Invitation Only

If you are reading this post, you have either received an invite from me and joined my blog; or you are one of my approved Facebook friends that can see my notes. Yes…I have entered the world of protected blogs. I’m not sure why I didn’t do it sooner.

I awoke this morning to a comment on my blog from an anonymous contributor making hurtful observations regarding my dad. The contents of the message do not matter; only that I have learned my lesson of not protecting my blog before now. I believe whoever the individual is that left the message is acting cowardly and in bad taste, and I feel for them that they do not know of a better way to handle themselves.

It’s amazing how much we can be hurt by comments about those we love. It was a difficult decision to even tell my dad about what happened, simply because it was a very cruel comment, and I didn’t want him hurt. In the end, I decided it was best because he’s still my dad…and dad’s usually want to know when someone has hurt their daughter even if she is all grown-up and married.

So, all of that said, my blog is now invitation only. My God is bigger than the enemy that wishes to see me destroyed, and He will protect me and those I love!

The In's and Out's of Taylor Belt

A few weeks after we got married, I posted about a few things I'd learned about my husband since living in the same house. Well, it's now been 8 1/2 months of marriage and I have learned more! Here's a small sampling!

1) When my husband is tired and wants to wind down, he watches Sports Center. To me, the volume and hyperactivity of Sports Center is anything but "wind down" material; but to my husband it does the trick. So, I quietly shut the bedroom door and enjoy the silence of a book in the tub or in bed so that we can both wind down in our own ways. :)

2) We are at the time of year when marching season takes over our lives. Between teaching school and private lessons, after school marching rehearsals, and working part-time as a worship minister - several days a week find me in bed before he gets home and a quick hi in the morning before we both rush out the door. As a result of this, my husband's subconscious has figured out how to reconnect - sleep in the middle of the queen-sized bed. Yes, without doing it on purpose, Taylor has taken to sleeping in the middle of the bed. And, while I love to cuddle. At 2:00am, my half-asleep self wants to lovingly say, "I miss you too, but SCOOT OVER!" :) hehe

3) Taylor yearns to work in full-time ministry! I love watching him work towards his dreams!

4) Sunday mornings = Gaither Homecoming Hour Taylor tapes these on our DVR and then watches them from time to time, but ALWAYS on Sunday mornings.

I am loving learning about my husband! So excited I get to learn about him everyday!

Providence, Destiny, and Gratitude

I am studying Esther. The Queen who basically won a beauty contest in order to move out of the harem and into the queen's quarters. Only to find herself in the midst of a pending holocaust with the responsibility to stop it lying squarely on her shoulders. I am journeying through Esther verse by verse over a 9-10 week period. I'm on week 4 at the moment, and have studied much about God's timing, His providence, and His destiny for me. On the way to school this morning, this song came through my CD player; and I realized how fitting it was to my current study. I wanted to share the lyrics with you. May God's blessings be upon you!

Gratitude
Nichole Nordeman

"Send some rain, would you send some rain
Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade.
Would you send a cloud, thunder long and loud
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely you can see that we are thirsty and afraid.
But maybe not, not today
Maybe you provide in other ways
And if that's the case

We'll give thanks to you with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for you
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If you never send us rain.

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups and fill them up again tonight
Oh, wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe you provide in other ways
And if that's the case

We'll give thanks to you, with gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after you
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is over our head
And if we never taste that bread.

Oh that differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need

So, grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case

We'll give thanks to you with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in you
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
If you never grant us peace

But, Jesus, would you please?"

Rori vs. The Vacuum

We were cleaning last weekend, and Rori attacked the vacuum. It wasn't running. I was just rolling it across the floor and this is what happened. She even bit it at one point, but that's hard to see on the video. She's just ferocious!

Sugar and Rori

When we come to Albuquerque, we bring our little Rori with us. My parents' dog, Sugar is on a raw food diet. She eats twice a day and then gets to chew on a raw bone for 15-30 minutes after each feeding. Rori has been fascinated by this whole process. She has stolen the bone once and hid under the bed. We don't want her to have it cause it's not hers, and she has a sensitive stomach and gets sick easily. Unfortunately for Rori, the whole process of Sugar eating her bone is torture to her. This video shows the agony Rori goes through twice a day when Sugar eats. :) Enjoy!

Vacation and Jewelry

We are on vacation!!! Taylor and I made the 11 hour drive to Albuquerque on Monday. We get to be here in this wonderful place until July 16th! We are so excited about such a long vacation. So far we haven't done much, but isn't that the point? I'll update along the way with any adventures we take while here in New Mexico.

So, last week I began a new adventure in business. I am in the process of joining the Premiere Designs team as an Independent Consultant! If you are not familiar with Premiere, it is a jewelry company that uses independent consultants to sell affordable, high-quality jewelry through home shows. I'm thrilled about this opportunity to earn some extra cash in a very fun, rewarding manner. If anyone out there reading my blog would like to do a show--let me know!

Hope everyone else's summer is fun and relaxing. Make time to rest!

Addicted

Did my title catch your attention? HA! I couldn't help myself.

But, truthfully, I'm discovering that I am addicted to the Internet. Especially to email, Facebook, and my blogs that I enjoy reading. Our computer died two days ago. We went to the library yesterday to check email, and the library's Internet was down-go figure! All night last night I would sit down to relax and just naturally reach for the computer to check email and remember that it wouldn't boot up. Today, I am at the church with my husband while he is planning worship for Sunday morning catching up on emails and getting my blog "fix" to last me a few more days. We will be in Albuquerque with my parents next week and will have limitless Internet availability for 2 1/2 weeks! Maybe during that time we will figure out what is wrong with our computer.

In the meantime, I am learning how to enjoy doing other things. I am learning that the world does not fall apart when I can't check email for 2 days (or even more). I'm learning that it's okay to have a phone conversation instead of email conversation when things do need to be taken care of. It's been good to identify my need to connect to the web and to realize I can survive without it. :)

So, all that being said-I'm signing out of the World Wide Web for a little while and will learn what life was like before my Internet addiction existed. :) Have a blessed week everyone!