Bugs in the Floor

I wanted to transfer some of my favorite posts from my old blog over to this new one. Here is a funny post from back in 2006, titled "Bugs in the Floor."

The floor at the dance studio where I take ballet gets re-waxed every so often, and apparently, last time they waxed it, they forgot to sweep first. If one looks, one can find sequins, little pieces of thread or fuzz, etc. forever trapped under the glossy floor.

Wednesday night at ballet practice, my teacher was working with some of the girls while the rest of us were sitting around waiting for our turn. My friend and I were sitting on the floor in the back corner of the studio, with two other girls standing next to us, and somehow my friend and I started talking about the stuff under the floor.

All of a sudden, I looked to my left and saw, under the top layer of the floor, a bug. It was one of those that flies, with the long legs and little wings, and he was all squooshed out flat. I showed it to my friend and we started cracking up. Then we showed the other two girls who were standing there. They thought it was hilarious, too.

Then - no joke - we found another squooshed bug just a few inches away from that one!! So we all started looking for other things trapped in the floor. I can't imagine what the teacher or the other students might have thought if any of them saw us over there in the corner -- all 4 of us down on our hands and knees, inspecting the floor. It was really great. Hey, you gotta just be a kid sometimes, right?

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
~Ashley

God Made Me Smile Yesterday

Yesterday I went to work for the first time in over a week -- I only work 2-3 days a week and have not been able to go because of snow/icy roads twice lately. Anyway, it was the day after my friend Jenny's funeral (see prev. post) and those waves of sadness were still coming at random times. The other two people I normally work in the office with were gone for meetings all day -- the maintenance guys and cleaning lady were there but were out and about working on the property, so I was in the office by myself for much of the day. That can get a little lonely sometimes. So to summarize, I wasn't feeling very joyful yesterday morning.

But yesterday was also the first day of blue sky and sunshine we've had here in days. It was sooo good to see the sun! Sometime after lunch, I impulsively got up from my desk, walked out on the front porch of the office and just stood in the sunshine, breathing deeply of the 45-degree air (much warmer than it has been). It was beautiful... the sun finally coming out was just a reminder of God's love and of hope.

Later that afternoon, one of the maintenance guys -- someone I've known for a couple of years and is a good guy -- came in the office to do some work. I was sitting at my desk working on the computer, and three new rugs that had been purchased were on the floor next to me. He pulled the stickers off all three rugs and stuck them on the back of my shirt. It was so random, we both laughed.

And what started out as kind of a "downer" day ended up a pretty good one. So I wrote on my Facebook when I got home:

Thank You Lord for the sunshine to warm my face and my heart...thanks for a good song on the radio to lift my spirits...thanks for co-workers who make me laugh. Thank You for making me smile today when I didn't really feel like it. You're the best :-)

God is good, on good days and bad. Look for the evidence in the little things! He loves us so much.

Sad News

Well, I hate to post sad news on my blog on only the 2nd post. But I wanted to update, and I don't feel that I can write about anything else right now until I share what's on my heart.

My friend Jenny was killed in a car accident yesterday. She had just turned 19. We weren't super-close, but I've known her for a long time. We used to hang out a lot, and have been keeping in touch through email recently. I loved her as a friend and as a Christian sister. It was a huge shock to hear about her death.

Please keep Jenny's family and friends in your prayers -- her mom and dad, 2 sisters, and one brother. I can't imagine what they're going through.

Jenny was a sweet, funny, fun-loving, hard-working girl who loved the Lord. Over the past two days, I've been remembering all the silly jokes and fun times we shared when we used to hang out together more often. It's crazy how you can go for awhile not thinking about someone very often... and then suddenly you can't get them out of your mind.

This Scripture has been an encouragement to me: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life...nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) Jenny belongs to Jesus, and I know she is safe in His arms. I'm thankful to have that assurance, even though the loss hurts those of us left behind.

Jenny 1991-2010

Blogging Again

Hello and welcome to my new blog! I have been blogging for several years over at homeschoolblogger.com, but have really neglected it for the past year. Most of my blog friends there have either quit blogging or moved to different sites... so I've decided to try to "start fresh" with my blogging! Over the next few weeks, I'll probably be moving some of my favorite posts from my old blog over to this new one, in addition to new posts.

In the meantime, a little about me. As my sidebar says, I'm a 2005 homeschool graduate. I live at home with my parents and two of my younger sisters -- the other sister moved to her own place over a year ago. I have a part-time job with a Christian camp/retreat center, mainly doing promotion, mail-outs, that sort of thing. I really like it a lot!

I'm hoping to get back into the habit of weekly blogging, and hopefully this will be a place where I will share various and random thoughts about life, work, and my relationship with God. I hope you'll join me!

God bless,

Ashley