The Eternal is known to belike a sturdy watchtower; those who do right flee to Him for protection. Proverbs 18:10 (VOICE)
Welcome to Friday!
Welcome to Friday and welcome to the thrilling and exciting conclusion to another week. I hope that you are braced, and filled with anticipation for the joy that will be coming your way this weekend. How was your week? How did things go for you and your family this week? How are you doing and how are you feeling this week?
I pray that things are going well for you this week and that you are doing very well and that you are feeling even better. As the author of 3 John 1:2 says, " I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
So, every day this week the kids and I were on this amazing and hopeful winter weather watch. We were all waiting for the snow, or waiting for a phone call announcing that schools were closed or delayed. In the end, no such luck - as the kids said. We did have some snow flurries on Monday morning. Just as we stepped out to head to school the snow, sleet and rain began. After about 30 minutes of driving to work, I was confident that I would hear the schools call to announce a closing. However, after another 15 minutes the snow and freezing rain had dissipated. In the end all I managed to get was just rain. In the office everyone was discussing the cold and the lack of snow until a conference call with a co-worker in Rhode Island put it all in perspective. He calmly said, "Its -7 here today, without the windchill." On Wednesday night we were seeing the same predictions of winter warnings and a winter storm warning. In fact I had a drive home through all of the winter weather mix. At the office we had cold rain, then it moved to freezing rain, then sleet, and finally as I approached the house there was snow. Alas, it did not continue. There would be no making of snow angels, snowballs or snowmen like Olaf. Did you get snow at your house? Were you caught up in the cold and somewhat unpredictable weather?
Besides being disappointed about the snow, this was a fantastic week. The girls are doing well and they handled the disappointment pretty well. The older two really wanted a day off from school. I really wanted a day at home from work, but it turned out for the very best. The house is bustling with a number of things. Everything from picking out prom dresses, to picking up interim report cards. The girls did well on interim report cards for the most part. A few people could use a little bit of improvement in Spanish, Math, and History. I know they are going to do well by the time report cards come out. The work isn't too hard for them, its all a matter of habits, practice, focus and application. I guess the same applies for me as well - even though I don't get an interim report card I will be getting a midterm evaluation next week.
Trish is working on another beautiful photo album and today we are going to spend sometime together celebrating her upcoming birthday. I took the day off and it has been a blessing for me, so I hope Trish enjoys it as well. I was able to surprise her for a change by keeping my vacation secret and returning home to surprise her with coffee. It is so hard to surprise Trish. She either finds out about me taking off ahead of time, or she make other plans and isn't home when I return. I can remember one time when I came up with this elaborate breakfast and flowers plan. I waited until the coast was clear, circled back to the house and began to clean up and setup the kitchen. I rushed around and around and did everything to get my surprise ready before she returned from dropping off the girls at school. After about 30 minutes I realized that Trish should have been back by now. So, I tried to call without giving anything away. "I'm at the mall," she said. That plan busted. Luckily for me, I timed it right this time and she was still at home and very surprised. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, but with a group of kids and their social calendars I figured today could be our day and tomorrow we can celebrate in the midst of the weekend chaos.
Besides surprising Trish, I also surprised Ava and Emma. They wasted no time helping me enjoy my time off. We've already played hide and seek, talked up a storm, chased each other around, had breakfast and enjoyed snack time. Emma is well aware that we share a common love for food so anytime I near the kitchen she usually draws near. She was probably disappointed most of the morning, because I was cleaning up instead of cooking. But at snack time I restored her faith in our common bond by sharing my snack with her.
I hope you enjoy your day and that you have a wonderful and absolutely amazing weekend. As always, may God bring you showers of blessings, fill you with joy, and pour out his grace upon you and your loved ones.
My blessings and joy include:
- A 2 hour delay for schools on Wednesday morning
- Being able to take Friday off from work and getting my work items done in time so I can enjoy it.
- Being a part of an amazing family
- Loving parents and siblings
- Extended family who called and emailed this week to share laughs or good news
- Friends, especially those who remind me what "real" cold feels like
- Trish and her upcoming birthday
- Having a babysitter so I can take Trish to lunch
- Handling losing three games of basketball this week without getting angry
- Well - not very angry, mostly disappointed
- Enjoying time with Cassarra and Gabbi at Denny's on Tuesday night
- Pizza night - 6 words
- Hot bacon wrapped deep dish
- Awesome
- The pizza was worth the extra time on the treadmill
- Sydney and Paige being excited to see me after work on Thursday
- Ava and Emma playing hide and seek
- Sleeping late on Wednesday morning and Ava and Emma sleeping late too
- Sunday school class with the youth
- We talked about the dirtiest jobs and being a servant
- The kids were funny and very engaged
- A busy, but quick work week
- Working on a new devotional
- Pictures from places with real snow
- Laughter and lots of it
- Reading with Ava and Emma under the bed at bedtime
- It started off as me hiding from them
- Of course Emma found me quickly, because she was trying to hide under the bed from me
- Ava nearly had a fit b/c she thought I had skipped out on the bedtime story
- Church family
- The many people who help us keep Ava and Emma occupied
- Especially for the goodie bag of books, plush toys, and candy
- Learning some neat tricks with computers this week
- A new programming language
- Some new shortcuts for routine tasks (copy, paste, and startup)
Welcome to Friday!
Divine Healer, grant us renewed health, strength, and joy.
Loving Creator, help us to feel your love and your goodness.
Eternal KIng lead us in the ways of justice, mercy and grace.
Gracious Shepherd, watch over us and protect us.
Dear God, bless us beyond our imagination and comprehension because you alone are wonderful!
--- Cassius Rhue
"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'" (Job 28:28)Love is irresistible, irrefutable, undeniable. Nothing rises to it. The dark side of our character has no weapon against it. It's our trump card. - Jim Daly
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