Good Saturday morning! Another weekend is here already! It feels like it was just yesterday that I was packing for a quick little beach getaway with my hubby, but it was actually a week ago yesterday! We had a wonderful weekend full of relaxation and fun and left all of the stresses at home! The beach is literally my small piece of heaven while on earth.

We were only home less than 24 hours, and life kicked back in…in an ugly sort of way. It’s been a very tough week for me in many respects, but it seems to have captured me emotionally in ways that I don’t like. I felt as if I was losing control…rapidly! Amazingly, I kept up with my quiet time each day in prayer and God’s Word. I can’t imagine how much harder the week would have been without it. By Thursday, however, I was spent! I prayed that God would grant me rest and relief. He did both! I was able to leave work a little early that day and take an extended nap that I needed desperately! I woke up…shared dinner with the family…then, we all headed to the local gym for an evening workout! This was my first in several weeks, I’m sad to admit. It felt so good that I went back again last night! The endorphines kicked in, and I could really feel that I was burnin’ those blues away (and hopefully some fat too!).

Thanks for the prayers blog friends! I know many of you have been praying for me through these difficult days. Please know how much those prayers have meant! You are so important to me!

Now…just a couple brief things to share:

1. Guess what arrived yesterday? MY PASSPORT!!! My very first passport! I’m so excited! I needed this in order to go to Liberia in June on my first mission trip! Exciting days ahead, and I’ll share more about that trip in a future blog.

2. I want to encourage those of you that have participated in the Scripture Memory Verse challenge this week but have “fallen off the wagon” so to speak to GET BACK ON!!! It’s not too late. April 1 is right around the corner. Right before Easter would be a perfect time to kick it back into gear. I also know that some of you were planning to join me a little later in the year, well guess what…it’s later in the year! We want you part of this little – but power-filled – team!!!

3. For those of you that were around for my 40 day consecutive blog writing challenge at the end of 2009…another one is on the way, so be watching! It will start before summer! More details to come…

4. I loved doing a birthday giveaway so much back in January that I plan to do another (obviously not for my birthday this time)…just not sure when yet, but be watching!

OK – that’s all for now friends! Have a blessed weekend!!!

As promised (even though it’s very late in the day), I’ve returned to “blogland” to post my next scripture memory verse. I’m so committed to this challenge, that regardless of what trials life brings my way, I will not stop memorizing God’s Word. I keep looking back at 2009 and realize that often times the verses I memorized were literally what got me through the days, weeks, and months sometimes. I know that some of you who began this journey with me in January have not been around for the last few posts. I know that some of you are in a foreign country right now (on mission work). That’s okay – you can catch up soon! Some of you may feel like you missed a few opportunities earlier this year so why get back on the wagon now? Don’t stop! That’s exactly what the enemy wants to see you do! Please don’t give in to that ploy! You can start right back up where you left off. Either way – I’ll be here twice a month posting my verses. We’ve got to keep at this friends! God’s Word is powerful. Living. Active. Sharper than a double-edged sword. (see also Hebrews 4:12)

OK – that said – this will be a brief post. You can read my previous blog post to get a small understanding of why it needs to be brief right now. I’m sad to report that I continue to feel great discouragement right now over difficult life situations. I’m doing what I can to try to overcome that, but I can’t do it on my own. I’m leaning on God’s Word and my prayer warrior friends heavily right now. So…my memory verse for this time is something that I hope to memorize quickly and cling to deeply and constantly:

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

I need to know and believe that today! How about you? What verse has God led you to memorize beginning today? If you’re struggling with picking a verse, feel free to work on the same one that I’m doing. So, if you’re used to this…go ahead and post a comment with the verse you’re memorizing including translation. If you’re just joining us for the first time…you can read more about it by looking at my first post for the year by clicking HERE. It’s NEVER too late to start!

Have a blessed evening friends! You are special to me!