ponderings...

Project 365: Jan. 12-19

2010-01-20T00:44:22Z

Jan. 12-19

13-19 are found in the Picasa album. I'm just too tired tonight to add all the photos here...

Project 365...

2010-01-12T02:46:12Z

January 8: Books I am reading (Bible and The Supper of the Lamb) and the Betrayal,I'm excited to read it next it's a book my high school English teacher wrote.

From Project 365

January 9: Date night!! Movie (Blind Side) and Dinner (Outback Steakhouse), It was a great night and one of the most official dates we've had in a long time.

From Project 365

January 10: "Trains" (Ticket to Ride) on a Sunday afternoon. I'm always red, Zack's always black "for intimidation purposes"

From Project 365

January 11:the candles I was given for Christmas. Pacifica and L'Occitane make the yummiest smelling candles!
(happy 6 months of marriage today Zack!)

From Project 365

Project 365...

2010-01-08T00:00:04Z

Jan. 5: making hummus after grocery store "date"

From Project 365

Jan. 6: The tasty results savored the next day

From Project 365

Jan. 7: Zack wanted today's photo to capture our cold snap, me trying to warm myself by our little space heater. It works so hard to heat our little home!

From Project 365

Project 365...

2010-01-05T03:36:14Z

January 3:

From Project 365

We made a "tunnel" for my nephew Sam after church.

January 4:

From Project 365

Zack got his hair cut before leaving his sister's house yesterday. It's become a tradition to cut his hair every time we visit them. :)

Project 365: days 1 and 2

2010-01-02T18:10:13Z

January 1, 2010:

From Project 365

Nephew Bennett, this boy never stops smiling :)

January 2:

From Project 365

Sam and I riding the "horsey" Zack.

The Johnsons now have a blog...

2009-12-05T16:05:18Z

For those of you who may not have seen the link of facebook, Zack and I have started a blog. Because it's a public blog, LJ will be a place for those things that I don't want the world to know. But the blog is pretty fun to put together and a nice place to put our photos, especially for family who are far away. If any of you have a blog, please send me the link so we can be bloggy friends! :)

Here it is folks: http://surprisedjoy.blogspot.com/

Love is...house cleaner?

2009-09-30T01:57:58Z

I believe I have fallen in love with a house cleaning product! Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Day has some amazing products and I found them on sale through drugstore.com ( http://www.drugstore.com/search/search_results.asp?N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=All&srchtree=1&Ntt=Mrs+myers&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 ) . My favorite scent is Lemon Verbena but I am sure all of the scents are wonderful. I actually enjoy cleaning with it! And afterwords the whole house smells so yummy. I highly recommend checking it out.

So that's all I wanted to say, now all you bloggy friends have a glimpse of the joy I have when cleaning my little beach home.

prayer request.

2009-09-23T23:39:45Z

Please take a moment to pray for our wonderful landlord's son, Hamilton. He was in a terrible car accident and they think there has been brain damage.

Thank you!

No sales tax in North Carolina through the weekend...

2009-08-07T21:06:24Z

Just to let you all know North Carolina is having a three day "tax holiday" on clothing, shoes and various back to school items and I was reading through the list of items and diapers was on it so if any of you are looking to add to your diaper stash go through a North Carolina company and save on the sales tax all through the weekend (Friday through Sunday).

Oh, also if you are looking to buy a new computer it is in the list of things that are tax free in North Carolina all through the weekend!

Hope someone benefits from this info!

Have a wonderful weekend all! I'm off to spend the evening doing something outside with my husband- maybe a bike ride of stand up paddleboarding!

Beautiful Wedding Prayer...

2009-07-20T23:32:16Z

This beautiful prayer was prayed at the end of our wedding ceremony and I love each and every word:

'O God of love, you have established marriage for the welfare and happiness of mankind. Yours was the plan, and only with you can we work it out with joy. You have said, “it is not good for a man to live alone. . . . I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now our joys are doubled, since the happiness of one is the happiness of the other; our burdens are halved, since, when we share them, we divide the load.

Bless this husband. Bless him as provider for the needs of those he loves. Sustain him in all his struggles in the contest of life. May his strength be her protection, his character be her joy and assurance. May he so live that she may find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Bless this loving wife. Give her a tenderness that makes her great . . . a deep sense of understanding and a great faith in You. Give her that inner beauty of soul that never fades, eternal youth that is found in holding fast to the things that never age. May she so live that he may be pleased always to reverence and adore her.

May they never make the mistake of merely living for each other. Teach them that marriage is not living for each other. It is two uniting and joining hands to serve You, the living God. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first the kingdom that is yours, and its righteousness, so that all other things may be added unto them. Loving you best, they shall love each other all the more. And faithful unto You, faithful unto each other they will remain.

May they not expect that perfection of each other that belongs alone to You. May they minimize each other’s weaknesses, be swift to praise and magnify each other’s strengths and beauty, and see each other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes. Give them a little something to forgive each day, that they may grow in the grace of long-suffering and love. And may they be forbearing with each other’s omissions and commissions as You are with theirs. Make such assignments to them according to Your will as will bless them and develop their character as they walk together. Give them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them humane, enough of failure to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours, and enough success to make them sure they belong to You. May they never take each other’s love for granted, but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims: “Out of all this world, you have chosen me!” Then when life is done, and the sun is setting, may they be found, then as now, still hand in hand, still so proud, thanking you so very much for each other. May they serve You happily, faithfully, together, until at least one shall lay the other in Your arms. This we ask through Jesus Christ, great lover of souls. Amen.'

(adapted by Dr. Ric Cannada)

Love...

2009-04-29T22:44:51Z

I REALLY love this man...

... and the best part is I get to become his wife in 72 days! How blessed am I!!!

THE DRESS!

2009-02-26T22:58:41Z

I found the dress of my dreams...

http://www.kittychencouture.com/bridal/2009/renaissance.html

Actually my mom found it... she know's my taste very well.

I'm so excited. I get to fly home to WA for one week to wedding plan from March 14-22 and we are going to the local shop that carries this dress. I CAN'T WAIT!!! :)

... Oh,. and I absolutely love the man I get to dress up for. Have I ever said that Zack is the very best of men?

bethy_joy @ 2009-01-31T05:39:00

2009-01-31T13:53:11Z

On January 4, 2008 I "met" Zack on the internet...
We emailed everyday for 4 months... him winning over my heart with every bit of his wonderful heart he shared through the written word...
In mid May he asked if he could call me on the phone...
in June he called my dad to talk with him...
on June 27 I boarded a flight to Virginia to spend the ten best days of my life to that point with Zack and his sister and her family on the Outer Banks of North Carolina...
On July 30 I was able to fly over for a long weekend...
On September 13 Zack flew into Seattle- Tacoma international airpost to spend a week with my family before...
I moved out to Waves, NC on September 30, 2008 where I had been offered a job and moved into a away house just streets away from the man who was winning my heart every day...
On September 29 Zack and I flew to WA to visit my family...
THEN...

...On January 30 at 11:00AM on the beach I grew up on having found 3 beautiful pots of orchids (favorite flower) waiting for me to find them, Andrew Zachary Johnson got down on one knee and made me the happiest woman alive by asking for my hand in marriage and we got to say I LOVE YOU for the first time in our lives to anyone!!!

I have never been happier nor known God's great love more than I do right now! :)

(...more details and photos to come!)

Thankful this Christmas time

2008-12-11T18:15:59Z

God is so GOOD. And I say it not refering to one thing or event but in general I have seen the hand of God at work in my life and, although I could list a few things that I would love right now- meeting Chrsitians close to Zack and my age, living closer to family...- life really is wonderful and God has provide for my needs in so many small and larger ways. Since I moved I have been on a much more limited budget because of change of pay and cost of living but God has always provided for each of my monetary needs and I have not gone hungry or without heat and a warm place to put my head to sleep each night. This has been such a blessing and a faith builder that I have seen God's hand at work in all of these ways. God provided that my electric bill would come a month late so that I had the funds to pay it, he also provided Zack and I with $230 air fares to fly home to WA to visit my family, and at our church primarily comprised of older peopel we have found a wonderful time of fellowshipping with "older saints" who have walked the Christian life for much longer than we and have so much great wisdom.

... on top of all of those ways, God has brought me the most wonderful man, Zack has been such an encouragement and godly leader, always saying the right thing at the right time, or going to my house to make me dinner when I'm not feeling well or just waking me up with a phone call so that we can walk on the beach together before work.

Ahhhh, I have so much to be thankful for!!! :)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5021376&l=77d05&id=756620220

Hello from Waves, NC!

2008-11-22T20:19:17Z

...In case you don't know yet, I am now a resident of Waves, North Carolina! As I don't have the patience for the long story here's the short one:

In early September I was offered the Human Resources position at a watersports company in this small town on the Outer Banks, which just so happens to be where my wonderful boyfriend, Zack, lives and works. If you haven't heard that whole, wonderful, story, we met via the internet in January and started dating in June and after a few trips of my flying over here to NC and him flying to Washington, with my parent's support, I wanted an adventure- to live in another part of the US, and it wouldn't hurt to live just a little closer to my man. It also worked out just so perfectly (God's hand at work!!) that the company he works at was looking for someone with HR expereince to take over for one of the wives of the owner of the company who was giving up that position to stay home with their baby. PERFECT timing on everything! God brought EVERY LITTLE detail together and now I live with another girl I work with in a little house up on stilts (yes, it's quite cool!) and just two streets from my wonderful boyfriend whom I now get to spend time with every day.

It has not been the easiest transition, there have been many moments of homesickness, some sickness, adjusting to a new job, not knowing any Christians in this new area, and overall just living in a different place than I have ever known. But, there have been many good things here as well- Zack and I love the water and spend as much of our free time in it- or on top of it I should say, and we have found a church that we like (although there doesn't seem to be anyone within 15 years of our age) and we are enjoying this sweet season of our relationship. God is good and we are trusting him with the future as we enjoy today. And what a beautiful day it is- I am LOVING living just a block from the beach and spending as much time as possible exploring the area with Zack.

And oh yes, loving this man more and more each day- he shows my what a godly man is in every conversation and every act! :)

Breaking news...

2008-07-19T14:43:50Z

God has brought THE most wonderful man into my life!!! Zack Johnson (love his name along with everything else about him! ;) ) is God's amazing gift to me and I'm so thankful that God has brought him into my life. I look forward to seeing what He has in store for us and am enjoying every step along the way...

I have a very long beautiful story to tell and will post it either today or tomorrow... I can't leave out any details so I want to write it out properly ;). Awww, I'm so happy!!!

Thoughts from a long car ride home :)

2007-12-29T08:59:36Z

The past couple of days spent up in the little bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA was a wonderfully relaxing time with the fam; we went cross-country skiing, ate yummy german food, went sledding, sat in the hot tub outside as we watched the snow fall on us (and the boys dared each other to all sorts of insame things like lay in the snow, roll three times in the snow, and step into the icy cold outdoor pool... awww boys...), we played board games, made new friends with other people staying at the lodge, read in front of the fire and over all soaked up the peace of two glorious days away to recover from the rush of the holidays and the list of "to dos" around the house. I enjoyed it very much :).
The long drive home made me think about several things not really having anything to do with the holidays or the past few days in Leavenworth. One of those things is how I am becomming more and more convinced and excited in the fact that the world we live in points to the God of the Bible. It is not so much that the Bible points out truths about the world- THOUGH THAT IS SO VERY TRUE- but also that the world points to the Creator God of the Bible. I can relate so much to this loving God because I see how everything in the world points to Him so say- this IS God! The fact that we long for relationships show that we were created to be in an ultimate relationship with the One who loves us more that we could ever know. The reason we love to spend time outside is because it shouts of the smallness of man and the Greatness of God. And this is a good thing- esp. when we realize that this Great God- pure in all His ways, gave us the dignity of taking on the form of a man for 33 years and died a painful death on OUR behalf. THAT is love. Also, that sin abounds and that we know it is not as things should be- that shows us how we long to be rid of sin and the pain that results from it. Even a non-believer knows it is wrong and so very painful when their spouse is unfaithful to them- even if they say that everything in the world is ralative and that there is no definate right and wrong. The world is crying out for the God that, I am eternally grateful, has shown Himself to me and has said "here I am, with Me is abundant life. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

bethy_joy @ 2007-12-22T10:40:00

2007-12-22T18:41:42Z

Fifty Questions...

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Fifty Questions...

('<lj-cuttext="behind the cut"1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
"Haha- THAT'S just not possible, I'm not the mother of Jesus."

2. Do you trust all of your friends?
Yes, I do believe so, they are my friends after all.

3. Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
Yes, i just might. That's the beauty of being single, I suppose.

4. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
Yes.

5. Can you make a dollar in change right now?
I think so but don't really feel like counting change.

6. Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
Hum...possibly Christina.

7. Are you afraid of falling in love?
I have had moments where I have felt that way, sometimes it's just hard to know when you should let yourself fall for someone and when you should hold back and wait.

9. Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times?
Haha- YES.

10. Whats your most favorite scar?
The scar below my lower lip- brings my back to our days of living at the beach house.

11. When was the last time you flew in a plane?
In March when I went to Peru :).

12. What did the last text message you sent say?
"That'd be great. The girls are still here. Good night!"

14. Fill in the blank. I love:
Settlers of Catan

15. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
Go through all of my clothes and get rid of half of them.

16. If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call?
Hopefully everyone I know would be rushing to see me when they heard I was waking up so I wouldn't have to hunt them down.

17. How many kids do you want to have?
Well, it's in God's hands but I think 4-5.

18. Would you make a good parent?
I sure hope so!!! I can't wait to be a mommy some day!

19. Where was your default picture taken?
on the ferry this summer.

20. Whats your middle name?
Joy.

21. Honestly, whats on your mind right now?
the fam, Settlers of Catan, dishes needing to be washed, feeling like IMing.

22. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
ha, well, there are a few things- I would go back and change my views on dating and not have kissed until my wedding day.

23. Who was or will be the maid of honor/ best man in your wedding?
The Maid of Honor will be a hard decision, I ave several close friends and two sisters so I'll have to decide when that time comes along. How have others done this???

24. What are you wearing right now?
pj pants and a white sweater.

25. Righty or Lefty?
Righty.

26. Best place to eat?
Indo Chine (Thai food :), Panera, The Harmon

28. Favorite animal?
Puppy dogs

29. Favorite juice?
Cherry or cherry- apple

30. Have you had the chicken pox?
Yup, I was one of the lucky few who get a couple when they are two, never remember having them and never get them again.

31. Have you had a sore throat?
Uh, yes.

32. Ever had a bar fight?
Nope. Hopefully I never will.<---- SAME

33. Who knows you the best?
My bro Peter, my dad, friends Joelle, Julie, Marissa.

34. Shoe size?
7 1/2.

35. Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?
I have glasses but I don't wear them as much as I should, I would like to get contacts but they can get expenseive.

36. Ever been in a fight with your pet?
Weird question, why would I do that???

37. Been to Mexico?
Nope, not yet.

38. Did you buy something today?
Not today but yesterday I did my some gifts for my family.

39. Did you get sick today?
No, I'm feeling quite well this fine day.

40. Do you miss someone today?
Yes, I sure do.

41. Did you get in a fight with someone today?
No.

42. When is the last time you had a massage?
Never, I would love one though!

43. Last person to lay in your bed?
Me, Myself and I

44. Last person to see you cry?
I'm really not surethe last time I cries or cries in front of someone. Hum, it may have been my mom.

45. Who made you cry?
I have no idea what the situation was.

46. What was the last TV show you watched?
Probably The Office online since I don't own a TV.

47. What are your plans for the weekend?
Bake some yummy food, do some laundry, go to me brothers house and play games with him, his wife, Jess, my other older bro Peter and a bunch of our friends. Tomorrow go to church and spend ime with the fam.

48. Who do you think will repost this?
I have no idea.

49. Who was the last person you hung out with?
Peter, his friend Patrick, and sibs Ethan, Jonathan, Monica and Juliana when we were playing Settlers of Catan last night.

50. If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say?
I would be quite surprised but I may just say YES!>)

Flowing Lake Triathlon results:

2007-09-20T19:22:09Z

So, the results are in... and I finished second in my age group... out of two, haha. I met my oal to finish under in under two hours though so I'm happy. It's a first after all so now I have a time to beat for the next one, which wont be till next summer. I really did have a great time doing it and am onig to get some friends to join me next summer. If you're up for it let me know, the more the merrier!

Female 20 to 24
Overall ------- Swim ------- T-1 ------- Bike ------- T-2 ------- Run ------- Total
Place Place Name Bib No Age Rnk Time Pace /Mile Time Rnk Time Rate /MPH Time Rnk Time Pace /Mile Time
1 56 Christina Dettmer 86 22 1 9:01.8 36:04 1:31.4 1 53:36.4 15.7 0:28.4 1 14:46.6 7:34 1:19:24.6
2 150 Bethany Rowan 87 23 2 13:25.0 53:40 3:55.4 2 1:21:37.7 10.3 0:44.4 2 19:57.3 10:14 1:59:39.8

(Notice my overall place- 150 out of around 200! Oh, well, there's always next year!)

Saturday I'm participating in a 10K race to raise money for the Crisis Pregnancy Center to buy ultrasound equipment. It shall be super fun! And the best cause too! After that I'm done with racing for the year. The racing season is coming to a close and I'm not as modivated to race as I am in the summer. THe fall weather makes me want to do slower activities like rock climbing and trai running and spending time with friends in cozy coffee shops. I'm not quite ready for fall and cooler weather since we had such a cool summer but there is something about the smells and activities of fall; like pumkin pie baking, corn mazes, fairs and smelly candles that make it a little better to accept. Once October starts I'm sure I'll be ready.

bethy_joy @ 2007-09-13T17:04:00

2007-09-14T00:18:24Z

I am back in the world of Livejournal. This past week I've not really been on the computer at all as I've been spending a lot of my free time either at the climbing gym or actually out climbing in the great outdoors with some friends. Yes, for the first time I got to go climbing ourside on real rock on Saturday and love it! I met some great people at the gym and have gone climbing three times since Saturday. We went after church on Sunday and has quite the grand adventure finding Bob's Area- the wall that we had planned on climbing. On the long hike there we managed to pass our turn off and hike an extra 30 minutes out of the way and I had the experience of stepping on a yellow jackets nest that was along the trail and getting 6 stings! Nasty, nasty bees! I learned the lesson of the meaning of the word pain for the next two days! AND one of the stings swelled up a lot and started spreading a red rash up my arm so a few ladies at work sent me to the local Urgent Care- I waited for an hour only to find that I had a localized reaction- different than an allergic reaction- and all I could do was take benadryl, which is actually good news- no infection, but I had leaving work in the middle of the day.
Well the good thing is that I still had a great time climbing that day AND lead a climb for the first time. Meaning that I climbed the route for the first time and tied the rope at the top for the others to top rope the climb after me. I was super nervous, but it was exciting at the same time.
And now my attention is focused on the triathlon. SATURDAY!!! I can't believe it's already come! I'm glad I signed up a month ao because I probably would have backed out as my entheusiasm has gone more towards other things as the triathlon season is coming to an end. But, it will be fun, and I think I'll be glad that I did it at the end.
Other news, my baby sister is thirteen as of yesterday! Where did the time go?! Happy birthday Juliana!

September 15 and Piper books!!!

2007-08-25T04:47:37Z

Well folks, I've done it- I've forked over a large sum of money so that I can torture myself by swimming, biking and then running- I thought that combining three races into one would be fun. We'll see if I still think that way on the evening on September 15. Yup, race day is three weeks away, I'm slightly terrified by the very thought. But, I'm sure that the the thrill of having finished the race (God willing I wont be the last one...) will hopefully be worth it. If you can't tell I'm super excited about it all.

Also, my books from the Desiring God sale arrived at last!!! I bought 9, because who can resist books being sold for 5 bucks each?! I bought Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, The Dangerous Duty of Delight, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, Don't Waste Your Life, Desiring God, When I Don't Desire God, 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die and Taste and See. I'm super excited to read them all :D!

bethy_joy @ 2007-08-22T17:12:00

2007-08-23T00:33:25Z

Whew! These past few weeks have been great- crazy. My older bro brought the girlfriend home to meet the fam and she stayed with me (in the apt. across the lawn, we spend most of our waking hours oer at the "big house" with the fam). I heart her! I hope my brother is smart enough to not let her get away. I think she is just great or him. I love er sensef humor too, we get along great, we are both fairly honest/blunt people (her maybe a little more so than I) and has some great conversations late into the night.

I took a few days off to travel down to the Oregon coast where my family had rented a condo for a few days. With the size of my fam it's always better to go for a condo rather than a hotel and this one had a great location- right over looking the beach with the cutest little coastal town a few blocks away. I'm only bummed that I wasn't able to take any photos since my camera's battery was dead- bad planning on my part ;(. Ce la vie!

Marie left on Friday but my brother is still here and leaves to go back to St. Louis tomorrow morning, we've gotten to spend a lot of time together and it's been great, but I miss him a lot when he's away so it'll be sad to have to say good bye tonight.

Many ideas have been running through my mind recently and I think that this next year will be one in which I'll be having to make some decisions about my future. I think it will be exciting but also a going out into the unknown and taking some chances. But, I'm glad for the fact that God desires us to pursue our desires when they are within His will, that He does not want us to just plow along in life doing something that we feel is just necessary and not necessarily enjoyable. He gives us opportunities to do things that we enjoy and that bring us satisfaction, even though sometimes the answer from Him is that we stay put in the challenging circumstance that we may be in so that we learn to rely on His strength to go from day to day and not our own. Yup, that's something I'm learning because even though this road that God may take me down is exciting there is much that will have fall into place for it to all become a reality. Why is waiting such a difficut thing? Because we'll enjoy the end result much more after we've gone through the waiting period. Oh, yeah, that's right.

Trail run in the woods

2007-07-24T04:57:06Z

Tonight I went for what I had planned to be a trail run. I love the island I call home and getting out in the woods always makes me happy. But this run turned into a walk just talking with the Lord- such a sweet time including a few tears that needed to be let out. But, really just plain being honest before God. I think often lately it has been hard with so much going on to just be still before God and I really don't want my life to get to that point. I like to be busy and I like new challenges but I also have been learning (way too slowly!) that I need to make the time to be quiet before the Lord so that I don't miss what He wants to teach me. Because people- I've got SO much to learn!

Recently I've taken up running and am trying to get into biking- all of this to hopefully accomplish a life goal that I've had for long time to finish a triathlon in late August or mid September but tonight as I was walking and talking with my Lord I realized that this all means nothing if I'm doing it for my own satisfaction, I really need to be doing it all- the training, the racing and the finishing to His glory- if I don't focus on that, it's all for my selfish pride. When I run- when I do anything good in life- I want to do what Jim Elliot once said- to "Live to the hilt in all that I believe to be the will of God". Anything short of that is not worthy of the cross. I want to live a life that I don't look back upon with many regrets. But, I am such a sinner and an reminded constantly of my need for Christ's grace. It's a very good thing for me to be reminded of the fact that all of my life rests in God's mighty hands. I need that reminder every day. Anyone up for a trail run tomorrow?

Am I crazy or Am I crazy?!

2007-07-17T20:04:47Z

I'm going to do a triathlon at the end of August- or at least that's the goal right now. I've put a deadline on myself to make a firm decision by the end of July and sign up at that time if it's a go. This all stemmed from watching one this weekend- it was amazing and I got to thinking "I know how to swim (taught swimming for 5 summers), I could bike those 14 miles with some training and the run would be no problem at all (I've gotten into running this year and just finished my second race on Saturday). So, yup- I'm super excited and terrified at the same time but it's been one of my life goals for some time to do a triathlon and I just need to bit the bullet and do it. So, I've got my next six weeks or so cut out for me- training, training, training! Aw, should be fun ;)

Piper book sale and a jaunt in the woods...

2007-06-29T07:59:24Z

I just bought a whopping 9 John Piper books at desiringgod.com! At $5 each I couldn't resist! So many of them were books I've seen and wanted to but and read but didn't have $20 lying around to spend on it- you have no idea how excited I am! Including shipping it all it came out to $55.77!!!

I leave in the morning to go hiking for the next three days. I've done over night hiking trips but never two nighters- it'll be fun. I like facing new challenges and this sure will be one. The forecast is calling for rain tomorrow and sun the next two days but we are determined to head out tomorrow-nature is calling and the gear is packed- nothing will deter us! My mom asked where we are going and since I am not the one who chose the hike I called us my friend Sarah who is the leader of the pack along with her boyfriend (the group will be my two good girl frinds, Marissa and Sarah- who are also cousins- and two guys, so we'll have the four-man tent for us gals and the guys will share the two-man) so I foun out the the place is called Bear Cove- I'm feeling so at ease *cough* to hear that that OUR abode for the next few days is the name of such a large mammal dwelling.

But, I am so glad to be getting out side and away from the office! There's nothing like a ramble in the great outdoors to lift my spirit.