Designed For Destiny - Buy It Online Now

Designed For Destiny written by Susan Chapman Brown is available online now. See here for more information and to purchase.

I have been reading this book every morning before going to work since December. This book pours out the truth of what it means to be a Godly woman and teaches me how to accept, embrace, and walk in my God ordained femininity. I am encouraged and liberated by the truth that Susan shares and this is a must read for any woman desiring to know more of the Father's plan for her life.

More Pictures from the Gaylord Texan

Okay, I know that I've been home almost a week from Texas. I'm still having fond memories of my time spent at the Gaylord Texan. Sue and I went there for coffee the night before I flew home. I had my camera with me and I snapped some pictures.

This is the only hotel that I've been in where there is a waterfall, flowing river, covered wagons in a canyon, and white fish in the river. I'm looking forward to visiting the Gaylord Texan again sometime in the future.

Catching Up On My Trash Reading

This is my first week back in the office after being on vacation. I've spent the majority of the week working with a filming crew who are here filming a documentary for one of my projects. We wrap up filming today.

This morning I had some time to read some of my waste journals. I came across an article that I think moms will find interesting. So if you're a mom, click here to read. Once the magazine comes up, click on contents, scroll to the bottom, and click on the link titled "Haul Talk: Mommy Greenest, A Grave Situation."

Last Day in Texas

I find it hard to imagine that my vacation in Texas in almost over. I have truly enjoyed the weather and my time here. God has used this time to confirm many things to me about my future. I am coming home with a new sense of God's direction for my life. I have peace and a level of excitement that I've never have felt before.

My last day will be spent packing and enjoying time with my hosts, the Browns. They are truly great hosts and I'm thankful for their hospitality.

Tomorrow morning I will have to arise early since my flight leaves at 7:20 in the morning. I'm suppose to arrive in Albany,NY around 1:30 PM. I then have a 4 hour drive home. The weather looks like it will be okay for my drive home.

My upcoming work week will be hectic. There is a filming crew arriving today to film a documentary for one of my projects. We will be filming all week. This means long work days ahead for me. I'm glad that I've had 10 days of RR.

Valentine's Day in Grapevine, Texas

This evening Paul and Sue decided to show me two of the elaborate hotels in Grapevine.

Our first stop was the Gaylord Texan. I must admit that this is one of the most elaborate and unique hotels/convention centers that I've been in. The Lone Star Atrium inside the building is quite the sight to see. Additionally, there are oversized couches located in the lobby just outside the convention center. These couches are so huge that three people could sleep on them. See picture of me below.

The second stop was at the Great Wolf Lodge. This hotel houses a water park inside the building. The best thing about the Great Wolf Lodge were their decorative garbage containers. I couldn't resist taking a picture of one and posting it below.

The weather has been extremely nice since I've been here. The temperatures were in the 70's today and the sun was out. Sue and I spent part of the afternoon drinking coffee by Grapevine Lake and sharing conversation. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is my favorite past time - drinking coffee and sharing time together with friends. I hope that Sue and I can do more of this before I leave on Monday.

My Doings in Texas

It seems almost impossible that tomorrow marks my one week arrival in Texas. I find myself wondering where has the time gone. Sue and I have been keeping ourselves busy for sure. I'll try to provide some of the week's highlights here.

Upon arriving last Thursday, Sue and I rented a car and headed to Beaumont, Tx. This was a 5.5 - 6 hour drive from DFW. The purpose of the trip was to attend the Fresh Fire International Women's Conference that was held at Triumph Church. There were 15 women speakers that shared their hearts with us. The conference ended on Saturday, but Sue and I stayed until Sunday and attended church services at Triumph Church. Both Sue and I agree that we can't find words that would adequately express what we experienced throughout the weekend. I can only say that it was one of the most powerful and anointed times that I've experienced with the Lord.

Our rental car had a GPS unit. Sue and I are now experts with the "GPS language" and we use it all the time now in her own car. I tell her "left turn in 0.5 mile, followed by ya..." We wonder what the "followed by ya" means, but could never figured this one out. The GPS would also let us know when we arrived at our destination through a loud noise that sounded like "ding dong". One time we heard the "ding dong", but it was the incorrect destination; we should have been at the church, but we were at a Chevy car dealership instead.

I'm also learning new vocubalary words. When we incorrectly arrived at the Chevy car dealership, I went inside to ask directions to the church. The person said "follow the feeder road, go through two stop lights, loop around the highway, and the church would be on the right." I questioned the person several times about the "feeder road" and she became increasingly irritated by me. I figured Sue would know what the "feeder road" was. To my surprise she didn't. We later found out the "feeder road" are roads that run parallel to the highway and loop around it so that you have access to places on both sides of the freeway.

Monday and Tuesday were spent getting ready for Restoring FemininiTea and book signing on Tuesday night. Sue has been displaying teapots in the local library for the month of February. Fifteen ladies came out last night for the tea time and book signing. One lady said that she came since she wanted to do something for herself for once.

Today was the first time that we had some breathing room since I've been here. What did we do? Shopping. Sue has been sharing with me about this great store called Stein Mart. This store has great bargains on quality clothing. I ended up walking out with 4 outfits for less than $75. This is my kind of shopping!!

That is all for now from Texas. I've posted some pictures. Hope you all enjoy them.

Some new friends I met at the conference.

Arrival Texas

I arrived in Texas yesterday. Sue and I rented a car and we drove 6 hours to attend this conference. We are still at the conference and are being filled and refreshed. We just got out of the hot tub. We will be heading back to Grapevine on Sunday after church. I'll post more when we return to Sue's house.

My To-do List

I'll be leaving work in about 20 minutes for my vacation trip to Texas.

As usual, my morning has been busy taking care of last minute details for many of my projects. One project, a trip to the emergency room, was not on my to-do list.

I arrived at the office around 6:20 AM..I know most of you were still probably sleeping. I pulled my car next to the front door since I had some items to carrying into the office. As I walked behind my car, I hit a patch of ice and my two feet went flying. I grabbed the car on the way down and gave my left side a good stretch as my feet went in the opposite direction. I banged my left elbow and knee on the pavement. Swelling ensued in both and my supervisor suggested that I go to the emergency room. My emergency room trip last 2.5 hours. The Dr. said I was okay and that I'll have some nice bruises in a few days. The swelling should go down over time.

Other than some minor discomfort, I'm fine.

I'll be in Texas until the 18th. I'll be posting updates of my trip

Summer is Coming

"I see success, I want to tell you, yesterday, the book on yesterday is closed, it's kind of like you've lived through a long hard winter, but I'm here to tell you that winter is over, summer is coming, come on, it is coming!!! …You can let the yesterdays go, you can cut yourself away from the moorings and begin to float upon the ocean of His grace, and His love."

These were words that a prophet spoke to me in 2000 and I'm just beginning to understand the meaning of them. There are two significant themes that I can see that God was speaking to me: 1) book on yesterday is closed; and 2) winter time is over and summer is on the way.

In recent weeks, I've been meditating on these words and trying to better understand what the Lord was speaking to me in 2000. This caused me to research the meaning of the words winter, spring, and summer. I know from my experience in living in NNY that in between winter and summer is spring. God said "winter was over and summer is on the way", this implied that I needed to go through spring.

Webster gives the following definitions:

Winter - a time of inactivity or decay;
Spring - come up out of something into existence; and
Summer - a period of maturing powers.

Wikipedia Encyclopedia also provides additional information about the seasons:

Winter - some use winter to describe death and period of hopeless;
Spring - A time of growth, renewal, and of new life being born, and it is a period where severe weather most often occurs due to the southern warm air clashing with the northern cold air;
Summer - a time when plants are in full growth.

I spent many years of my life in the winter season. It was a time where I felt like I was dying and I had no hope for living. I'm glad that the Lord spoke to me in 2000 and told me that winter was over. Nevertheless, I had hard time understanding what season I was in between 2000 and now. I initially thought that I was experiencing summer, but the Lord showed me recently that I've been in the spring season.

The past eight years the Lord has been pulling out weeds in my soul that were not right. The weeds were things that were rooted in my "yesterdays" that needed to go in order for me enter His summer season for me. My spring season has been a time where severe weather occurred. There were times of clashing when I was afraid of letting go of the "yesterdays" and embracing the new life that God was leading me to walk in. I now know that it was necessary for me to let go of the "yesterdays" in order to come out of my winter season and enter into God's summer season.

The Lord is leading me to do a few more things to let the "yesterdays" go. Once I do them, I truly feel like the" book on yesterday" will be closed forever; I will never have to go back and look at any of the pages again. I'm cutting myself away from them and will enjoy floating upon His grace and love for me. I'm looking forward to my summer season with the Lord. I feel like it will be a time where God will continue to mature me and I'll come into the full growth of His plan and purposes for my life.