Mary In Bloom

It's three weeks since my last post and I did finally start running again.....yesterday.  With good intentions I set my alarm every night for an hour early enough for me to rise and get a run in before the rest of my day started, but I am the queen of procrastination and I love my sleep.  Then something very wonderful happened!  Now, I have lived here since 2007; I love the beach, but have since grumbled and complained that this area does not have any hiking trails.  I had heard of this little place called Vereen Gardens located just a couple of miles from my neighborhood, but always pictured it as a dinky little trail with no ups or downs.  In a word: boring.  ...

     First things, first:  Brandon and I both passed our written and practical exams for our personal training certification; we just have to get our CPR certifications and we will be in business.  Now.....if we could just get ourselves to the gym more often, we would really be doing good.  I cannot tell you how many times we have gotten into the car and headed to the gym IN our workout clothes and have found detours along the way....."We really need to hit the grocery store and we're kind of tired and hungry so....we'll start tomorrow."  It feels cheap somehow to be grocery shopping in your workout clothes knowing darn good and well you never made it ...

It all started as an idea for a potential new career for Brandon.  Having worked on a golf course since he was sixteen, he is yearning for something more rewarding, intrinsically as well as financially.  I was about to sign him up for a personal training course when my parents suggested I take the class with him, if only to supplement my massage practice in a different way.  We studied our little brains out leading up to our weekend course in Charlotte and it paid off because Brandon was answering questions in class left and right like he wasn't the only one in class without a health background.  The real magic, however, started happening before we ever arrived in Charlotte.  ...

There are moments in our lives that are so surreal that when they pass, you keep playing them over and over in your mind, trying to relive them.  I had such a moment today.  It will be a memory that I will carry with me forever.  It is a frozen piece of time that I am sure will be a landmark for how God has worked in my life.  It will always be a reminder to keep faith, to fight the good fight, to be still, and to remember that it is God's desire to bless us, His children. I want to preface this story by telling you about the way I relate with my clients.  Very few of my regular clients come in for a massage wtihout sitting down and chatting with me for  several minutes ...

As I embark on this journey, I wonder where it will take me.  Do I have anything to say?  What will I find lurking in my heart that I will tap-tap-tap onto the screen for others to read? I hope this helps me to be more aware of the thoughts that make their way into my head instead of letting them float in and then float out without ever pinning them down.   I hope it will give me a fresh perspective on the seemingly accidental or innocuous happenings that take place during every day life.  I will embrace this sharing as a learning experience for me and as a way to study my life and read between my own lines.  Today I ask the Lord to bless me as I cast my vessel ...