Surrender!

I thought it was going to be "Retreat!" but it ended up being "Surrender!"

The Women's Retreat was this weekend. I was really looking forward to it and had a couple of service opportunities that I was looking forward to. Plus, our new pastor's wife was our speaker. However, Thursday night I started feeling bad. By Friday morning, I knew I wouldn't be able to go. I even took off early from work -- as soon as I got my lunch duties finished! Oh, well. God knows best, and I'm sure there's a good reason why I needed to be home this weekend.

Mark & I worked on "cleaning" the fat today -- boiling in water the tallow we had rendered in order to get rid of more impurities. Someday it will be soap! I've also been checking out recipes and techniques online. As a side benefit of salvaging the scraps from mission meal, we also got several pounds of very fatty ground beef. We're going to mix it with some leaner ground beef we have or cook it and rinse it for use in spaghetti sauce or soup. Overall, our salvage was a blessing!

I got a call from my old project manager earlier this week. It looks like the end of the school year will work out better for his company to bring me on. He's still working on justifying my position. But he says he still wants to hire me. That would be good for me, since I don't know how much I'll work at the school over the summer. And if I'm not working, I'm not getting paid!

I'm getting tired of my weird diet, but I am losing weight. I think that generally I'm feeling better as well. Fortunately, I like the things I am allowed to eat. I have cheated a little, but I really try not to.

I got a very touching letter from my hubby for Valentines Day! I know it was a labor of love, as writing does not come easy for him. For me, it's not the pricey presents that count!

Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels and not making much progress getting anywhere in life. But I know God is working in me and my family in subtle ways I can't always see. And when the time is right for a change of direction, He will make it apparent.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. -- Psalm 23:2-3a