moving

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See you there,

annie

awgeffert@gmail.com

The url of this site has been changed. Please update your bookmarks!

I've moved. You can find me here. I hope you are able to update your browser and check out my post. I loved everyone's take on this week's readings. They spoke so differently to each one of us, as is His wondrous way! I was touched by the prayers mentioned in the readings, especially Jeremiah's heart-wrenching prayer for his people. I hope you all are doing well. Jean, you are in most of my thoughts, these days, and your precious family, as you walk through these difficult days. May His loving and comforting Hand be upon you as you await CJ's healing. Love to all, Annette

sunday's song - lead me to the cross

we have a winner (or SIX)

Thanks to all who participated in the Bloggy Carnival. What a turnout for the week. Out of 1173 entries, we have six selected winners.

Random integer generator selected these comments for winners of the Target gift cards:

The five $20 Target Gift Card Winners are:

Kristen - July 28 at 10:35 a.m. (#48)
Teresa - July 29 at 3:14 p.m. (#598)
Kristy - July 31 at 1:54 p.m. (#929)
Leanthro - Aug 1 at 11:02 (#1077)
Cassie - Aug 1 at 6:35 a.m. (#1035)

And now for the grand prize, the 2GB iShuffle, Random Integer selected Comment #267
The winner is mama zen, #267 July 28, at 6:38 p.m.

Congratulations, winners. And just so you know, you're all winners in my book! I have emailed each of you, and you need to contact me by Thursday August 6 with your mailing information. If one of you fails to respond, I will select another winner and publish it again.

Thanks for playing, everyone. See you next quarter!

in twenty-eight years, we never…

I had the craziest thought the other day. I couldn't complete the end of that sentence with anything that Mike and I hadn't experienced in marriage. The good, the bad, and the ugly were all accounted for in the almost thirty years of "us." We have laughed, we've cried; we've loved, we've feared; we've lived and we've died a few times, too. We can say with satisfaction that we have made it to date, through it all. When someone asks me what I think the secret is to a satisfying, sustainable marriage, I don't have any great wisdom to offer. We just stay married. And we choose to be happy. When the bad comes, and it still does occasionally, we get up and dust ourselves off and try again. I am drawn to the question, as if it is a mystery. What is sustainable, anyway? Nobody has a promise of tomorrow, but I feel very comfortable where we are today as a couple. I couldn't always say that, so you might wonder what changed. I can almost pinpoint the day when we looked at each other and had an epiphany: we were in this for the long haul, and our only option was to choose happiness. God is God, and the rest of us are mere mortals living out the joys and hopes of this world, one day at a time. So, daily, we choose each other and choose joy. And with God's Grace, He will see us through another day, another year. I'd love to write a hopelessly romantic post but I'm a more practical type. Perhaps a good Harlequin should be on my reading list, but it is a good spot. There is something deeply satisfying in being at peace with each other, resting in a love that grows each year—some years more than others. We brave this life together hand in hand.

Happy anniversary, honey. I'd choose you all over again. What a wild and sweet journey it has been! I guess I can think of a few things, short of murder, that we have not experienced in twenty-eight years. Maybe we need to check those things off the list also.

How about you? What do you think the secret of marriage is? What makes it work, or more interestingly, what goes wrong? Or even broader, what is the secret to a satisfying life? Every answer unlocks the mystery a little more. Bless you on your journey. May you also discover the secret of happiness. Regardless of circumstances, choose to be full of His joy, which is like no other.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

the '08 blog games - #3

Could you pass the US citizenship test? I am embarrassed that I got one wrong, and still am not sure which. Yikes. Maybe it was the question, "Which president was the first Commander In Chief of the U.S. military?" or even one of the original thirteen colonies--I missed one of those, I bet. Anyway, how did you do? Here is the link to play the game. And here are the answers.

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

the thump

I don't really know what to say. I'm still blushing. My daughter, Lindsay, and her team won THE watermelon seed spitting contest in Luling, TX at the Watermelon Thump 2008. If you're not sure what all this excitement is about, you should check out their official site here. I've had to wait to tell you because, as I suspected, there are pictures to prove this claim. (It just took a little investigating on this mom's part. Thank you, Facebook.) That's right. You, too, can share in my joy! Lindsay's boyfriend, Andrew, and his parents, all took home trophies the weekend before the Fourth of July. Andrew's entry would have taken first place in the singles, too, had he entered on Friday with a force of 44 feet 4 inches. So, you know what we did? We had a little contest of our own at our Fourth picnic, and GUESS who took on the champs quite well for a novice? I came in second in the girls' contest—yep, second to my sweet girl.

Way to go, Barnes and Lindsay! Y'all are way fun. And for those of you coming to Texas in a few weeks—you just wait. There's more excitement close to where this came from in San Antone.

Charlie, the Thump Queen, Judy, Andrew, and Lindsay