Thankfulness

This week I think God has been causing me to realize just how much I have to be thankful for. And I guess that is what tomorrow is all about - giving thanks to God for what we have. I am just in awe of how much God has given me in my life, and how faithfully He provides.

I feel like this week in particular, God has been directing my steps and my interactions with people. Several examples of "coincidences" which I think are not all that coincidental. I won't go into them all, but I am just so thankful that God sometimes gives us glimpses of how much He cares about the little (and big) things in life.

As I think about all of this, though, I recognize the need I have to be constantly seeking Him for his guidance. With thinking about grad school, career decisions, and just generally how to best make use of the time on earth God has given me, I realize that I can never do this on my own. So lastly, I am thankful that my life truly is in His hands and not my own...

Exhaustion

We have returned from our college trip with the teens. And now I sit here exhausted! My eyes are drooping, my muscles ache, and the thought of my head on pillow is enticing. So that is where I will head very soon!

I just wanted to take a moment to write about our trip. We spent 6 days and 5 nights with 4 students visiting 4 different colleges and universities. It was an extremely fun, educational, and enjoyable trip. We did have a few detours on the way to PA, and then on the way back up to Mass we ran into major traffic, but God kept us so safe! We saw 12 deer total - 9 dead and 3 alive. So we're thankful that we didn't hit any. Plus, with the way people drive in NJ, we're really thankful we're alive!

Well all of the kids seemed to enjoy the trip and they all had the chance to learn about the different options available in this region. We had a rating system for all of our stops, including the colleges. Plus, we videotaped a lot so that hopefully we can go back and remember some of what we saw. That might help the students and their parents get to see what is available to them at the various schools.

Overall, I was inspired as well as grateful during this trip. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend Gordon College, which is one of the ones we visited. I absolutely loved my time there and believe that God led me there. I was also inspired to continue to seek God's will for my life, especially when it comes to continuing my own education. I have been praying for some time and am now seriously considering working towards my Masters if that is what God wants.

Also, although we had a lot of teasing about what college is better, etc, I know that God can use a variety of places to shape and mold each person and it doesn't always matter where you are but rather your attitude and pursuit of God while you are there. So my prayer is that each of the students would have gained some insight into the college game and be willing to pursue whatever God leads them to do.

Road Trip

Well we finally arrived at Kevin and Amy's in PA. We drove all day yesterday and it took 11 hours. We had a couple detours - once when Scott was driving (I gave correct directions but he missed the turn) and once when I was driving (he gave wrong directions and I followed them). But other than that, we had good weather and no major traffic jams. During our drive, our teens came up with a great game: Rate the Reststop! At every place we stop during our trip, we are coming up with ratings for the categories of Restrooms, Environment, Food, and Service. It is quite entertaining. So far, I think that Kev and Amy have the highest overall rating.

Anyway, today we visited Kev and Amy's church and it was tons of fun. Then we ate at Bertucci's, which was delicious. I still feel full 4 hours later! Well I have been helping Amy fix her blog so definitely check it out!

Nothing in particular

Well I just got done watching Lost and now I'm sitting here thinking I should blog. The problem is, I can't think of anything interesting to blog about. So I guess I'll just write a little about what's been going on lately.

On Oct. 28th, I held a scrapbooking fundraiser for Tommy. It was a great success, raising $330 for his wheelchair accessible van. That was a lot of fun and I was excited to see how many people came together to support Tommy!

Last week was a horror at work... just seemed like I was grumpy and then everything seemed to go wrong. I'm not sure how much was my own attitude and perspective, and how much of it was really things going wrong. Anyway, Saturday night was a welcome break from all the chaos.

On Tuesday Scott and I got a lot done on Tuesday around the outside of our house. We prepped for winter, putting away junk and trash. Scott mowed most of the lawn and I mulched some over my flower beds. It's nice to see how things look now. There's always more to do, but it looks much better!

Well, on Saturday we leave for the college trip... We're driving to PA with 4 college-bound high school students. It should be tons of fun since it's a small group and colleges are fun. And of course, we're visiting my alma mater. Plus, we get to see our wonderful friends Kev and Amy, and my lovely sister and her husband. Woohoo!

I guess I'm off. Scott is watching "CSI:NY" and it's about paintball, so I think he's really into it.