Well, the weekend conference went fairly well, although extremely busy! But I survived, with the help of several of my friends. We did get to spend some "quality time" folding (and throwing!) sheets in the Laundry Room. Monday and Tuesday I was totally wiped out, but I'm starting to recover now. Or at least, I would be if I would quit staying up until all hours of the night. ;) 

Today I found out (once again) that two-year-olds can be challenging. One of the kids I had at AWANA tonight decided he did not want his mom out of his sight. For about ten minutes he cried because she was gone. Then I was able to distract him with bubbles. An interesting thought occurred to me... I'm a lot like that two-year-old! If something (or someone) is "taken away" from me, I tend to complain until I'm distracted by something else. Which led me to wonder... wouldn't life be better if every time I got frustrated by something I focused instead on helping someone else? It would serve two purposes: getting my focus off of me, and allowing me to share the joy of the Lord with others. Which then leads to the problem that in order to share my Savior's joy, I have to have it! That stresses the importance of my quiet time in the mornings - it's my time to dip into the well of my Lord's grace and strength and joy. 

Well, that bounced around from thing to thing, but that is just how my brain works. ;) Another Mt. Nebo picture for you! 

This is my dad, oldest niece, and oldest nephew standing at the edge of a forty or fifty foot drop. This almost made me nervous for the kiddos, but I knew Dad was keeping an eye on them... thankfully!!

The next two days are going to be crazy. I am on Custodial for a conference happening here. As I was working to prepare today, people switched things up on me, stuff got moved where it shouldn't be, and I generally got overwhelmed. As I was struggling my way through the day, I was about ready to get really mad at the world in general. However, things that several of my friends said reminded me to just roll with it and be flexible. I also realized that I was trying to do everything in my strength, instead of God's. Sometimes it's so hard for me to let go and realize that He is in control, even if my world seems like it gets flipped upside down. 

So that was really scattered and weird, but that's pretty much how my day has gone. Prayers for the weekend would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 

Oh, and as a random extra, here's a picture from my trip to Mt. Nebo! =)

I just spent a four-day weekend at Mt. Nebo State Park in Arkansas. It was a very enjoyable time of hiking, watching sunrises and sunsets, and spending time with my family. The best part was yesterday. My brother, sister-in-law, a niece and nephew and I had been hiking. We had been on a rather steep uphill climb for quite a while. Finally it levelled out. There was a point (called Lover's Leap) that was a sheer cliff with an amazing view. We were standing there contemplating the gorgeous landscape when we heard something through the stillness. Listening a little closer, it was discovered that someone on a neighboring mountain peak was playing an Indian flute. It was amazing to stand there listening to the quiet strains of a song. That was one of the most enjoyable parts of my weekend. Another was exploring the ruins of several buildings that the Civilian Conservation Corps had built in the 1930s. I like learning history through things like that, rather than out of a book.

On a half-hour drive tonight, I realized (again) how easy it is to take joy in the simple things. After a slightly stressful night at a job I have trouble enjoying, I was driving home with a niece, two nephews, and a friend of mine. My nephews asked my friend to tell them a train story. Which he proceeded to do. However, the thing that was great about it was the fact that even though he is quite a bit older than them, he enjoyed the process of telling the story, and embellishing it with hilarious additions. Anyhow. All that to say - Take pleasure in small things!

Well, this is my first post! I'm not sure how well I'll do at blogging, so I apologize now if there are large gaps of time between my posts!

I never thought I'd do a blog, but then I realized that it such a neat way to be able to share my thoughts on things. You may not be interested in my thoughts, but if you are, they're here! =)