Lamentations

I was just lamenting the fact that a friend had not posted since September 19 (or was it the 16th?). Anyway, I suddenly realized how hypocritical that was coming from someone whose last post was on the 5th of the month that is now nearly over!
This month has been a, well, a HELL OF A MONTH. And I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. Right now I am lamenting the loss of this month, because I have only a few weeks left before I head to Montgomery to take my Series Seven licensing exam.
So much has happened in the past month. Geoff and I went through a harrowing trial of the progress we've made in our marriage relationship - and came through with a sense that what God builds, nothing can destroy. That was both a hardship and a blessing. Also this month, a friend of mine was sent to jail on murder charges. Definitely not an easy thing to deal with. And in the midst of it, another major hardship has befallen my foo (family of origin).
I am impressed by some of what I've been reading lately in Dallas Willard (I plan to update the blog with some of my learnings soon). Willard says, wisely I think, that it is only the immature believer who thinks that to be in God's will means to live a life that is devoid of risk and hardship. Like Job's friends, we too often look on from the outside at those who are suffering and wag our tongues about what that person should have done differently. We too often assume that they must be acting apart from God's will if these trials are upon them. It is just as likely, if not more likely when the sufferer is a growing believer, that they ARE in the midst of God's perfect will and that it is BECAUSE they have chosen to stay within his will that they are living in these trials.
This is certainly not the easiest theology to swallow, especially when you or a loved one are/is the one who suffers. More on this later. For now, it's off to work I go...

Last But Not Least (More Pics...)

This barn was one of the first things that we saw as we entered Serenbe. I would love to go back and ride there. The surrouding land is beautiful. The barn is magnificent.

And if you're impressed by the barn, check out the gate to the entryway. Yes, it actually works!

And the end of it is full of horseshoes. I'm sure it has some sort of significance (luck?). At any rate, we were properly amazed by the thing...

Our final destination was the aquarium in Atlanta, where we met up with my sister and her brood. I tried to get pics in there, but only one turned out somewhat decently, so here is M checking out the fishies.

More Trip Pics

This old barn was the Welcome Center for our trip. Most of the buildings on the farm were at least 100 years old....

This was the back entry to the main house. I didn't get a good picture of the whole house, but our bedroom was right off this entry way.


Here was the view from our room. This place was charmingly landscaped!

Truly a Happy Anniversary

So we started the day out right. Happy Anniversary #4. A beautiful end to an entirely conflict-free August (the first, I might add, in our marriage). And hub was off to a great start - who could go wrong with red roses?

Next it was off for a little R & R at a B & B. If the picture looks like we went to a farm, that's because we did. Check out Serenbe at serenbe.com. If you live anywhere near Atlanta and want to get away for a night or two, here's your spot.

We stayed in the honeymoon suite, a first for us, and I am trying to include several photos, so we might have more than one blog entry. You can see from the pictures that it was a rainy weekend, but that was okay since we had more to do indoors than out.

We entered our room in the main house through this lovely little entry way. We adjoined the restaurant and the food smells were tantalizing (the food itself was even better than it smelled).

Anyway, my apologies for taking a picture of the room after we messed it up and with poor lighting. I totally forgot my camera and all of the picture I'm sharing are from my camera phone. However, the room was all in white and was enormous. And we had a great time and I can't wait for the opportunity to do something like this again.

Check the next posts for some more pics of our trip...

Fond Memory & Good Buy

Years ago my Dad used to take us to a restaurant called "Teddy's." They had great burgers (I liked the chili cheese burger) and the whole place was decked out with Gloria Vanderbears. You could buy the bears from the North American Bear Company there, but they were waaay too expensive (even in the early 80's) for us to have ever gone home with them.

I remember Gini's favorite was Scarlett O'Beara. Well, I found a good buy the other day while antiquing with my husband. Scarlett O'Beara (79) and Rhett Beartler (84). I have their tags in a drawer, and they're in great original condition. The pair is worth around $400. I bought the pair for $40.

Of course, for me the value is more sentimental than monetary, but all in all, I'm thrilled to have them.

(The pair of bears is featured here on my anniversary gift to Geoff. We celebrate 4 years of marriage on Thursday, and I got him two porch rockers).

Back to School - SERIOUSLY

This is not a meme. I am in a sense, back in school. I am studying my little heart out to obtain my Series 7 License (or Serious 7 as Geoff calls it). At the end of October I will take a test; if I pass (and take another test for the state level), I will be able to trade securities. In case I haven't said it in awhile, I LOVE MY JOB!
I'm a little rusty on the studying and I really want to do well on this stuff since I use it daily, so I'm having to apply myself more than I have in a long time. But this is great for me. I'm excited about the possibility to further myself in my new field. I told my boss before I was hired that I needed my job to have meaning and a purpose, and this field does that for me. Not only can I help others manage their finances, I can do it for myself and my family.
So wish me luck as I prepare for this test!