Friends

I went to bed last night thinking about how cool it is that people flow in and out of your life a lot like water. Some people come and hang around like a pond and some flow in and out like a creek and then others come in and leave sort of like a leaky faucet.

I think people are put in our paths for reasons. God seems to know who we need in our lives at particular moments. I always hate saying goodbye to friends that leave. I thought of Eric and Jennifer Willis and how hard it was to see them leave Monticello and then JB and Amy Duncan and the fact that I am still in denial over them leaving. I thought of old friends like Mike and Kim Harton and how we never get to spend time with them any more and all the other people that I love to hang out with but never seem to have the time to see. I thought a lot about Ronny and Brandy and how much there friendship means to me and Doug and that if they ever decide to leave town we are going with them. I thought of Wade and Samantha and how I want to be like them when I grow up.

Then I thought about new friends that we have made lately and are in the process of making. Jenny and Jason, Mike and Shelly, Ryan and Misty....it is just cool to get to know people and know that you can count on them as friends. There are many others that I don't have time to mention so if you are reading this and are not sure whether you made my list just ask me. :-)

Doug and I are so blessed to have so many people that love us. I'm not sure why....but I am glad that they do.

Worlds Worst Blogger Award Goes to.....

Ok...so maybe I am not the worlds best blogger. I only post every few months. I hardly ever have anything profound to say. I am a lurker and hardly ever post comments on other peoples blogs....I know...I know....all you professional bloggers hate my type. I know I will never be a daily, weekly or even monthly poster and I will surely never have 10 websites and blogs going that I post to three times a day but I do like to check in ever now and again just to keep people curious as to whether I am still kicking. And the answer to that is yes...I am still kicking high.

Life is good. I am going back to work tomorrow after a 10 day-much needed vacation. Although I didn't get a lot of the things accomplished that I had wanted to do that is fine. I never get a lot accomplished anyway so why should I change my pattern now.

I got to spend a little time at Journey's new building this week watching everyone work. I can truly say that I go to church with some amazing people. Seeing a group of people transform an older, outdated church facility and turn it in to a beautiful place to worship was so cool. Our first service was so good. As usual I didn't want it to end. I think Journey is the only church I have ever attended that I never look at my watch. Not only could I sit and listen to Jeff talk for hours I could listen to Amy Duncan sing for days. What an exceptional talent that girl has. She is amazing to me....and I love her very much. She is and always will be one of my dearest friends.

I also got to spend extra time with family this week. That is always a good thing. My sisters and brother have so much fun together. We always laugh and laugh and laugh....other than eating that is what we do best. I wish every one could experience a close relationship with their siblings....it is a great joy to share good times with sisters and brothers.

Ok...maybe that will be enough to keep me on the blog circuit for a while longer. Remember....I am lurking.....

Complaining

Ok...so I can't seem to do a daily, weekly or monthly post....maybe I will try for a quarterly post. I can't believe it was January when I last posted something. Time is flying so quickly. I can hardly believe that I will be 45 years old in just a couple of weeks. Only yesterday I was.....oh well I could rattle on for hours about the past but I want to look ahead to the future. God has been so good to me and for that I am so thankful. I have a life that most people just dream about. I have my health, a husband that adores me, a great job, a wonderful family, friends galore, a good dog, my bills are paid, my pantries are full.....my cup runneth over. Life is so good. I am not naive enough to think that it will always be this way. I know with time health fades, friends move on, family dies, your dog dies, you can lose your job, etc, etc, etc.....but I do know that God is my provider. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will be with me always. This is His promise to me. I want to spend the rest of my life giving Him thanks and praising Him for what He has already given me. If my life were to end tomorrow I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that will I spend eternity with Him. Thank you Jesus for that peace of mind.

Wow...not sure where all of that came from....definitely not what I intended to write about when I sat down. When I opened this window up I wanted to post on complaining. I ran across a web site where a church in Kansas City, MO has started giving away bracelets and the goal is for you to keep the bracelet on your arm for 21 days without complaining. If you mess up and complain you have to switch the bracelet to the other arm and start over. I really love this idea. I have ordered some bracelets and can't wait for them to come in so I can share them with some people in my life. (If I give you one that doesn't mean I think you are a complainer....or does it...lol) I think so many times people complain and they don't even realize it. This is actually a test for my self....I don't think I complain a lot but nobody ever thinks they do anything wrong....I want to test it out and see just how much complaining I actually do.

So with all of that said if you see me in the near future and I have a purple braclet on my arm and you hear me complaining about anything please point it out to me. BTW the link to the church I mentioned above is http://ccunitykc.org/

To blog or not to blog....that is the question

I swear I do not understand how people have time to keep a blog up. I have been sitting for the past hour looking through all the links of my friends and family blogs that I have and I amazed at all of the content on them. Does anybody else out there have a job? Oh well...I will at least try to catch up on some events in my life so I don't get cut from the blog circuit.

Things are really hopping around the Harton household. I am still in the weight loss phase of my life. I have taken a slightly new direction in weight loss though. I am trying this amazing thing called exercise. All of last year was spent learning new eating habits and doing a lot of fasting. This did manage to teach me a little control. I am eating much better....not always 100% healthy but so much better than in the past that I feel like it is healthy. I have a great friend who is helping me with an exercise plan. She comes to my house a couple of times a week and works with me. I can't begin to tell you how great that is for me. I have no motivation on my own but if I have someone there cracking the whip then I don't mind actually exercising. So we will see what 2007 holds. I lost a total of 41 lbs. in 2006 with no exercise so I am looking for a huge loss in 2007.

Doug and I are in the midst of becoming debt free. We are meeting with a group of committed christian friends that want more out of life than living with the man's hand around our throat for the rest of our lives. We are reading some great books and holding each other accountable for our spending. Meeting with other couples that are in the same boat we are in is huge. It makes you aware of the pain that being in debt can cause. We are so excited about this area of our lives. God has blessed so much. I will try to post more on this later.

Our jobs are going great. My job is a non-stop roller coster ride but I love it. I can truly say I never get bored. Doug is staying very busy surveying. This is another area of our lives that we are so blessed in. God has put some great people in our paths.

Well it is almost time for church so I better get up and get busy. I am going to post more on this blog thing even if it kills me. See you in the blogosphere!

Love it....

An archeological team, digging in Washington DC,
has uncovered 2,000 year old bones and fossil remains
of what is believed to be the world's first Democrat.

Facing the Giants

Doug and I saw Facing the Giants this afternoon. It was fantastic. If you haven't don't know what this movie is about I am inserting the bio.

From the award-winning producers of FLYWHEEL comes a new, action-packed, family-friendly drama about a high school football coach who draws up a new game plan for his team … and himself.
In his six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never had a winning season. Even the hope of a new season is squelched when the best player on his Shiloh Eagles decides to transfer schools. After losing their first three games of the season, the coach discovers a group of fathers are plotting to have him fired. Combined with pressures at home, Coach Taylor has lost hope in his battle against fear and failure.
However, an unexpected challenge helps him find a purpose bigger than just victories. Daring to trust God to do the impossible, Coach Taylor and the Eagles discover how faith plays out on the field … and off.
With God, all things are possible …

This is a great movie to take your kids to. I hope we see more movies like this in the future. You can visit this link to see clips from the movie. www.facingthegiants.com I can't say enough good stuff about this film. Very much worth the effort to go and see.

Sorry

This is how I feel about not blogging more often.