I married a goofy, goofy man

That's my sweetie! Love the hair--that tousled, just-woke-up bedhead. And he never looked more handsome to me.

Some thoughts on learning, growing, loving and giving

This weekend I have...

* Sat with my best girl friend in church and realized I never get tired of saying she's my best friend--or that I met and made my first BFF at age 33
~
* Listened to my daughter practice her "impressions" of animals and felt like I'd burst with pride
~
* Scanned in photos of my parents' wedding and thought two things in amazement: 1) without J and N Schnell, I wouldn't be here on this planet and 2) how about those 60s hairdos, buzz cuts and awesome cars?! They were STYLIN', man!
~
* Braced myself for the fact that my little bundle of joy is starting fourth grade tomorrow--while knowing that *I* haven't aged a bit! ha ha!
~
* Realized anew how much I can't stand the clutter that piles up in my house, thus I gave away a perfectly good piece of furniture (a craft desk I picked up free myself) and was thrilled with the extra space we gained in the living room.
~
* Called the principal of Hannah school at his home and prayed for God's blessings on him, for God to guide him this year for the kids--promptly making him cry and hastily hurry off the phone...
~
* Cleaned the inside of the car; we had no Armorall in the house, but an all-purpose "green" cleaner worked just fine. Did this as a nice surprise for Hannah for her first day of school, as she loves a clean car (but not a clean room?? Go figure...)

In the past few weeks, I have...

* Reconnected with a second cousin and was delighted to hear stories about me from when I was a little girl
~

* Made breakfast in bed for my hubby, for no particular reason other than to see his morning smile and because our girlie was spending the night at a friend's.
~
* Had to deal with some not-so-fun neck and shoulder pain, caused mostly by misalignment and stress, but found a new chiropractor that is helping me a lot--and taught me exercises that (surprisingly) have helped tremendously!
~
* Realized God has answered my prayers many times over, including desiring more girl friends in my life, better emotional health, for our paychecks to stretch a little longer, and so much more.
~
* Spent time with and fallen in love all over again with the funniest, smartest, talking-est, prettiest, silliest, growing-est, happiest, giving-est, special-est nine-year-old on the planet.
~
* Learned I have a long way to go to out-give, out-love, and out-prank my two summer companions, John and Hannah.
~
* Watched sunsets, played games, hated evil, loved marriage, eaten ice cream... and...
~
* organized closets, re-arranged furniture, redecorated, created art, stayed up too late, gotten up too early
~
* Wished I was like someone else (ANYone else), been GLAD I'm me,
~
* Realized I think about the deep things in life WAY too much
~
* Learned how to lighten up (or at least have tried to!)
~

AND Last but not least

* Felt impressed to change my direction and purpose in life, from working as a copy editor and proofreader to something so much bigger than myself, something I'd have never have chosen on my own if God didn't shine His own spotlight on it (more info and details to come).

hannah

I think I could just "melt" into these eyes.

John and Tricia 4-ever

I'll love you eternally, John.

Why is there pain and suffering?

"Sin and pain seem to prevail. Babies die of cancer. Puppies are hit on the road. Hitler rises to power. We yell at our children. The power of suffering is that great. So what, in the end, does the cross really mean? What good is an escape route, really, if it does not open until the end of time? I think that the answer, in part, is that the cross never promises to free us from pain and suffering, not at least in the present. The cross, in fact, promises just the opposite: the certainty of pain and suffering.

Here is the mystery: The path of joy runs straight through the heart of pain and suffering. Christianity, alone among the world's religions, does not run from pain but embraces it, and then and only then does it move through it. Jesus Christ is our example of faith: 'For the joy set before him enduring the cross, scorning it shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews 12:2)...

Faith carries with it movement--from what we know to what we long for, from suffering to joy, from earth to heaven."

I found this devotional (written by a Deforia Lane) in my Women's Devotional Bible (NIV)

I thought this was beautiful and wanted to share. I myself don't understand pain and suffering, but maybe I don't have to. Maybe I just need to know the One who will, someday, annihilate pain forever. Amen!