It's been a while

So, it's been a while since I've written anything and I know that my "many" readers (ha ha) are probably dying to hear from me. Well, now you shall.

The weeks since I last wrote on my blog have been interesting. I began to date an amazing man who treats me like a queen. He opened my doors, wanted to buy me the best and told me all the time how beautiful and amazing I was. Most importantly he loves the Lord and wants to live his life to serve Him. Well, sadly we are not dating any longer. That was quick huh? Oh, we still care for each other and we still want to date but some things in life don't always work out the way we want them to.

The Lord does not promise that the things we want will come easily. Actually, He promises that the path we follow, when we follow Him will not be easy. So what does that have to do with my dating life? Well, because of some things that I was made aware of we have had to "pause" our relationship. This has been hard for me because I really care for him and he cares for me. However, the Lord really burdened me to step back and let the issues that need to be worked out, get worked out. It's not easy and my heart is breaking daily. But, I know that if the issues aren't worked on now, then our relationship will always be full of doubt, fear, frustration and hurt. We would never have a healthy relationship and I don't want that.

So, we have determined that if we are meant to be together, then 8 months from now (not really sure where that number came from) we will be together. It hurts though and I miss him. We are not going to spend a lot of time together and we won't be talking much because these things need to be dealt with without "us" in the picture. So, I have spent the past 4 days fighting tears and praying that God would show me what He wants from this. Is He making us stronger separately so that we are strong together? Why did we have to be together for the short period of time we were, just to have to be apart for 8 months?

It is so hard not to know what will happen but I think of a quote that I see every day. Corrie ten Boom said, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." So, while I don't know what the future holds; though I know what I hope it holds, I do know my God and my Father and I do know that HE never fails me. I know that no matter how much I hurt right now and no matter how many tears I am shedding or fighting He is in control and things will work out for HIS glory in the end.

Do I wish things were different? Yes. Do I wish that I could still be dating him and not having to wait 8 months? Yes. Would I change anything that God is doing right now so that my fleshly heart would be satisfied over the heart that seeks to follow God? No ... that was hard to right but it is true.

So, I will continue to trust in my God and my Father but do me a favor and say a little prayer for me from time to time.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Unexpected

un⋅ex⋅pect⋅ed 
–adjective

not expected; unforeseen; surprising: an unexpected pleasure; an unexpected development.


Sometimes the unexpected happens and it is bad, but sometimes it is VERY, VERY good! :) And when it happens it leaves you speechless, breathless and unsure of what to do next. I love the unexpected, don't you?

Thankful

Yes, I am going to write one of those blogs that everyone writes this time of year. Why? Because I am thankful, so thankful, for the friends and family the Lord has blessed me with in my life.

Recently, I have been struggling with a few things and the Lord has put some amazing people in my path who were there to lift me up, support me and just love me completely. Often, I get lonely and I forget that there are people out there who love and care for me. Though we may not spend every minute together, and though we may see each other rarely, those friends are there for me.

I am also thankful for my good health. I have been struck by how many of my friends and family are currently suffering from different illnesses. Many of these people are in the hospital and unable to work. Others are only 9 years old and undeserving of so much pain especially at an age where it is so much harder to grasp why these things happen. Pray for these people and appreciate what you have, rather than spending your life wishing you had more. It is one thing to desire to do something, it is a whole other thing to spend your life discontent with the gifts you have.

This Thanksgiving my family will be in three different states but a friend of mine from work has invited my father and I to spend the holiday with her family. What a joy! This woman, Kathleen, loves the Lord so much and is such a blessing to be around. I am so very excited about spending the holiday with her. She has also been taking ballroom lessons with me and is newly engaged so, we have reason to dance this Thanksgiving holiday.

I am thankful for my family who, though imperfect; is my family. I love them and am so glad to have them in my life, even when they drive me absolutely crazy!

Last thing, I am so thankful for 2 days off out of my work week, an early payday and time to relax.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Wishing my life away

So, I have come to realize that I spend my days wishing my life away. On Sunday, I wish it was Monday so I can go dancing. On Tuesday, I'm wishing it was Thursday again, so I can go dancing. Then, it's Friday and I'm ready to start wishing my life away again. The thing I notice the most ... anytime that I'm wishing my life away, I'm wishing I was dancing. So, I ask, "Shall We Dance" Just remember not to spend your life wishing it away! If you want to do something, do it!

I'm sure that I will eventually write a blog about something else ... maybe :-)

The best things happen when you're dancing

Tonight (well, last night), I went dancing! As I mentioned in my earlier blog I love to dance and meeting those people on the cruise fed my dancing bug. I have been slightly frustrated in my dance class because I have been dancing with different partners every time and each partner has a different lead style. But, tonight was so fun. I danced with Ruwan and he has the basics down, doesn't try to add anything extra on his own until he's sure he has the new steps down pat and was just a ton of fun to dance with.

Isn't it funny that some people are so laid back about dancing that if you have a misstep they laugh while others look ready to yell because you didn't do it perfectly the first time?

Anyways, I love my class and I am so excited to keep dancing. I hope and pray that this is something I will get to do for a very, very long time. I made the decision to do what I love no matter what and I am truly enjoying myself.

Starting out

Hmm, so what do I say in my first blog post? Do I bore you with every little detail of my some what uneventful life? Perhaps, I'll drone on and on about politics, let's not and say I didn't.

So, I will bore you with the little details. I just took a cruise in October and I am hooked! I went to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. It was amazing and I now scheduled to go on another cruise in September 2009. This cruise will be to Labadee, Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. While on my cruise I met a group of people who go every year and call their cruises "Salsa for the Soul". They have an instructor that comes with them and teaches them how to dance. So, the cruise I am going on next year will be with them. This leads to another subject ... DANCING!!!!!!

I LOVE TO DANCE! And, since meeting this group I have developed the ballroom bug. So, twice a week I am taking ballroom lessons at a local place called VaDance http://www.vadance.com/. Everyone there is amazing and they do group lessons which means I do not have to have a partner. This is a good and bad thing since not all partners lead the same but I am still learning so much. So, each Monday and Thursday, I look forward to my dance classes. And, I am so lucky because my friends Ashley and Peter are taking lessons too. This makes the class even more fun.

Well, my lunch break is almost over now so I will write more laters.