Louder Than the Voices

 This week has been one of those life-changing weeks for me. This was my third year of going to DC and advocating for the program, and more importantly our customers, that I love. Every day, I thank the Lord that He lets me do this job. I thank Him even more that He led me to it and showed me what I was made for. When I was looking for a job, I answered a blind ad in our local paper. Actually, Andrew was the one who found the ad first. I wish I could remember it word for word but they were looking for an energetic, kind person for office work. Andrew thought it fit me to a tee. 2 weeks later I was working in the Olney outreach office as the Assistant Outreach Worker. 3 days in, a person came in and needed help but the way our pots were set up at the time, we couldn't help her unless she had already received help earlier in the year. When I asked why, I was told, "those are the rules", well, I realized right then that someone needed to change that and I started wanting to ...

 Happy Saturday again, man, the older I get, the faster these weeks go. Here we are again. This last week has been a crazy one and this next week is going to be too, two totally different things though. I am in the middle of trying to move to a different office so my normally very organized, clean office is barely walkable, then I spent Tuesday in a training, Wednesday presenting a training and Thursday playing catch-up and be ready to be out of the office for a week both. Yesterday was officially a day off to get organized for my trip, but I wound up working a lot of it anyway. So, today, we are off on our monthly family day but making it an early enough day to get home to finish packing. I ordered a new suit for my Capitol Hill meetings, it was supposed to be here Wednesday, then yesterday and it still isn't here. Anyway, just add a little stress in there. I also started officially training for a new 5K this week Getting started back to training reminded me that we are all in tra...

 Good morning! and Happy Valentines Day! Hope you all have something good planned for this day to remind us to love. If you are flying solo in the romance department this year, I ask you to have an all by yourself date day. God loves you, He truly does, He wants what is best for you and one of those things is to take care of you, so set a little budget, go splurge on a pedi, a mani or a facial, and maybe even find a friend celebrating alone and go to a movie.  Of course, at my house, this is mine and Andrew's 34th Valentine's Day and every year looks different. This year, he (and Robert) are laying new flooring in the stairwell to the basement, and I am probably making him homemade caramels before the day is over. There have been years we have went out, there have been years we haven't done much, and then like this one, there are years that we are getting something done that I wanted done. This is love. When I was young, I worked at the Greenup DQ. I worked with a lady name...

 Happy Saturday! Sorry about no devotional last week but I am learning as I get older that I need to listen to God and listen to my body and not be so rigid about MY plans. I really planned on doing my devotional Saturday morning on the plane and then I had a dead battery, by the time I got home, I was just so happy to be home, I just wanted to be. So, I decided that was how it was going to be and I tried not to feel guilty about it.  I did have the layout for last week's devotional though, and it still needs said, because it isn't like things like last week never happen. Also, I think instead of jumping into another book, I may take a few weeks and look at some of my favorite verses and passages. This week we are starting with Hebrews 12:1-2. 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,   2  f...

 Well, Happy Saturday! Happy Snowmeggedon, so we hear. We had big family day plans today to head to Indy but we are changing that, not so much because of the snow earlier in the day but because of the temps. So instead, there are cinnamon rolls in the oven, games on the table and we can have a great family day right here. Carol and I leave early Monday morning (per the current flight time) for St. Louis. Honestly, it won't hurt my feelings if our flight gets delayed just a few hours and they tell us that on Sunday night, but I know God will take care of however it works out. We are finishing James today! I am still torn between weather we are going to Philippians or Proverbs, but it is one of them. Hopefully I decide by next week BUT I will probably take a one week break as we are flying home next Saturday morning. So, lets dig in. James 5:19-20 19  My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,   20  let him know that ...

 We made it to another Saturday, and we are half way through January already. Someone said this week that January just feels like one long Monday and I can relate. Things didn't go as planned for me this week in a lot of areas, but they went okay and we are all alive and well so we will take it. I thought we would finish up James today but decided to break it off one more time, so we have got 5 verses today and 2 next week and we will have it done. So, lets dig in. James 5:13-18 13  Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.   14  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.   15  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.   16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other...