Christmas, Football, and Friends

yes, i realize this picture is sideways. i also realize i don't know 3 of the people in it. my mom teaches quilting and esl and i guess they're some of her friends.
anywho, i am writting this more about this year and what is happening at this moment.
my brother and his friends (and one is kinda my friend) are watching football, seeing if the Patriots can truly go undefeated against they're kryptonite for a perfect season, the Dolphins. i kinda want to be there too, but have a feeling i'm not wanted in there. probably cause my mood is slightly elevated resulting in randomness.
i will go in shortly or hole up with some wings in the attic, where my randomness won't affect anyone, and i can cheer and dance loudly.but there is another family member a foot, whom may be in the way of me using the attic. bah, can't win at the moment...and after going shopping twice for the family and winning a game of pool once! you'd think i'd be ready to chill out and fall asleep to football, or read my Perelandrea book. *SIGH*
Christmas is also about a day away, hence the picture. i might have ventured to write more on reflections of family Christmas past, or even talk about the Ultimate Gift(Jesus). but i'm not at that point yet. and just getting back to the point of walking on a daily bases with my Saviour would be a great Christmas wish this year,(tears flowing). as someone prayed for me today without asking anything before we started praying, she said the Holy Spirit nudged her to pray love and peace, and to remind me that God made me just the way i am, and loves me and continues to pursue. and that the friendships i have right now and the place i am i'm supposed to be.
Angels we have heard on high
sweetly singing over the plains
and the mountians in reply
echo back their joyous strains

Gloria in excelsis Deo

happy thanksgiving!

man, i'm so thankful that my family is farfromnormal.
i really enjoyed today, from the football game(mhd lost, 42-16), to my cousins, to grandma and, of course, the food!
i mean, where else could i go for thanksgiving where i'd be offered a job in Maine by my tipsy cousin? can anyone picture me moving to the sticks to be a halfway house matron?
also enjoyed, was the long walk to and on the beach...even got a few peices of seaglass. there was even a swan riding the waves as we moseyed down the beach. upon return tho there were quite a few anxious people waiting for pie.
uncle matt even made a dunkin dounuts run for the box o' joe he started to traditionally get after dinner, but Grandma has yet to explain her reasoning for brewing an entire pot of coffee that no one drank.a good thing that will come of that pot is a few days worth of iced coffee:-)
i am so thankful for the privallege that we live in a free country...i hope it stays that way. God bless all who read this blog...and may God impart on your hearts what you're thankful for today.

i'm a survivor...and i'm about to ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

good evening.
i just came off a 10 hr shift, and a weekend where i was up around 6am, and home around 10pm...

can i go to bed now?

i will breifly descibe some of the events that have transpired and kept me busy.

friday: worked at GCC (grace community church{marblehead}) from 10 am-12pm. *hour lunch*. went on to Salem to assist in set up of "Free Hot Cocoa" and fountain stage...
it went alright, despite getting soaked from the rain and standing beneth a leaky tent!
what wasn't going to work out was being expected to stand with one other person and a group of dream interrupting interns in the rain, til midnight!!! fortunately, there was a brave soul to sit on the stage, guard sound equipment, and allow the Vault to carry on the Brimstone Chronicles (visit Whyman blogs), and relieve me and the other "host mom" to get the interns out of the rain and to their warm, guest sleeping areas!

saturday: 10am dropoff for the 3 interns from chez steadman.
12pm therapist
1pm buy more work uniforms:)
2-8pm work
8-930pm events at the gathering('barking' for free hot cocoa, cleaning carpet @ Vault)


sunday: wake @ 5:30, putter
9:00 arrive at vault, prepare for worship
10:00 Gathering Sunday service begins
12:00pm lunch, work from 1230-130pm
2:00pm arrive back at Gathering, MONK UP!
3:00pm-5:00pm give confession of 'sins of the Church', in a vault, in robes, by candlelight, with the door locked.
5:30 prepare for 6pm service.
6pm service includes learning about Burning man, and an author who included pastor phil in a new book about unusual pastors.
8pm join up with a dream/ spirtual readers team
9:30 pm drop of luggage of 3 interns and go home :)

this weekend is really a kick off and foretaste of what next weekend, and halloween will be. it was great getting to know the new group of interns. please pray for the continuation of "seeds planted" and doors open, as well as adequate rest, peace, love and grace from all who serve.

peace of Christ!

izenbet

Bipolar Awareness Day

today is Bipolar awareness day. i kept it in the back of my mind as i worked 12 hours today. thankfully the client was in a good mindset, therefore i had time to observe this day slightly.

the reason i even bring it up is not only the fact that i have this disorder, but to thank my friends and family whose relationship between them and myself have been affected by my mood swings.

most of my friends haven't been totally scared away, and i feel blessed with all the new friendships i'm forming with people.

i also want to thank Jesus, who has protected me from myself and in strange situations which could've really been bad. He is my rock.

King David, the famous psalmist, also had mood swings, from where he cried out to the Lord, "where are you?" and praised Him in the next psalm for annointing with oil.

hmm a man after Gods own heart, maybe there's hope for me yet.

combustable?

"Is cherry blossom lotion combustable?" the question breezed through my mind as i stepped out of the JCC sauna after a 1/2 hr work out in the pool. i smiled and decided this would be a topic to hash out on my blog.
no deep philosophies today (impish smile), but if they invade my head i may have to let my fingers do the talking.
First, to explain the question, a couple years ago, when i was shedding pounds and eating correctly, i made the wise choice of moving my, ahem, limbs- in a pool for excercise. this coupled with some walks about Salem and Marblehead, was a sucess. but the point of this is not the weight, it was the sauna.
many times after the 45 minute water jogging/aerobics, i would meet up with the russian jewish ladies in the sauna and "chew the fat"(at least the english parts of the conversation). the rules posted about the sauna mostly made sense to me, no water (it's a sauna, not a steamer), no pregnant women (what would it do to the fetus?), but when i read on to the no lotions, and found the rule was broken daily, i followed the herd. Rationalization being, "I'm only here for a few to 15 minutes, what does it hurt?"
no ephinaies here, tho in the end i concluded ( and proved) cherry blossom lotion does NOT explode in a sauna, i might not bring it in as often, maybe, just maybe, i'll learn to respect an establishment.

welcome to september...

i like September.

especially this one. beauty and coolness of the day beckons me to be out, to see the creation of God ready for the harvest. the apples taste mighty fine this time of year, as well as the cider and sauce made from them.

tho September does have it's reflective moments,such as 9/11,it still holds a sense of beauty and change.this september will not be like next years, it has the distinctness of being dry and unseasonably warm.

i find hope in the autumn, harvest, holidays(yom kippur and the other one that has slipped my mind, as well as labor day), and beginning to see the end of the year on the horizon.

i know the hymnst says "my hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus Christ and righteousness", but sometimes my hope is in the little things he over sees, like seasons and months and things that physically exist. i may be of little faith if i like to see proof of what i believe in, but taking pleasure in things of this world, in the beauty God sets in it, i will not listen to any shunning of that!

i haven't written in a bit

i haven't written a blog in a bit, probably cause i'm dissappointed with my last entry.
i don't know if anyone still reads this blog either, so i might be throwing up my hands and declaring "what's the point!?!?!"

on the other hand this is just a public journal of sorts, so i can abandon it and come back after a while and share with the world at large what's happend.

i don't know if i want to share...but i'll give some glimpses.

after fund raising and having doubts about going to the UK on the missions trip with the Gathering i went and had a pretty good experiance. i was really taught a lot about how to get a long with others and even if i feel on the outside of the groups within the small group to know that there isn't the concious effort of them to leave anyone out. also to relize i choose to be alone at times, and shouldn't blame anyone else for not understanding what i'm not vocalizing.

other than that i find we worked pretty well as a team. it was great seeing Trina and meeting her husband. it was great meeting the team at Y Gorlan. it was really cool to meet mike and jules. but despite all these great encounters i am kinda glad to be home.