Fireproof

I just want to take a moment to say that if you have not seen "Fireproof" yet, you should go see it. Mr. A and I had a date night on Saturday that included this movie and we were surprised at how good it was.

I think we need to support this movie as it supports Christian values, family and marriage. The way to do this is go see the movie and prove to Hollywood and the powers with our dollars in the box office that be that we want movies that are have good morals or morals at all!

The other way we do that is to tell those we know to go see this movie too. If you are able to buy tickets for friends that would be awesome. Also, offer to babysit for those who cannot afford to have a babysitter plus movie tickets. Little things you do may change a marriage for a lifetime.

Go see this movie!

www.fireproofthemovie.com

TSMS - To Bring You Back

This song has been in my head all week. I have heard it almost every day on Air1 radio and it grabs me every time!

God loves me so much that HE will search for me. Me...a lost sheep in a desert. HE finds me and returns me to His comfort, resting place full of peaceful rivers and green grass to feed on. I am safe when I am with My Shepherd.

Luke 15:3-7
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

San Diego - My hometown - How true this is

I saw this and had to laugh out loud. These are so true and unless you have lived in San Diego it is hard to explain to others. Mr. A and I watch as people look at us strange as we describe San Diego. I swear people think it is another planet! I love it!

I will always be a Cali Girl in my heart! I love San Diego and all the things there are to do and see. I love living here in NC, but San Diego will always have a place in my heart and soul.

You know you are from San Diego when:

-Your high school had a surf team

-You can correctly pronounce Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and El Cajon

-There are four distinct seasons: Summer, Not Quite Summer, Almost Summer, and Oh Hey Look Its Summer Again

-Chula-juana is a real town

-Your house is worth more than some small countries

-You know what MB, OB, and PB stand for

-Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas don't have this

-You can determine the accuracy of someone's "i'm ghetto" claim by knowing their high school. For example, Lincoln, Crawford, or Morse

-You see weather forecasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised. The Micro Climate Weather

-You've gone to Mt. Helix in July and known you still need a jacket

-You've tailgated at Qualcomm Stadium, and for bonus points, also tailgated when it was Jack Murphy Stadium

-You have a favorite- the WAP or the Zoo

-You've been on a field trip to see an Imax movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

-You still call it the Del Mar Fair

-You say "i'm going to the track" and people know what you mean-You understand what May-Gray and June-Gloom is

-A famous skateboarder/surfer lives in your town

-There's a North County, a South County, and an East County but no Central County

-"Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan! Mossy Nissan Moves You!"

-You know what it means when a girl in a short skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd

-You've gotten stuck in the Horton Plaza parking structure traffic after a Padres game

-You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour

-You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa

-You've gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off

-You've been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on the 5 and the 15

-There are more bands than people

-Your house doesn't have air conditioning

-Everyone has their favorite beach

-No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops

-You live on, near or are surrounded by hills

-You hate tourists and their bad driving.

-You have family and or friends that have moved to Arizona

-You used to, and sometimes still do ride the carousel at Seaport Village

-You know someone who doesn't own pants

-You know what Santa Anas are, and that they have literally nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana

-If the menu doesn't have California burritos on it, forget it, its not real mexican food

Family Vacation - Part 2

Grandfather Mountain

The second day of our trip was a little more of a whirlwind. We woke up and headed to Grandfather Mountain. We knew it was going to get warmer so we wanted to get there early enough to enjoy the sights before it started to get blazing hot.

The family at the 1st Observation lookout

If you haven't been to Grandfather Mountain before it is a definite must see. We didn't realize how much there was to do. You could spend all day there hiking on numerous trails all over the mountain. We did the top with the swinging bridge first. Now anyone who knows me knows that heights and I are not friends. I wouldn't say I freak, but I am definitely not in my comfort zone. I crossed the bridge with no problems. I just kept looking straight ahead of me and not to the sides or bottom and did fine.

The Swinging Bridge

Mr. A & the girls wanted to go out to the point and that is where I stopped. There are just rocks that you walk out to and stand on. No fences, guard rails or anything like that to protect you so I decided to plant myself on the stone wall and attempt to take pictures of the them from a distance. Mr. A said KA had a little trouble with the heights but eventually relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. Of course AJ was in her element. She is the little adventurer and tends do be the opposite of KA when it comes to new things or things that can be a little dangerous. She embraces them while KA is a little more reserved and cautious. (That's my kid!)

On the top edge of Grandfather Mountain
AJ on left, concerned KA on right

We went down to the museum and animal education/viewing areas. The best part of this is when we went to the bear exhibit. The bears were sitting right at the wall. I looked Mr A. and said "it looks like they are looking for food." Come to find out they allow you to feed the bears for $1.00 per cup. We grabbed two cups and went to feed the bears. It was a nugget that looked like a peanut at first glance, but probably was some sort of nutritional element. We laughed as these bears would catch these nuggets. One bear would stick out its tongue to get your attention. Of course that bear received the most food. There were other exhibits such as the bald eagle, river otters, deer and cougars.

The Bears

AJ feeding the bears
The funny bear with the tongue

As we ended our trip to Grandfather Mountain we decided we were close enough to go see Linville Caverns. The girls had gone to a different cavern area with my parents a couple of years ago and the girls really enjoyed it so we decided to try these. It was really fun. The girls said it was smaller than where they went before, but definitely still enjoyable. We didn't get many shots in the caverns as it was really wet and we didn't trust that our camera wouldn't get damaged.

We had decided prior to coming up that we would do some gem mining/panning. We have done it before at a little farm near our house and loved it. All the gems that get sent to the little farms come from the mines up where we were so why not go to where the gems come from. We found a little gem store that did the panning about a mile from the caverns. We decided to get one large bucket and split it between the four of us. We found some awesome stones: rose quartz, smoke quartz, moon stones, etc. They have a man on premises who can look at your stones and help you identify them. You can even have them cut if you had the time. That was one of the highlights of the day.

After a huge dinner at a local BBQ place (which by the way was amazing!!!) we went back to hotel and let the girls swim in the pool. I truly think the girls would have loved just staying at the hotel and swimming if we had let them.

Family Vacation

This is a very late post, but I just haven't had much time to sit down and write everything down.
Mr. A had some vacation time he had to burn before the holidays. Working retail doesn't allow long vacation times if any during the holidays so he has to use most of his vacation before October. We decided that we would make Labor Day weekend a little longer by taking the girls out of school on that Friday too and head somewhere close but somewhere we haven't been before. After looking at the NC coast, DC, Virginia coast, we decided to head to the mountains. We have lived in NC for almost 4 1/2 years and never been to the mountains.

On Friday, we started off towards Blowing Rock, NC. We arrived in Blowing Rock around 3 pm and decided to check in to the hotel and then head off to the attraction of the area, Blowing Rock. There isn't much to "do" there, but the views are amazing! I can only imagine what it looks like during the fall with all the colors changing. We had fun just walking around, especially after being in the car for 4 hours, and taking lots of pictures.

It was nice to just relax and breathe. We have been going in so many different directions that it was nice to just hang out with the family and relax. We really didn't have any major agendas so we weren't worried about time. We were able to just do what we felt even if that was just hanging out and doing nothing.

Doesn't Mr. A look relaxed?! He just sat on top of Blowing Rock and chilled. We needed this vacation more than we realized.

Then Sings My Soul - Desert Song

I heard this song one week as I was browsing around on You Tube. This song just stuck with me through the week. I know alot of people are going through difficult times right now with the economy, medical issues, divorce/separations, the list goes on and on. I have heard more and more requests for God to show up. I know people feel like the have been left in the desert, but know this is just a season. It may feel like there is no help - no oasis in the middle of the desert, but God has not left you. God is faithful. You are in this alone.

When you feel like you can cry anymore tears, when you have screamed and shouted with what seems like no one is listening, turn to praise. When you feel like there are no more words to say, start praising. I cannot tell you how many times I have cried during worship not just a release for me, but a surrender to God. I can't do it on my own - show me the way. Show me the way out of this desert. I love the "bridge" of this song, to me it says it all:

"All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship."


Also when I praise God, I turn the attention from me and my problems and focus my attention where it should be in the first place - ON HIM! I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.

Hillsongs "Healer" controversy

Imagine my surprise when I went to look for a You Tube video for Saturday's Then Sings My Soul and found this video:



I blogged about this song a couple of weeks ago after hearing it at church. This song is so powerful and it kills me that it is getting such bad press due to the author's con. Please understand me as I say this: I am not agreeing with what this man did by any means. This man obiviously is in a lot of pain and has some serious issues both known and unknown that he needs to get help with.

However, the song "Healer" is an amazing song. This song states some awesome promises and truths about God. Unfortunately, people are not going to hear that anymore due to the crazy fraud this man has conducted for the last 2 years.

Things such as:
"Nothing is impossible."
"You hold the world in your hand"
"You are all I need"
"You're my healer"

These truths are still the same as they were before this controversy. There is nothing that is impossible for our God. God holds the world in His hand. We have nothing to fear - He is in control. God is all I need - even if I lost everything, HE is all I need. God is my healer. I have proof all around me. I have seen miracle after miracle. God heals (period, end of story!)

What do I really think? I think this is a huge attack from the enemy. What was meant for worship and praise has been turned into trash. I think people will take this huge mistake - again, I am in no way condoning what this man did by any means - and stop singing the song due to the controversey.

My thought is to continue to sing the song despite the controversy. Sing the song to "Author and Creator of the world and us" not to the author of the song. We need to forgive Mike, but let's not forget the song.

9/11 - Never Forget

I have always heard people talk about how they will never forget where they were when certain major events happened in history such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, when John Kennedy was shot and so on. I always thought how weird that was to associated when and where you were until 9/11. I truly will never forget where I was that day or how I felt.

We were living in San Diego at the time and I was working for an environmental remediation company on Naval Air Station North Island. We were civilian contractors on the base. Every morning I went and picked up our mail in our regional office downtown before crossing the Coronado bridge to head to work. At the time, Mr. A's truck didn't have a working radio so I listened to tapes/CD's in the truck vs news or radio stations. I was just getting into the elevator to head to the office when my co-worker said something I will never forget, "We are under attack."

I looked at her like she had just lost her mind, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you listen to the radio?! We are under attack. Something just crashed into the World Trade Center."

We hurried into the office and found a manager who had a small radio in his office. We sat and listened as they announce the second plane had just crashed into the second tower. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I grabbed the mail and headed back to my truck. I immediately grabbed my cell phone and called Art. I told him to turn on the news and get me more information. I was going to attempt to head onto the base.

When I got to the base security was higher than I had ever seen it. It was nuts. I made it to our work trailer and found only two other people there. We logged onto our computers trying to see what was going on. We started getting phone calls from co-workers that they had shut the base down and were not letting non-essential personnel onto the base. We were told to gather computers and files from the offices in case we weren't going to be let back on for awhile.

About that time, we had base security come and order us off the base. We were told we had to leave now. This was a guy we had seen every day patrolling the beach next to our offices with just a small gun in a holster. Now he had a huge automatic weapon of some sort. The three of us loaded up our vehicles with everyone's items and headed to our regional office. As we were leaving the base, there were jeeps and different military vehicles lining the main road in and out of the base all with their guns pointed at the cars attempting to leave the base. Barricades had been set up at the entrance and men and women with huge guns were set up all around. My first thought was "World War III has just begun."

I made it to our offices and unloaded the gear. We were on the 12th floor, the top floor, of an office building in downtown San Diego. We were less than 2 minutes from the airport. Could what happen in New York happen in San Diego? Could a plane hit our office building? We were told we could go home and spend time with our families if we felt like it. I headed home and Mr. A and I planted ourselves in front of the television watching the news footage over and over again for the rest of the day into the evening.

I now understand what people mean when they say do you remember where you were when ____________ happened.
I will never forget how scared I was that day.
I will never forget wondering what was going to happen to the US from that day forward.
I will never forget watching the towers fall.
I will never forget watching people jump out of the buildings prior to the collapse.
I will never forget the men and women who went to work that day and never came home.
I will never forget those brave firefighters who ran into the buildings as many were running out.
I will never forget 9/11.

Hello!

Just a quick note to those who still read my blog - all 5 of you - I am still here. Things have just been a little busy with life and really haven't had much to say. I will be posting somethings soon though.