Dec '10/ Jan '11

Hey ya'll, I'm finally getting this out. I started it late last month. I went  on a retreat with my church called, Faithwalkers. I wanted my next post to include everything that I learned from there. Well, I thought you might want a post before that happens, since it could take at least a month! The drive there was amazing. The retreat is in Asheville, NC, so we had to dive through mountains. I'd never seen mountains, so i was in awe. The 1st night at the conference, I was sick. I had a migraine and was nauseated. I suspect that was from the 8 hr drive even though I took dramamine and the drive through the mountains, with the altitude change. The rest of the time there was amazing! The main thing I learned was a reminder: Satan knows our weak spots, which buttons to push on each of us. I'd been praying for a while about how to wear the spiritual armor. God answered that prayer while I was there. I was convicted of pride, also. I learned that when I decide to not pray and say I'll do it later, I'm really saying that I don't need prayer, that I can do it on my own. "...God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 NIV

On the way back, the girls in my car really helped me in another area I was struggling in. While talking about it, we drove through half the state of KY!

I had something to look forward to coming home: 1 of my best friends was going to ask me to date him on New Year's Day at midnight. I know it's kind of cheesy because so many people do it then, but we're both cheesy! In March of last year, my best girlfriend and my mom had challenged me to not look at every guy I saw as a possible hubby. I met my boyfriend in Oct. We've challenged each other in our faiths and to mature as people.

I need to back up and catch you up on something else! After Thanksgiving, we returned a dog we'd just adopted. She didn't fit in the family for many reasons. We, then, went to the Crawford County shelter after seeing their ad on craigslist. From there, we adopted a lab mix pup. Just recently, my cat, Maggie, has been sleeping in my room with my new dog, Feliz, and I. Now, Pumpkin, mom's cat, and Maggie have been upstairs with the dogs.