A Day Exploring London - Far Too Short

“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." ~ Samuel Johnson 1709-1784

Made Me Smile so I had to share :)

Words Women Use and What They Really Mean:
littlemiss:
Fine - This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel they are right and you need to shut up. Never use “fine” to describe how a woman looks - this will cause you to have one of those arguments.
Five Minutes - This is half an hour. It is equivalent to the five minutes that your football game is going to last before you take out the rubbish, so it’s an even trade.
Nothing - This means “something”, and you should be on your toes. “Nothing” is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. “Nothing” usually signifies an argument that will last “Five Minutes” and end with “Fine”.
Go Ahead - At some point in the near future, you are going to be in some mighty big trouble.
Go Ahead (With Raised Eyebrows) - This is a dare. One that will result in a woman getting upset over “Nothing” and will end with the word “Fine”.
Go Ahead (Neutral Expression) - This means “I give up” or “do what you want because I don’t care” You will get a “Raised Eyebrow Go Ahead” in just a few minutes, followed by “Nothing” and “Fine” and she will talk to you in about “Five Minutes” when she cools off.
Loud Sigh - This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A “Loud Sigh” means she thinks you are an idiot at that moment, and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over “Nothing”.
Soft Sigh - Again, not a word, but a non-verbal statement. “Soft Sighs” mean that she is content. Your best bet is to not move or breathe, and she will stay content.
That’s Okay - This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. “That’s Okay” means that she wants to think long and hard before paying you back for whatever it is that you have done. “That’s Okay” is often used with the word “Fine” and in conjunction with a “Raised Eyebrow”.
Please Do - This is not a statement, it is an offer. A woman is giving you the chance to come up with whatever excuse or reason you have for doing whatever it is that you have done. You have a fair chance with the truth, so be careful and you shouldn’t get a “That’s Okay”.
Thanks - A woman is thanking you. Do not faint. Just say you’re welcome.
Thanks A Lot - This is much different from “Thanks.” A woman will say, “Thanks A Lot” when she is really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have offended her in some callous way, and will be followed by the “Loud Sigh.” Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the “Loud Sigh,” as she will only tell you “Nothing”.

Getting Lost in Birmingham

You gotta learn to step out in faith and walk on water.

Endurance Builds Character

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Why?

In my novels, the main characters face great conflict, turmoil, uncertainty, and suffering. Some die. So who am I to say God shouldn’t write such things into his story, including my part? God created all the characters in his story. He loves a great story, and he has made us to love it. Before we fault him for the plot twists we don’t like, we should remember that Jesus has written this story in his own blood. -Randy Alcorn

Alone

Defiance

The warm embrace of the world
Or the cold embrace of the lonely wind
Through which the still small Voice calls
Which will we choose?

The crowd swells laughter spilling over
Or the quiet path going into the desolate places
Where there is only One who will carry us?
Which will we choose?

How do I turn away these temptations?
Tearing me in two, I cry out
I know whom I want to follow
Where will I find the strength?

So torn, I want to run away from it all
Kneeling in the depths of the valley
My soul cries out in despair of ever
Finding true understanding

Can He be my supply and hope?
Shaking, I reach out, may it be so
Or will I be lost to this world
Trying to find Him in the wrong places?

I am choosing this day and every day
I will sing with the still Voice whilst
The cold wind howls in the dark
The path may be narrow but it is straight

Anguish may pour over me
Tears may stream down my face
But joy will reign in my heart
For I have chosen the truth

The raging storm comes in so quickly
I stumble and fall, I cry out in despair
He is there, bringing me to my knees
Against all logic, peace stands firm

I can’t get up, but there is no need
He is there, shielding me from the pain
When it becomes more than I can bear
He picks me up and wipes away my tear

All because I have chosen, I have called out
Even when it stands against reason
I have chosen to rest in His wisdom
For I have none on my own

Why you might ask?
This makes no sense
I must agree,

There’s no rhyme, nor reason
His love doesn’t make sense
Understanding will never come
But maybe- just maybe hope will.

He gave it all for me and in return
I scorned Him, I mocked Him
His love paid the ultimate price
His desire to be with me overruled reason

So maybe it does make sense
That I would abandon reason to be with Him
He turned away from it to be with me
Which will you choose?

Will you delight in a love that
Has withstood the test of sacrifice?
Or will you wander with the lost
Into the deadly hands of despair?

Will you stand firm against the storm
Dependent on His strength?
Or will you be shattered when the party
Ends with burning anguish?

He will wait for you
His arms are wide open
His desire to be with you
Has defied all reason

Will you defy reason for Him?

A Portion of Adventure Week

So Adventure week is too big for one post so here's a portion of it. . . Four days in North Wales hiking, geocaching, team building, and delighting in God's creation.

Some of the girls getting ready to head up the mountain in the pouring rain and wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour. So excited at this point

On the path up the mountain. . .check out that rain. . .

The path further up the mountain so pretty. Lots of waterfalls, stone ruins from buildings built by the miners etc etc. . . so neat!

Our map reading excercise. . . yes it's dark as in the wee hours of the morning dark. . .

Geocaching the day after getting only 4 hours of sleep. . . hiked a couple of kilometers. . . beautiful country to be in for sure. . .

One of many stone building/ruins

The team for the day. . . (Left to Right)

Luke, Alaina, Elizabeth, Nina, Stefan B, Gracie, HaEun, Stefan S, and Clemmens

Where They're all From (Left to Right)

England, US, Germany, US, Germany, US, Korea, Netherlands, Germany

Debrief

We had a great time and learned a lot about how we work in a team. . community is hard but rewarding. . I think :) So we are making it and working together to glorify God.

One of our morning devotions was in Psalms and this is what I read and wrote from that:

Psalm 135:5-7

For I know that the Lord is great; and that our Lord is above all gods.

Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did He in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

He causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh the lightenings for the rain; He bringeth the wind out of His treasuries.

~~~~~

Who stretched forth the sky?

Who brought forth the wind?

Who rolls the thunder in high places?

My Jehovah

Who can calm the storm that stirs my soul?

Who can still the fear that shakes my foundation?

Who can comfort the grief that troubles my spirit?

My Jehovah

Losing sight of His might, my heart trembles

Tears shadow my eyes as deception clouds my mind

When all seems lost, none other can restore

Excpet my Jehovah

O Whom shall I sing evermore?

In whom can I rejoice again and again?

For whom shall I lay down my life?

None other than my Jehovah

Birmingham

First Day as a Tourist in England

Dee dee do da day. . .. what is that horrible noise? My alarm!!! Oh no I'm late. . . wait?!?! It's our day off. . .oh it's Susan's alarm. Whew okay I can go back to sleep. . . Three hours later. 11:00 AM. . .Okay time to get up and actually do something on our glorious day off!

Pad down the insane yellow hallway to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for the day. . . Then to the dining room to rumage for some brunch. . . which ended up consisting of cereal, banana, and a scone with Nutella. Yum! Scramble to call Dad on his way to work. . . about 5:40 AM at home. . . (It's almost 1:00PM here) Then off to the bus station to spend the afternoon in Birmingham! Yah!

We arrive and find our stop. . .not easy when you have many people's opinion spouting out sporadically. But find it we did. And to our delight, we found ourselves on the upper deck of a double decker bus! Hooray! What a way to see the city right? It was so neat the brick building flying by, the ceilings of the tunnels just out of reach, and the trees cut so we could go under.

About a half an hour later we arrived in the city centre of Birmingham. .. Off to the shops we went, getting all our supplies that we were lacking for the upcoming adventure week plus a few extras! (what's a girl to do when there's all these great shops :) Walking up the way we saw a gorgeous church steeple rising in the distance. So we quickly cut into a coffee shop for some sustenance and meandered our way to see the beautiful moss covered building. (Pictured behind us at the top)

We then got distracted by a book store and more shopping. .. then it was time to meet the guys back at the bus stop. Sirens screamed and policemen were crowding the streets. What was going on? Were they doing a training excercise? Hmm anyway, we needed to find the bus stop. We only did one circle before finding which way we needed to go.

Met up with the guys, and then discovered that the stop we had got off at was the wrong stop to get us back to Halesowen. So off we went for a jaunt around the city centre to find the right stop. More police swarmed and we found out that there had been riots going on down the street. Anit facists and right wingers had gotten into it apparently.

So we continued on. Admiring the architecture and beauty. Finally we found the right bus stop ( or so we thought ). Tired and ready to be back in our yellow prison. . .sort of. We got on and settled in. Only to find out that we had the wrong bus and were on our way to Dudley not Halesowen. . .So going 25 minutes out of our way, we then were able to get on the right bus and make our way safely home!

And that was my first day as a tourist in England!