The Rock higher than I...

Today has been one of those days.

You know the type...where running back

home to hide under the covers seems more 

appealing than trying to figure out how to 

solve the discouraging issues at hand.

And yet - I can take comfort in knowing 

that there is a "Rock higher than I" - and it's

 not the end of the world when my little 

heart gets overwhelmed. 

While it's never fun to be reminded that 

there's more to the big picture than I can see,

 it's a good faith building exercise.  Because if I 

really trust the promises I've been given, I'll get 

up tomorrow looking for a fresh supply of 

mercy, grace & wisdom.  And goodness

knows, that's precisely what I need.

*via

monday thoughts

This seems like it was made for 

a Monday morning, right?

Hope everyone had a wonderful

weekend!  Ours was busy but full of

happy things & good time together.  :)

*via

home.

We were chatting with one of our dear friends 

recently, and somehow got talking about what 

happens if you find the one, but they live 

somewhere you aren't sure you want to be.  

My sweet hubs didn't hesitate for a split second.  

With a smile, he looked over at me and said:  

"Something inside you just changes...and 

home becomes wherever that person is."

(At which point I melted.)

But isn't that the truth of it?  And isn't 

it incredible that God designed our hearts

to love with such forever intensity?

*via

good reminder

Isn't it cool that with our God,

a little faith can do big things??

*via

morning joy

These are the days when I don't mind having a

different work schedule...one that allows me to 

linger on the couch and take joy in the little

pleasures of a perfect spring morning.

Lately our apartment has been flooded with 

bright morning sunshine and what sounds like the 

noisy banter of every bird in the neighborhood.  

It's impossible to be anything but cheerful 

listening to their chirps & trills!

Even though there is still a bit of crispness 

to the fresh morning air, I can't resist letting it in.  

I've been throwing every window and door open, 

then cozying up in a soft alpaca blanket and 

drinking giant mugs of steaming coffee to 

keep from getting goosebumps.

This morning I deviated from my usual blog 

reads, and slowly poured through the new issue 

of  Maine Magazine. (gorgeous, as usual.) 

And as I unfolded myself from the couch to

refill my coffee and make toast, I realized again 

just how good my little morning time is! 

hello, fake summertime

We've been having the most incredible warm 

weather around here, so the hubs suggested 

an impromptu trip out to the ocean on Sunday.

It was marvelous to walk around drinking 

iced chai and soaking up the sunshine.  

Life is so good!  :)

Kony 2012

We watched this video yesterday, 

and I would highly recommend seeing 

it if you haven't yet.

And then if your reaction is anything

like mine, maybe you'll want to

do something to help? 

wonderfully present

I'm loving this sweet, cheerful print.

The colors and design are perfectly springy,

but it's the text that just makes me feel

smiley.  (And not just because of Louis!)

Last night we went to a prayer & worship

night, and I was challenged to practice living 

more fully in the present - not to get so stuck

 on things past / fixated on future things.  

Sometimes it's tough to be challenged, but 

last night I felt really reminded about the joy 

God has for us here in the present. When we're 

able to live fully engaged lives, it's amazing how 

many wonderful things we start seeing around us.  

So today, I hope you can be fully present and 

see just what a wonderful world it is!

*etsy, of course

lame humor

Why does Snoop Dog carry 

an umbrella?

Heh. Heh. Heh.

Clearly I have been married to the 

king of corny jokes for too long. 

(just teasing...love you, babe!)

*via

ah, the good life

The first port on our cruise was Grand Turk,

and it was an amazing introduction to the

picture perfect Caribbean beaches & waters.

Although there are no photos to prove it, we 

went power snorkeling - which was a really cool 

way to explore the beauty that's hidden underwater.

As with most ports, there were a lot of little 

shops right off the pier...so instead of shopping

like normal tourists, we took silly pictures. 

(That shop is called the Dizzy Donkey because

there are wild donkeys that roam the island.)

There was a tiki bar right on the edge of the beach,

so we tried their local beer and sat in the shade 

soaking up all the incredible beauty around us.

See what I mean about beauty?  That impossibly 

turquoise water completely blew me away!

   The hubs had fun wading in the clear water,

and said he could see tiny fish all around his feet!

(Isn't it crazy that such a huge ship is 

docked so close to the shore??)

And finally, a picture on the pier before getting back on

the ship.  As you can see, we were loving all the sunshine 

and had perma-grins the entire day!  What a cool 

blessing to get to see this part of the world!

let's eat cake

My little blog turns 3 today, so I think we
should all find some cake & ice cream to make
the day happy with a little celebration!

Thank you to my sweet family & friends
who read my ramblings and interact in this
format - I love being able to share life
with you this way! 


*image

feelin' hot hot hot

 Yesterday was gloriously warm and perfectly

spring-like...not at all like a usual March day in NH.

Everyone was driving with windows down and

going for slow walks around the neighborhood.

It was so warm that we actually opened all 

of the windows in the house because it was 

warmer outside than in.  (Craziness.)  We also

grilled and ate dinner outside.  (Amazing!)

And just because it's been in my head lately,

(and in the title of this post now), here's some

Michael Scott for your Tuesday:

*image

a morning prayer

Clean the slate, God, 

so we can start the day fresh!

Keep me from stupid sins, from 

thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed,

scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth;

these are what I chew on and pray.

(Psalm 19:12-14, The Message)

*image

last week at this time...

...we were in paradise!

I know it's a bit strange to start with pictures

from the end of a trip, but this morning I

realized that it was just 7 days ago that we
were playing on Half Moon Cay - the most
beautiful little island I've ever seen.

We got to ride horses along the beach and

then through the waves - totally amazing!

(Pardon the terrible second photo - it's a 
sneaky snapshot of the official cruise photo 
that we refused to shell out 20 bucks for.)

There were some comfy hammocks 

in the shade, so we relaxed and had fun
soaking up all the beauty around us. 

After floating around in the water and
walking along the perfectly white sand,
my handsome guy took a little nap...

...but I was too excited and worked hard
on perfecting my white girl tan instead. 
(aka: the lobster look) 

 We were sad to say goodbye
at the end of the day, but feel so
blessed to have spent a perfectly
blissful day playing in paradise.

a sweet theme

I started editing our vacation photos

this morning, and quickly noticed a

theme...lots of ice cream!

There's definitely no shortage of food

on a cruise ship, but my favorite part was

definitely the abundance of perfectly

creamy strawberry ice cream.

 

I loved coming back to the ship after

our excursions to an ice cream cone. 

I felt like I was cheating - getting to

 soak up all of the best parts of summer

 at once - sunshine, adventure, 

relaxing & ice cream!

And I think this cute guy

felt the same way.  :)

home again

After a week of sunshine & bliss,

we're back!  It was an amazing trip,

and I can't wait to share photos

once we download them all. 

But first, reality calls, so now back

 to work. How are you?  What happened 

while I was gone?  Hugs!