November: Done

* I worked the Rock & Worship Roadshow - and had my first experience with a LOUD concert. :) Had fun though!

* Conducted my first interview on the air - with Tresha from the Cherished Moments Craft Hideaway. I was so nervous but didn't do to terrible job, so I was excited about that!

* Worked the Phillips, Craig and Dean concert - which was not only much fun, but very faith-boosting. The crowd raised $10,000 that night for a military outreach. Had no idea they would come through in SUCH a big way!

* Started doing Beth Moore's Breaking Free book with Olivia. Love being back in a regular study with her!

* Got to be a guest on Mid-Morning for the Author! Author! show again - bringing me full circle with my trip to the show last year!

* Had the chance to go out to eat a few times with my co-workers. They're a great bunch of friends outside of work too - and I count that a gift. They even introduced me to new (to me) restaurants - like Qdoba and Smokey Bones.

*Went to my first ever football game with Phats and Cara - the Purdue/Iowa game. Purdue lost, but I had fun anyway and now feel one step closer to "arriving" now that I've been to a real game.

* Flew to Kansas for Thanksgiving and had all sorts of adventures, including going to a real live soda fountain, walking Cassie's dog, riding a bike for the first time since I was a kid, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, "playing golf," and getting to see Greensburg in a much more rebuilt state than it was last time I was there!

* Had Pancakes with the Princess on the Road with the family while I was in Kansas.

* Worked the David Phelps concert and got to introduce him in my stage debut for the station. (GULP!!!)

* Began the task (sigh) of packing a bag to keep in my car in case I get stuck in Fort Wayne due to bad weather - which did indeed happen just last night! Simultaneously kicked up the prayers for my house to sell.

Stone Altar: End of November

Hangin' in Greensburg

I had THE most fun at my sister's house! Want to see what I did while I was gone?

The Blackburn B&B was pretty comfy!! Woke up to this pretty cute sight...
The first day I was there, Lori and I took a little walking tour of town. We stopped by the library to see Miss Cassie (who was thrilled to be photographed)!
And then we went to the soda fountain. It was so stinkin' cool. They mixed up a chocolate coke for me and it was very very yummy.

Taking a stroll on the rooftop gardens. Fun way to see the town!

And I got to play with Cassie's dog, Murphy. Oh my goodness. How much do I want a dog now?

Wednesday morning, Lori and I took another walking tour. She likes it when she's taller. (She's not in real life.)

Then we went to the church to help decorate. Lori was in a Where's Waldo sort of mood:

My tree. (Object in photo is not as wide as she appears.)

The new church! I hadn't seen it since it's been finished. But wow...what an improvement from the days of beams scattered across the yard...

Lori and Jeff's new house is not in the same place as the old one...but the old garage is still there. Well. Sort of. Minus the roof and the walls.

Thought I'd sit in their old living room to watch some TV.

It was GORGEOUS out there, so Lori and I took Murphy for a walk. We went past the Catholic church...St. Joseph Catholic Church. I've been told that if I bury a St. Joseph statue in my yard, my house will sell. I wasn't sure how to get this particular one in my suitcase and still keep it under the flight weight limit, so I thought maybe a buried picture would work just as well???

Proof that I walked Murphy...

I was eleven when I last rode a bike. Fell clean off the thing and broke my leg. I decided to give it another shot....

AND I DID IT!!!!

And people say there's nothing to do in Kansas....no way.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

So. I told you I went on a trip...thought I'd let you see a little more of it!

Earlier this year I decided to be the rebellious child who flies the coop for a major family holiday. BAD, BAD BEKAH. :) I asked Lori if I could hang out with them for Thanksgiving and she said YES! So I booked a flight and headed to Kansas!

I hate missing work (Shut up! Who ever would have thought I'd say THAT!!), so I worked Monday. Lynne and I did a Thanksgiving show and I wanted to be there for that. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:10. I asked one of the ladies at work what time I should leave work to make the flight. Know what she said? 4:00 is plenty early. Are you serious!?!? I'd never flown out of Ft. Wayne before, so I had no idea how tiny that place was!

One of my favorite sitcoms of all time is Dharma and Greg. LOVE that show. They did a whole episode "in" the Ft. Wayne airport...so the whole time I was there, I looked for impromptu weddings and Pat Benetar singing "We've Only Just Begun" - but apparently that only happens on the show. HA!

Here's how it went:

*Cindy dropped me off at the curb (where we were the only car...no airport police on little scooters yelling at anyone to hurry along).

*Went to the counter, where I worked my way through the maze of ropes to the front of the line since there were no other people, handed over my ID, and had a boarding pass in 30 seconds.

*They took my bag without weighing it and put it on the belt, and I said, "I've never been here before. Where do I go next?" I could tell he was trying to NOT flat out laugh at me as he pointed about 100 feet away to the security checkpoint.

* I went up to security and an old man said to me "Oh go on, hon. I'm just here talking." Seriously??? Like you hang out at the airport talking to the security guy?

* The security guy took my ID, put it under the little thingie doo and said, "Oh!! Marion! How was your drive?" Ummmm good?

* I got up to the belt and the TSA guy said "Come on up! I don't bite." He grabbed a bin and said, "Let me help you. Put your shoes here, your coat here...you have a computer?" Uhhhh yes? (I'm used to scrambling for my own set of bins and hoping to remember everything.)

* I got in the body scanner and in TYPICAL Bekah fashion, got held up. The TSA lady got this horrified look on her face and said, "Go back through." I wheeled around to see what was wrong and there on the scanner was a big yellow box right over my jeans zipper. LOL!!! Leave it to me. She suggested I pull up my jeans and try again, so I did, figuring I was in for an all-inclusive personal space invasion from a middle aged stranger, but the second time I was clear. Whew.

* I made my way to my gate, which as you can see, was SO busy.

* Pretty soon, the same guy who printed my boarding pass appeared to clean the plane and tag our carry on luggage. He's everywhere! Ten minutes EARLY, we climbed on our rent-a-plane and flew to O'Hare.

That's me trying to act all calm. I deserved an Oscar for that performance.

Saw the sun for the first time all day.

Welcome to Chicago! Or at least I think that's what she said. Non-fluent English + the garble of an intercom don't make for great understanding.

Always freaks me out to see other planes in my air space. You stay over there, lil buddy.

O'Hare wasn't as scary as I thought. One chicken wrap, one bottle of water, and ELEVEN DOLLARS AND SIXTY EIGHT CENTS LATER, I was fed and ready to board plane two. It was also a rent-a-plane, but it was full. That flight was pretty turbulent on takeoff and landing, but the worst was in the midle of the flight when the plane IMMEDIATELY became unbearably hot. Planes are always cold (praise the Lord) but all of the sudden hot air was pouring out of everywhere. People were turning off their fans above them and taking off coats and fanning and calling the attendant. Kind of scary. Then I started smelling something hot. Nothing freaks a person out more than being thousands of feet above the ground, trapped in an overgrown bullet with 100 other people, smelling something hot. Super.

Eventually it cooled back down. Whew.

We landed and Cassie and her boyfriend were waiting for me at the Wichita airport. I would have taken a picture but it was the first time I met the boyfriend and I wanted to dial down the crazy for ten minutes until he had a chance to meet me.

They took me straight to Sonic, where I got my precious strawberry creamslush I love so much. And I did manage to sneak this picture while he was out pumping gas. :) And people wonder why I don't travel more. Maybe because it's always a drama???

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I taught Sunday School...and I have no idea how it went. I talked about gratitude Ann Voskamp-style, so hopefully they got something from it! After church, I stayed for the church's Thanksgiving lunch, which was (as always) scrumptious. Churches have the best cooks. Then I spent the rest of the day filling these:
because...


*Monday I got on one of these! Yep! Hopped a plane and flew to Kansas! I actually worked Monday and then that afternoon, my coworker Cindy dropped me off at the Ft. Wayne airport and I got on a plane...went to O'Hare (that was a first!) and then out to Kansas, where Cassie and her boyfriend met me in Wichita...took me past a SONIC!!!!!...and then home to Greensburg!

* Tuesday I got to stay in bed until 11!!! Happiness in a blanket! Lori and I went on a mini tour-de-Greensburg, so I could go see the new school and the library where Cassie works. I got to have a real live chocolate coke from a real live fountain, too! Oh it was so fun. (It's the little things for me.)

* Wednesday I did all SORTS of things that were fun...but part of the day I spent at Jeff and Lori's church, helping to decorate for Christmas. It was FUN!
I also rode a bike for the first time since I was eleven. (That last ride resulted in a broken leg for yours truly, so I have been too scared to try again until this week. I figured if you're going to break a leg, why not do it miles from home?)

* Thursday was THANKSGIVING!!! I slept in, watched part of the parade on TV, helped cook the rest of the dinner - with my sister - and we had a lovely meal! My sister Julie had emailed that morning from her perch on a golf course in Panama City Beach...so Lori and I determined not to be outdone:

That evening, we decorated their house for Christmas! As you might imagine...THAT broke my heart.


* For Black Friday...we slept in and finally ventured forth about 1 p.m. And by "ventured forth," I mean we went only to the little local shops in Greensburg. Now THAT is the way to shop on Black Friday!! I tried on a pair of footed jammies and looked like Cindy Lou Who. Got pictures of that but I'm too chicken to post it. Instead, I'll show you what Lori and I did all afternoon. A REMATCH!!!!!!!
* Saturday morning I got up way early to make my pilgrimage back to Indiana. First flight was filled with screaming children and gum chompers - so it was a come-to-Jesus kind of flight for me. :) After a lovely afternoon in O'Hare...I saw this lovely sight: Back home again in Indiana!!! Oh my goodness - what a FUN week!!!!!

Books I'm Reading: Vacations are apparently good for reading! Jesus Calling and One Thousand Gifts were staples - but I also STARTED AND FINISHED Working it Out by Abby Rike and Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar. Both ladies were contestants on The Biggest Loser in previous seasons and both have written excellent books about their paths. Abby's made me cry several times. I really related to what she wrote - even though the details of our lives are NOTHING alike.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: Came yesterday while I was flying home...ended up just kicking back in my seat, closing my eyes, and spending some amazing conversation time with the Lord! Flying always brings me closer to Him, partly because it scares me into it and partly because He always has great object lessons for me from that vantage point.

Update on Last Week's Goals: I did indeed get some clarification on what I need to be focusing on next year. More to come on that one!

Goals for the Coming Week: DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!

Pancakes with the Princess: November

Well...back before Thanksgiving, I squeezed in November's Pancakes with the Princess....with my sister and her fam!

This marks the first time I've had family at the pancake bash! (Don't THEY feel special??) (Probably not.)

Anyway. We had the fancy pants cinnamon swirl pancakes and sausage links (to cut the sweet).
The cinnamon swirl mixture was MOST uncooperative. Cinnamon overboard!

Cassie wanted chocolate chips in hers, so I added that. Never put chocolate chips in pancakes before! (That truly is shocking. How have I not put chocolate in ANYTHING?)

No idea what this look is about. Kind of scary, actually.

Cassie and her baby girl, Midnight. Midnight was very interested in the pancakes. She's actually MOSTLY interested in leftovers. Lots and lots of leftovers.

Someone wasn't paying attention. We won't name names, Lori.

Pancakes were a success! Jeff added butter to his - which is actually pretty perfect for the cinnamon roll effect. Why didn't I think of that???

Hope

When I first went into my desert last year, this is one of the very first set of verses I encountered:

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” - Lamentations 3:21-24

I'd read the verses many times in my life before that day...but I never paid attention to the words that came before "Because of the Lord's great love..."

I remember night after night, pacing back and forth in my house, clutching my Bible as though it were my oxygen, literally gritting my teeth, and saying "Yet this I call to mind....yet this I call to mind...this I call to mind." I forced myself to focus on those words. I didn't believe any of them. I didn't believe that I wouldn't be consumed. I didn't believe I would survive. I wasn't sure I'd live long enough to wait for the Lord. But I paced and spoke those words aloud through gritted teeth just the same.

It was one year ago yesterday that I spoke to Isaac for the last time. I woke up and the ONLY thing I could think of to be thankful for was that he was in my life. (Even though he was mostly out of my life by that point.) I just knew God would bring him back and I was determined to wait.

I didn't know he was already in another relationship.

Before last Thanksgiving was over, I'd had my heart broken twice: once by Isaac and once in another long story that I won't bore you with here and now, but I went to bed utterly hopeless.

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling lonely. Feeling sad that Isaac chose someone else over me. Feeling that I lacked...and if I'd been more...if I'd been enough...he would have stayed. He would have come back.

I laid in bed and prayed about that for a while, and God was so good to meet my heart and give me one of those new mercies.

I had the BEST Thanksgiving I've ever had in my life. It was THE best day. Laughter...utter delight...amazing memories.

It's true. His mercies ARE new. Life is not fair. Things don't always turn out the way we want...wish for...pray for. But that doesn't mean He can't take a mess and redeem it into beauty. He can and He will. And He has.

Therefore, I have hope.

A Year's Worth of Thanks

This week I've been doing a mental review of my year, and I have to say...God has been so good. He was good last year when my life was falling apart and I thought there was absolutely no hope for a future for me. And He has been good this year when He began to restore and redeem what Satan meant to destroy.

On this day of thanks...I'd like to show you some of the blessings of my year.

...Starting the new year with friends who have long loved and accepted me for who I am...
...My buddies the Crandalls, who have walked the darkest roads with me and now celebrate the good roads with me too. (There's a Mr. Crandall for this picture but he wasn't there that night. I'm thankful for him too, though.)...

...Beyond thankful for the opportunity to spend an entire week in Florida for the first time in my life. Loved my beach!!...

...Thankful for and dearly missing my little guy. Ten years of life with Mr. Kaegan...

...The chance to once again see and hear the Marion Easter Pageant...though I still miss getting to be part of it!...

...The chance to spend my birthday with my good friend Cara...touring downtown Indianapolis on a GORGEOUS day...and eating cupcakes!!...

...Road tripping to Jenna's house for her golden birthday...and spending time with her husband and cutie pie daughter, Miss Adelaide...

...a GLORIOUS week of a writing retreat at the cabin in Brown County with Rachel...and while I'm at it...thankful for Rachel and her friendship...

...Eleven years of work in Financial aid...and co-workers who love me enough to give me a wonderful send-off when God opened a new door for me. Miss these people!...

...The chance to be baptized on a GORGEOUS night surrounded by so many of my friends and family...and Brian Holland's heart for my vision for the night and for doing such a great job with it...

...A true dream job as the Mid-Morning producer at WBCL and the treasure of EIGHTEEN DAYS to be trained by Jamie, who made this entire journey wonderful for me...

...The opportunity to stand up with Tom and Olivia at their wedding...a true gift to me...

...my sister Lori making a trip to my house all the way from Kansas...to organize and run a yard sale for me because I had no time to do it myself...

...God's protection over my house when a storm took down the neighbor's tree into my yard. Could have been MUCH worse...

...The LAKE! Even though I didn't get there more than once this year...loved the chance to be on the water again... ...A day at the Cherished Moments Craft Hideaway. Always a treat...

...The chance to work with the lovely Lynne Ford EVERY DAY. She is a rare treasure of a friend and I love her...

Like I said...MUCH to be thankful for. Praise the Lord!!