progress: slow but pretty sure

It has been a rough couple of days in some ways. For a few moments, I didn't want to play anymore, but I got this sense of Someone saying to me "We did not bring you this far to have you give up now! You have work to do." So I got over myself (for now, at least) and I am back on track. The testimonies in church this morning seemed like messages for me and they helped. I hope others got as much out of the testimonies as I did. I could really feel the spirit. I taught RS lesson today. During my talk, I said "they aren't one of us" and then I stopped and said "Did you hear that? I said one of us. I called myself one of us!" At the end of the session, I tried to say goodbye to the sisters, and couldn't--every time I went to say something I couldn't stop crying. That was crazy & more than a little bit embarrassing. Is having a sensitive spirit really a gift??? Had a great talk with our president after church. I brought brownies (not the girl scout kind) so he wouldn't starve since today was Fast Sunday. It was a great way to break the fast. **smile** I really love and admire our branch president and his wife. Actually, I love all the members of our branch. Those people loved me into the church. I am so blessed to have known them, and I really hope it is God's plan to have me return to the beach.

I GOT MY PASSPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel so cosmopolitan...a world traveler, you know....are you impressed? Probably not half as much as I am impressed with myself (teehee)

I think once I get through this part of the change process, things will be much easier. I hope. For once, I really don't want to move. If going to NZ was not so important to me, I would not leave the beach. This community feels like home. BUT--and it is a huge part of the equation--I am excited about the new adventures coming up. Returning to old friends, welcoming a new grandchild, and going to NZ and getting to spend quality time with Tanisha, Phillip and their boys (my exquisite grandsons!) I am putting my stuff in storage here on the peninsula because I want to return here after my "reverse mission".

My dear friend Sharon (AKA Shay-Shay Jones) came this weekend and helped me sort and pack my books. If she and I combined our literary loot, we could have a respectable bookstore. Anyway, I love my friend, too. She is always in my corner and willing to lend a helping hand. She had to be firm with me--I kept getting distracted and she would say "You need to finish _____" whatever task I was supposed to be doing. I needed that. So, in case you ever read this blog THANK YOU SHARON!

OK, time to take a nap. I am not sleeping well, and I am very sleepy now, so I will strike while the iron is hot, or the pillow is soft, as the case may be!

Church Bulletins

Here is a little chuckle from an email I received this morning from one of my favorite RM's:

They're Back! Those Wonderful Church Bulletins!Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services. (2008 Release).
------------------------------ ----------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
----------------------------------------------------------
The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
-------------------- ------ --------------------------------
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
-------------------------------------- --------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
----------------------------------------------------------
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
----------------------------------------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.
---------------------------------------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
---------------------------------------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
--------------------------- -------------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy'
---------------------------------------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
----------------------- ----------------------------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.
---------------------------------------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
---------------------------------------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
---------------------------------------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superentertainment and gracious hostility.
-------------------------------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
------------ ------------------------------------ ---------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind.They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
----------------------------------- ------ -----------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
---------------------------------------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
----------------------------------------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday
--------------------------------------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
---------------------------------------------------------
The eighth-grader s will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
----------------------------------------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double door at the side entrance.
----------------------- -----------------------------------
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday : 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours'.

YES WE CAN!!!!!

YES, WE MUST.............................America cannot survive another four years of this madness!

another bend in the road

I am going through a plethora of emotions as I sort through my "stuff" to downsize before putting what I want to keep in storage. I collect stuff. It finds me, even when I am not looking for it. Honest! Today I am shedding clothes and kitchen items. Oh and Disney videos. I am keeping most of my DVD's but how many times will I be entertaining grandchildren and dazzle them with Disney videos. Really. By the time I get back from NZ I may not be able to even buy a VCR.....and what to do with my trusty 19" color tv that I bought with student loan money in 1991? I mean, aren't I going to need some HD thingy to even watch TV pretty soon? But I think I will keep old faithful, just in case it will still work when I get back. Gotta have something to play all those General Conference tapes & DVD's ya know.

I am loaning my rather impressive new convert's LDS library to my Branch President for his office while I am gone. I am loaning a good friend many of my other books to read at her leisure while I am gone.

Purses. How did I get so many purses? And why is it NONE of them is "the one"?

Fabric. I am giving much of my fabric to a friend and Relief Society. Not all of it. I have not given up entirely, just gotten a little more reasonable. A little.

Talked to my landlady and gave notice. This is real.

another adventure

I am in negotiations with a former employer in Seattle to work for them temporarily until I leave for NZ

Has anyone seen this woman?

She was last seen @ Walgreen's in Astoria when she confided in the store clerk that she needed photos for her passport. Rumor has it that she proceeded to the Clatsop Co Courthouse to apply for said passport. She looks a little suspicious, if you ask me, and a little more wrinkled than she remembered.

Slowing down??

These are pictures taken of my grandsons by their Aunt Marissa during a visit to her home last month. Would you believe I forgot to take pictures of them when they were at my home?? I am telling you, I can be my own secret admirer and hide my own Easter eggs. If I am this bad now, we must all pray fervently that I never develop Alzheimers. Anyway, thanks Marissa!

No, I am not really slowing down. It is really busy inside my head. Of course, that is pretty much always like that, but for the past few days, the focus (?) and motivation for the "busy-ness" of my brain is a little different. Why, you ask? Good question! I have been seeking the Lord and His direction about going to New Zealand for an extended visit with Tanisha, Phillip and the boys. A "no-brainer" you say? Well, first, for those of you that don't know my history, let me share my propensity for flying by the seat of my pants and jumping into things before reasonable investigation. I am sure my daughters could tell you about my, ahem, sense of adventure. (And their spouses can tell you about my many moves in the past few years, having been opportunities for working family get-togethers on several occasions)

So, in my new life, I am committed to seeking God's will for my life. That has been an ongoing process, starting even before my baptism, but especially at this point in my life, it is important to be reasonably assured of doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do. It has occurred to me that I have probably been here on earth for a bit more than half of my allotted time here, so I need to budget what time remains. There is a lot that I want to do here on earth, so my little rabbit trails need to be managed. (This is such new behavior)

So today's tentative plan is that I will be visiting Tanisha's family in NZ for approximately 6 months, give or take. Probably leaving the US in February after greeting the new grandchild that Marissa & Dustin are bringing into the world (which is another exciting occasion for me to look forward to!)

I think I got out of the habit of writing in my blog when I was visiting Jenna & her family. I had the privilege of supporting Jenna after her recent surgery (she is doing well, thank you for asking) Not only did I get to spend time with my two grandchildren, but I discovered Maria's cookies. I was delighted to find some in the Mexican foods section of my local supermarket. Woohoo!!!!

OK, it's time for me to go walk & ponder on the beach. I know, it's a tough life, but someone has to do it!