Merry Christmas

Christmas is past now. We had a very nice Christmas here with my family. Nolan did a very good job of keeping up the fireplace and we just had fun cooking and enjoying the atmosphere that Christmas brings. I hope all of your Christmas's were just as great:) It's definitely a time that makes me miss Denmark. I think Denmark celebrates this season in a very special way. Something that has made me see Christmas very different than I had before.

Aside from that I would just like to advice anyone to NOT see the Wicker Man. Nolan and I just watched it and it just leaves you feeling bad and frustrated. The whole movie was so corrupt. I feel awful just thinking about the idea of the movie. So just a little advice to avoid that one. Tomorrow I will be working again and then some Danish family will be here and I am very very excited to see my sisters:):):)

Christmas Season

I realize it's been a very long time since I've written on here. My mom even called to see why. As an answer to prayer I have been working a lot more the last few weeks, almost full time! If you think of it pray that it'll continue in this way, we could use some extra work. By the time I get home and we get dinner down I'm so tired and I'm in the transition of trying to find a new routine with everything.

This weekend there has been lots of down time. Seeing as how I work in a germ infested world, I've managed to get what most of the kids have had for the last several weeks. Something disgusting that is for sure. Now that I'm rested and feeling mostly better aside from the occasional runny nose, tomorrow I will emerge myself again into the snot infested, whinny world of sick kids. It seems inevitable that by this time next weekend if not sooner I will back to this couch feeling miserable again. The only difference will be Christmas will be tomorrow and my family will be here, making it much more enjoyable.

So that is what has been going on in the world of me. Hope all is well. Merry Christmas:)

A dog followed me home

Over the past years I've developed a habit of running in the morning. Living here with our slow life style has made that a lot more enjoyable. Well today while I was at the begining of my run I was joined by a beautiful bassethound. Most people who know me know I love bassethounds (I grew up with them), and so I was friendly with him. I guess he likes running as well because he joined me for my entire run including all the way back to the house. At this point I wasn't sure what to do because I'm bad at turning animals away but knew he wouldn't be welcomed into our home. He had a collar but no tags, so I at least knew he belonged to someone. I open the door slightly because he wants to go in and am yelling for Nolan, but Nolan is too slow and he runs in the house anyways. I guess he thought he was home, and maybe should of been at home here, but by force I walked him down to where I found him and Nolan picked me up in the car and like some sad movie drove away as he chased us. My heart broke and I just hope he lives there and will join me for some more morning runs. I have missed having a running partner.

Abes' Corner: Attack

So I'm just sitting here on my computor minding my own business. For Andy who has been to our house, I'm sitting on the couch in the tv room and you know the chair next to it... well out of the corner of my eye I see something black and white (abe) bounce off of the chair and flying straight towards my head. By flying I mean arms up and in a flying position and the next thing I know hits me in the head his front arms/legs around my neck biting my ear. So I wrestle him a little and then put him on the ground. He ran away and about 60 seconds later the above has repeated itself. The cat can jump alright.

The Psalms

In my bible along these verses it reads:
The Fortunate People.
Who are the most fortunate people in the world? The psalmist tells us it's those who know the true source of joy and make it a practice to consciously rejoice in what they know. Ethan the Levite models this for us in all the preceding verses. To recall the astounding works of the Lord leads inevitably to spontaneous praise and exultation in his righteousness. We have a choice about where we will place our focus (Phil. 4:8). The psalmists show us not only that God demonstrates great compassion toward us when we are sunk in the mire of a negative perspective, but also how blessed we are when we learn to focus on God's attributes and works.

This put a huge conviction on me and how I've been acting lately. How much do I really reflect on the attributes of God? I think my worship has weakened because I fail in doing this daily and I am missing out on the joy he has had for me because my focus has been mostly on communication to God, not that this is a bad thing to have in my life it's been great but not all that was intended to be between me and God. We (I) say he is worthy of all our praise but what am I allowing my capacity to grow when I don't reflect on the great things of God or don't focus on them? How will my faith grow? I am challenged in this today and I just encourage you to think about who the God you are serving is. Wouldn't it make our days a little bit more exciting?

MacBook

Lots of fun for abe...

Vision.

We sang this song at church this morning and it stirred something in me. It's funny how my mind can get me so lost. For a while now I've been so upset about not being in Denmark. Nolan and I came here to be married and nothing else. I don't know why I've been so mad. My emotions took me to focus on what I had and now don't have. This song made me remember the Vision God gave me to come here and where will go after this. It challenged me in that moment to remember the bigger picture.

Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."