of us were pleasantly surprised at how receptive people were to receiving tracts!

Some highlights from my time there ...

- Talking to Bonnie, a sweet lady who was waiting to clean the bathrooms. When I went back and handed her a Gospel tract, she smiled and said, "You made my day"! [Thank you, M and J, for encouraging me to go back :o)]

- When I handed the fake one million dollar bill tract to a Spanish guy maybe in his 40s or so, and he laughed and got really excited about it and his friend insisted on having one, too. :=)

- Giving out the optical illusion tract to a man by one of the booths and then watching as he tried it out on the two girls nearby. What was really cool about that is, I had originally wanted to approach the two girls but it looked like they were busy setting up their booth ... so it looks like the Lord used that man without His even knowing! [Isn't it cool that God's ways are so far beyond us and our limited human perspective? :o)]

- One young man at a booth chuckled good-naturedly after I walked away and was saying something to me. I was a little afraid of what he would say ... but I walked back over. :) Holding the Gospel tract I had just handed him, he shared that he's a Christian, too! That was a nice surprise, and we got to share with him about Gospel for Asia.

On the way home, our car of people stopped in at Cracker Barrel ... we all ordered off the kids menu, which was really fun! I had the chicken and dumplings, and some of the others had chicken tenderloins. And the waiter brought out these really yummy biscuits and butter ... need I say more?! Good times. :o)

Today was our Spring Cleaning day. Some of the people in our department were being pretty funny ... and our office manager came in with a cowboy hat and these humongous sunglasses. We joked that we should make sure not to schedule building tours for Spring Cleaning Day ... people may not know quite what to make of us silly people. :-D

In a bit, we're all going to have pizza downstairs (yum). I was so looking forward to volleyball, too, but looks like it may be too rainy for that. :( I'd still love to play, so we'll see ... maybe there will be a few of us brave souls out there to join me, since there are some folks out there playing basketball now. :)

Well, my friends, I close this workday and start this weekend with this song ... because it's so encouraging to remember this at the end of each day ... however I may be feeling or whatever each day may have held ... this is what it's all about.

Not to Us

The cross before me, the world behind.
No turning back
raise the banner high
It's not for me,
It's all for YOU.

Let the heavens shake and split the sky,
Let the people clap their hands and cry.
It's not for us,
It's all for YOU

CHORUS:
Not to us,
but to YOUR name be the glory.
Not to us,
but to YOUR name be the glory.

Our hearts unfold before YOUR throne,
the only place for those who know,
It's not for us,
It's all for YOU.

Send YOUR holy fire on this offering,
let our worship burn for the world to see.
It's not for us,
It's all for YOU.

The earth is shaking,
the mountains shouting,
It's all for YOU.
The waves are crashing;
The sun is raging;
It's all for YOU.

The universe is spinning and singing,
It's all for YOU.
YOUR children dancing,
dancing, dancing,
It's all for YOU,
It's all for YOU,
My all for YOU,
My all for YOU.

My shoulders have kinda been hurting lately and I was pretty tired last night. But I went to bed pretty early and got tons of rest, and that helped. :-) And today several projects I've been working on all came together - that was nice!

I am continually reminded in various circumstances to seek refuge in the Lord - that He is truly my strength and my sufficiency!

This Friday we're having Spring Cleaning at the office so we can all go through our files and drawers, then supper and VOLLEYBALL. :-D Sounds good to me!

So today, we writers all wore the same color (red) to surprise our department coordinator. We planned it out last week and everything, and he was supposed to discover it and be surprised at our 11:00 meeting, but he wandered over to our corner before then and quickly made the discovery on his own!! Oh well ... it was still great fun! :c)

As I write, it's raining quite hard, and it's kind of fun sitting up here in my second floor cubicle and listening to it come down! I was going to head out to my much-loved Barnes and Noble to work on some SEND!/web projects this evening, but I wasn't quite expecting this heavy downpour! I could always work on them at the apartment as long as I promise not to let myself get too comfortable so I won't get sleepy ... :-D Or better yet, just stay here to work on them so I won't have to brave the pouring rain! :o)

Stephanie and I biked 24 miles around the White Rock area today! We started at this park that is 7 miles from White Rock Lake, then went once around the lake and back. Then we went to McAlister's to grab a bite to eat. :-D We had a really nice time!

Now I'll probably rest around the apartment and get a few things done, too, before heading out to a ladies' game night. I have still been working on some Meghalaya SEND! web extras; I hope to finish those over the weekend! :-)

Some of us from my department spontaneously headed to Panda Express for lunch. That was really fun! It started with Shelly saying something like, "I'm in a Panda mood today". I assured her that I would gladly join her if she decided to go. She did! Then she invited another from our department, and they invited two others! :-D

So now I have leftover Kung Pao chicken ... and since I went down the hall just now to grab it from the break room refrigerator, my cubicle has the aroma of Chinese food at present. :-) It won't for long, though, 'cuz I'm 'bout to head out.

Last night I had the privilege of sharing a field story in a small group setting at our prayer meeting. I shared about a young woman who came to Christ through our film ministry when they showed a film on the life of Jesus in her village. She had never heard of Jesus, and was so happy to know Him! Her parents weren't so happy, though, and basically disowned her. Yet she is committed to serving Jesus faithfully, no matter the cost! She is now studying at a GFA Bible college, with a heart to reach those who have never heard the Gospel.

I thought about the incredible love this sister must have for her Savior ... I have been blessed to grow up in a Christian family and will probably never have to make the same kind of sacrifice that she is for her faith, yet I want to love Jesus just as much! He is wonderful, and I want to love Him more each moment. I want Him to be the first thought on my heart when I wake up each morning!

This day's been kind of flying by! After staff prayer this morning, I came upstairs and read stories that we would be going over in our information meeting. Then we had our meeting - we all had so many stories to go over, we just decided to meet in the Believers Cafe'. :-) So after our meeting, I had some great beef stirfry!

Going into the weekend I wasn't feeling all that well physically ... achy shoulders and kind of tired, etc. But the extra exercise I ended up getting helped me so much and really energized me! I spontaneously decided to go biking at White Rock Lake. I had been wanting to for a while, and a co-worker who lives across the street had showed me how to put my bike rack on, so I figured, "Sure, why not?!"

After asking my co-worker for directions, I ran upstairs to grab some stuff and my backpack, jumped back in my car, and off I went to White Rock Lake. I'm not usually quite that spontaneous (although I can be at times!) but I really seemed to have peace about my quick decision. :-D

The exit off the interstate was closed for construction and I ended up getting a bit lost, but the view when I got there was well worth the drive. [My co-worker and his wife ended up going over the weekend, too, but it sounds like they didn't get quite as lost ... I guess navigating just isn't my strong point ... hee hee. :o) I was glad they didn't get too lost, though.] I biked twice around the lake, so a total of 18 miles!

I was amazed how much more energized I was when I got home. I also biked with my friend Lindy over the weekend, at a trail near her house! That one was about 11 miles total.

Tonight I'm going to eat with my friend Michele from work, and to catch up and share prayer requests. I look forward to that.

Well, I better get back to work (hee hee) but just thought I'd write a quick update since it's been over a week! I hope everyone is doing well. Things are good here. It's so wonderful to know that I can trust God completely with things on my heart. He's truly so faithful and so good to His children! I am so glad to know Him.

I just got back from lunch and a walk around campus [or rather the office grounds? :oD] with a friend from work! We had some nice times of chatting and laughter, and I came back with some caffeine [notice I did not say whether Coke or Pepsi ... :-)]

Before I go, thought I'd share this great quote from a John Piper sermon I've been listening to online:

"If I lose any or all things, good or bad, I do not lose my joy, my hope, my treasure, my significance, my meaning ... because CHRIST is all."

Snapshots of my weekend ...

*Got laundry and other stuff done around the apartment

*Found a pretty dress at the Goodwill for $3.49

*Enjoyed relaxing around the apartment and cooking black bean soup and rosemary herbed chicken and vegetables to freeze

*Helped the T-Rex celebrate her birthday

*Went for an evening walk with a friend

*Walked for a while at the nature preserve

*Purchased a bike rack with a 20% off coupon ... slight complications but hopefully these will be worked out so Lindy and I can soon go biking at the trail near her house ;-)

*Slept in

The thing I remember most from the weekend was spontaneously going to eat at Subway and doing some journaling there ... the Lord really ministered to me in that time, reminding me His incredible love and His utter sufficiency.

So I finally took the "what kind of intelligence do you have" test that has been going around some at work. :-) I have linguistic intelligence ... according to the test. Here is the paragraph of results it gave me ...

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic IntelligenceYou are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.
You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

Well, I do remember when I was homeschooled and in the 7th and 8th grades, I used to love learning new vocabulary words ... and one of my all-time favorite games is Balderdash. And of course I love to write and have filled up many journals. :-D But I don't feel like I'm particularly good at "convincing someone" of my "point of view", nor is that important to me either. ;-)

And ... eloquent speaker? I had to chuckle a bit. :-D I am kind of shy in front of large groups ... and even can be pretty shy at times in small group and one-on-one interactions [nobody ever seems to believe me, though ... heee heee :-)))

Well anyhow, it was a really fun test!!! [Thanks, K and E, for putting it on your blogs. :-)]

Oh, today I went to lunch with my friend J and tonight I'm hanging out with my friend D! Good times. And today's been a good day and I haven't been nearly as tired as yesterday, either. YAY!

Have a good weekend, you all.

I have been unusually sleepy at work today! I think it's mostly my own silly fault for not disciplining myself to go to bed earlier last night. :-) Despite my sleepiness and a few miscellaneous other challenges during the day, I still think the day has gone relatively well! I am still having some shoulder pain, and some discomfort in my lower back as well, but walks seem to really help it. [I'm looking forward to that in a few minutes!]

I am powerfully reminded on days like this of my incredible need to draw close to the Savior. How glad I am that I can always cling to Him for strength, and that my security is in Him. [At the same time, too, I do plan to discipline my sleepy self to get to bed much earlier tonight, and I have faith that by God's grace tomorrow will be better because of it. :-D]

Great weather. Staying pretty busy at work and enjoying the various projects I'm working on. :-) And the outdoors!

Random quote for the day ... one I find quite hilarious actually. :-D (Can you guess from which movie?)

"What - are you crazy?!! A guy in a really nice camper wants to play our music. Give me a pen! I'm signing -- you're signing -- we're all signing!"

On a different note (not as funny but definitely more meaningful and inspiring -hee hee!) I was reading in Isaiah 55 this morning ... some of my favorite verses from that Scripture passage ...

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." (vs. 1-3)

It's been a good day!

Over the weekend I enjoyed walking at the nature preserve and catching up over the phone with my mom and good friend Heather ... and my 3-ish hour nap on Sunday afternoon. ;-)

There's this one song we've been singing some in prayer meeting; I hadn't heard of it before, but I really like it!

Well, I think I'm going to take a really quick walk while there's still some daylight. :o)