FRIDAY!!!

Fridays tend to be a little crazy at my office.  It's not that it is unusually busy, but there are always the strange illnesses or diseases that come in on Friday afternoon.  I always go home with my brain hurting!
Today has been no exception! I am currently in my last hour of work and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Ha. Hopefully we are winding down. (by the way it dropped before I even finished writing and posting)
This weekend we will be packing and getting all of our stuff together for our ski trip. Only one day of work next week and then four vacation days.  The girls are staying at my parent's house, where they will be spoiled and fattened up with table scraps. I am praying that they do not escape. That's a thought I can't even begin to think about.  Anyone who knows what kind of devastation we felt when Daisy was on the loose knows that I can't go through that again.  But Jesus brought that little runaway home. Wow! We really did some praying over that dog.  Those girls are our children. They let us sleep in their bed(wink) and they eat our food. So I will miss them terribly while we are gone.  Our standing joke is for Neil to say, "Do you think your dog will be happy to see you?" and I say, "Yes." And do you know what? They always are happy to see us. That's what makes them so great, they jump up into the air and bark and wag their tails and lick us when we come home. It doesn't matter if we are gone 5 minutes or 5 days. It's great!
I plan to post while we are gone but it won't be long because I will have to do it over my phone I think.  I should be able to get some nice photos. I am bringing my "fancy" camera, a Canon with a zoom lens. I am hoping I will be able to post some shots that illustrate my husbands skiing abilities.  I can't really begin to tell you about what a maniac he is on the slopes, however I will add that he learned from You-tube.  That should say it all…ok well I will also say that he has NEVER used a wedge.  Now that should say it all.  I will either be photographing him from the bottom of the slope or from the ski lift. I prefer to take the blue slopes and do the same one over and over…slowly.  That's just how I roll. I'd rather go slow and not fall than fly down the mountain full speed and break my neck.
This weekend I am working on a long post with my testimony and another big event that happened in my life that was a huge faith builder and struggle. I hope to get that posted before next week.
Anyway, I get a daily email from KLOVE with a Bible verse and I liked the one for today. I wanted to include it.
"So let us come boldly to the throne of our GRACIOUS God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find GRACE to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4:16
Here's my two cents: It is SO true! How gracious He is! Our perfect, holy GOD allows us to come to Him…to His throne and make requests. I mentioned this week that I was really convicted about thanking and praising Him in addition to asking for things. I feel like I have had a great deal of peace in my heart over that since I have begun practicing it.  Can I be honest? Praying is tough for me…I know it should be easy, people say just talk to Him like a friend.  I have to concentrate on my prayers. I either fall asleep because I am lying in bed at midnight deciding to pray or I become distracted or I am too busy asking for things to hear Him talking to me.  I know it's wrong but I can't get out of that habit.  This week I made it a resolution to talk to Him and THANK Him before I asked for anything and guess what…every night I made it through all the way without falling asleep.  I have tears in my eyes while I am typing, because I realize how wrong I have been.  I wanted to do better. Not because I thought I would get something out of it, but because I believed it was what He wanted me to do.  And then something cool happened…I did get something out of it.  I learned HOW to pray and I feel like He can hear me when I go to His throne with the right attitude.  The cool thing is that's when I pray the right way---I can feel that grace through His willingness to listen to me even though I am a sinner and I don't deserve it. We are blessed that the God of the universe allows us to come before Him and it is only through His GRACE that it is so.