And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

From Here On Out....

Already brewed my first cup of coffee...I anticipate a busy day as I have 3 photo shoots starting in an hour, so I'm soaking up this quiet time. My parents and brothers went to breakfast and my sister is running out the door for her Annual Turkey Bowl. These past couple of days have been a whirl wind- family coming and going, meals made and eaten, stores visited and shopped...life really does fly by sometimes. I think the fast pace of life is what causes me to sit back and enjoy a few more moments in bed...looking out the window and just starring at the Lord's creation. Its as if life stands still...for me at least. I need these moments. I anticipate life is going to fly by in the next 6.5 weeks and before I know it, I'll be waking up in Africa excited about whats a head of me and wishing I had soaked up every moment back at home...where life is familiar. Like I said, this just my nervous anticipation...not set in stone what it will be like. I don't necessarily want to be overseas thousands of miles away wishing that life had slowed down a little for me before I left so that my time at home with friends and families wasn't so rushed. I think its a choice I have to make from here on out...to live life in the moment. That is hard for me...sounds good and all in theory but living it out is another thing. As life happens, there are always things to look forward to, you know how it goes. Lets take this holiday season, for example: You anticipate Thanksgiving Dinner but as you are eating it half way through you get excited about those homemade pies. And then as you are eating the pies you are discussing what stores you are going to tomorrow to get the best deals. Then, while you are shopping with friends and family, you are thinking about Christmas and what you are gonna give to people...so on and so on.

I just need all the hustle and bustle to
(((STOP))).
And I just need to live in the moment from here on out.

For the Beauty

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

May I never lose the wonder,
The wonder of the cross.
May I see it like the first time
Standing as a sinner lost

Contemplation of the day...

November 27...Get Into Starbucks and start drinking!!! (RED)
In the words of Strabucks: "Join us as we count down to the launch of (STARBUCKS) RED. Starting November 27, every time you buy a special (STARBUCKS) RED product, a contribution will be made to the Global Fund, to help save lives in Africa. It’s all part of our commitment to give back to the communities where we do business, which is a key component of Starbucks™ Shared Planet™."