The problem with waiting so long from one post to the next is that it's really hard to know where to start or what exactly to say...

The last few months have been pretty filled with activity...April a bus load of 17 of us Echoes folks headed down to Sarasota, FL for Marv Beachy's wedding! Had a great time! The weather was beautiful and even though we were only there for a very short while, my roommates and I made a lot of fun memories!!

The first weekend in May, Eric and I headed out to Dover, OH for Engaged Encounter! There were 7 couples total and it was just an incredible weekend!! It definitely brought us closer together and the Lord just strengthened our relationship with Him and with each other! A couple weekends later, we went for a day-long bike (motorcycle) ride with Merlin & Heidi...headed to Michigan City where we spent the day at the outlet malls! Had a good time! The last weekend in May, we drove up to Manitoba to be with my family. I got my passport Wednesday afternoon around 5:15pm and we left around 7pm and drove straight through! We surprised my Mom and brother at school first thing in the morning, went and surprised Dad at work, then headed home to shower and freshen up! We didn't go out and do a lot of things, we spent a lot of time with family, which was wonderful! We were able to watch Chris play ball, got to have some quality time with my new niece, Taylor, and also with my nephews, Lance and Samuel and other niece, Kimbri! They loved Eric and he loved them too!! And we also cleaned the rest of my belongings out of my bedroom and got that all loaded up and ready to go! We ended up leaving Sunday night around 11pm and drove straight through! We were so exhausted by the time we got home, shortly after 3pm or so!! I enjoyed a good 13 1/2 hour sleep or so Monday night!!

June's been a bit of a quieter month...we went to weddings the first 2 weekends and have been getting stuff together for our wedding (which, by the way, is only another 44 days)! This weekend Eric's family is going camping, so tonight I'll be getting ready for that, and I'm praying that the rain that is in the forecast will wait until next week to come!!

Work has been kinda slow for me this week, but I was able to get one attic cleared out (only one more to go!), so that was a good project to keep me busy for a while and then I've also been doing some more research on the whole green card thing! I had to swallow a few times when I found out the cost, and then took a few more gulps when I printed out all the forms and stuff I need...it looks big and a little scary!! So I would appreciate it all the prayers I can get! I'll just be extremely happy when it's all done!!

It seems there are always life lessons to learn and some of them I need to learn over and over and over again!! I get so frustrated with myself! But I know the Lord allows the challenges to make me more dependent on Him! Some days it's easier for me to learn than others, but I just praise the Lord that He is ever so patient with me and that He lifts me up time and time again! The verse that's been on my mind a lot in the last couple weeks is
Psalms 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart o God and renew a right spirit within me" and a couple verses later "restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation and renew a right spirit within me". My prayer is that God would restore the joy of His salvation to me and may that be your prayer as well!! God bless you and keep looking to Him! Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!! PTL!!

That is just a very abbreviated form of the happenings around here...I didn't want to bore you with too many details, so I tried to keep it as short as possible!!

p.s. feel free to leave comments if you wish!!

JONAH

It happened far away, a long time ago,
The fare of a ship, Jonah wanted to know.
When told, he thought, "that's not too bad, I guess
For a ship going all the way to Tarshish."
The reason for going was to flee from God,
To Ninevah he was to go, but did not.
He was sent to tell them what God was gonna do,
If they didn't clean up their act and start serving Him soon.
So away on the ship, they sailed out to sea,
When the wind started blowing tempestously.
The mariners were scared, to their gods they did cry,
To cast out the wares in the ship, they did try.
When that didn't work, they did Jonah awake,
So they could all listen while the shipmaster spake.
He said "if your God is a God, then call on His name"
Then they cast lots to see who was to blame.
The lot fell on Jonah, they all looked to him,
To see what he had done, his outcome looked dim.
They asked what they should do so the sea would quiet down,
He said "cast me out", but that only brought a frown.
They tried really hard to row back to land,
When that didn't work, they all lent a hand,
To throw Jonah out in the ocean so deep,
The wind then stopped blowing, it made not a peep.
Now God had commanded a fish to be there,
To swallow up Jonah, say ain't that quite rare!
Three days and three nights, Jonah lived in a fish,
"I should have obeyed" this Jonah did wish.
He prayed and he prayed as the hours ticked by,
Before the fish brought him to land that was dry.
And when the Lord called him to go there again,
To Ninevah he went and he didn't complain.
"Forty more days" is what Jonah did preach, 
"And you'll be overthrown, and noone you'll reach."
Then all the people, from the first 'til the last,
Put on sackcloth and then proclaimed a fast.
When God saw this deed, that they were sincere,
He decided to spare them, that they should not fear.
Now Jonah was angry when he heard about this, 
His plan to see them gone was now in a mess.
So let's learn a lesson from the story we've read,
That we don't run away, but serve God instead.
And when we do what God has called us to do,
Let's do it willingly, with a cheerful heart too! 

I got a forward sent to me the other day that made me laugh and I would like to share it with you so you can laugh about it too!

A Single Girls Prayer:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I wish I had a man to keep,
And if there's one beneath my bed,
I hope he heard each word I said.

(I don't know who comes up with things like this, but apparently someone with too much time on their hands!!)